“Buttigieg Struggles to Square Transparency With Lack of Disclosure on Consulting”

Raise your hand if you know what McKinsey is… It might as well be Blackwater!

This is what it’s come down to folks, whether you want business as usual, rule by the monied elite, or a revolution.

The Republicans had a revolution. The RNC lost control of the party. Trump won the nomination, and except for a few Never Trumpers, who don’t hold elected office, the whole party has gathered together under King Donald.

You see the rich wanted more and the poor wanted change, they were sick and tired of paying for everybody else when they couldn’t make ends meet.

Meanwhile, the Democrats argue amongst themselves, paying attention to identity politics more than big issues. That’s how Elizabeth Warren got traction, by issuing policies, by being for the little guy. Sure, she used to be a Republican, she grew up in Oklahoma for godssakes, isn’t it a badge of honor to change your mind? She saw how medical bills and bankruptcy ruptured families and she wanted change.

And the Republicans and many Democrats hate her for it. You see the ruling party, the elite, the rich, forget whether they’re on the left or the right, don’t want to lose control.

But they should.

As for Elizabeth Warren, she lost all credibility during the second debate, when she wouldn’t answer the question about how her medical plan would be paid for, suddenly she looked like every other political weasel.

So now we’ve got Mayor Pete and Bloomberg.

Last I checked, Bloomberg was a Republican, changed the law so he could serve another term as mayor and supported stop and frisk. Is this the guy you really want in charge? If he weren’t rich, would you support him? And where in his platform does it say he supports the little guy.

And make no mistake, this election is about the little guy, because he or she has no future.

Come on, did you read the story in the “Guardian” about the two Ivy League graduates who don’t have health insurance?

“We’re broke, not poor: how I became downwardly mobile – We have educations, credit cards, were raised with privilege and access – but our lives are filled with financial uncertainty”

But the papers in the U.S. don’t print these stories, because they too are part of the establishment. Believe me, the writers would rather hang with the billionaires, the powerbrokers, than the hoi polloi. The owners and publishers too!

So Buttigieg ran to the center. Did Trump run to the center? No, he ran to the edge, he was all about excitement, change, whereas the Bush anointed by the RNC barely left the starting line.

So what is happening in America today?

Most people have no idea. Because so much news has an agenda and they don’t know where to go for information anyway. And it’s worse, they’re too uneducated to understand the concepts.

But the elite, those who come from “good families,” like that rapist at Stanford who got off with barely more than a slap on the wrist, go to prep schools, go to elite universities, their parents get them jobs and we have a self-perpetuating elite that the Trumpers hate, but so many of the Democrats do too!

Who is paying for your education? Who is paying for your college applications? Does your guidance counselor even know about anything other than the state school?

So this is what the Democrats want to preserve, and this is why they’re in trouble.

We don’t want to go back to normal, we don’t want to go back to the Obama years, they weren’t that good to begin with! Yup, under Obama the Democrats lost a ton of statehouses, and allowed the Republicans to make inroads against abortion. Did you read the “New York Times” cover story about this? Absolutely horrifying.

“How a Divided Left Is Losing the Battle on Abortion”

Unless a Democrat proposes serious change, focusing foremost on income inequality and work opportunity, they’re just gonna kick the ball down the field. They’re just gonna be further behind in the next election cycle. We need change NOW!

So stop being afraid of someone moving your cheese. You went to streaming after physical, right? You gave up your landline? And if you didn’t, you’re probably supporting old Joe and his malarkey, someone most people make fun of.

So Mayor Pete can’t run his own city, the Republicans are gonna have a field day with this if he’s the nominee, never mind the issue of exciting African-Americans. But the truth is, despite being gay, despite being young, he’s truly one of them, yup, the privileged elite, who went to Harvard and became a consultant for McKinsey, which has been caught self-dealing.

It can’t be a personality choice folks. Now, more than ever, this election is one of ideas. 2016 was about pushback, now we want to move forward.

As for these vaunted centrists… Does anybody want new material by the classic rockers? Doesn’t Post Malone have his finger on the pulse more than Gene Simmons, never mind Mick Jagger?

Stop living in a fantasy. Look at your life, look at your privilege. Don’t deny it, just ask whether others should be able to become members of the club, or whether you might be able to stomach being slightly less rich.

But no, that’s anathema, you can’t sacrifice. You studied hard, you worked hard to make it, screw the opioid-addicted. But now the opioid-addicted have contempt for the elite, and the Sackler family…no one will even accept their charitable donations, that’s how fast the screw turns, and most people are pissed the bankers did not pay for breaking the economy back in 2008.

So ask what the country needs, what you truly want. If it’s business as usual, you’re part of the problem. If you believe there can be mutual agreement, you haven’t paid attention to the Republicans’ squealing about impeachment.

The times have changed. Either you’re part of the solution or get out of the way.

Sure, everybody has the chance to be on reality TV, to be a rapper, but that’s not where the money or the power is anymore.

This is war. We’re on the precipice of a changed society. Either we tackle the big issues now, or forget it, hope that your money will carry you through.

Meanwhile, better have a wall around your property.

It takes only one match to start a conflagration. Look at the Arab Spring, started by a fruit vendor!

It can happen here. You want to get ahead of the people, or else you’ll have a disaster, like the record labels disrupted by Napster.

So the media said there can be no Medicare For All, that Warren is too out there, never mind Bernie. And just like fake ads on Facebook, this message has impact. I was out with family and they supported Biden, because Warren was too extreme. Did they want cheaper and better health care, did they think the rich should pay more taxes? OF COURSE! Welcome to 2019, where not only Republicans vote against their own interests.

Just like Trump, the Democrats have to turn over the table, think about the rank and file.

Otherwise?

They’re history.

Tom Corson is the co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Records. Listen…

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Matchbox

Well I’m sitting here wonderin’
Will a matchbox hold my clothes

I didn’t buy “Something New.” I already had all the “Hard Day’s Night” songs on the soundtrack album. And I certainly didn’t need a German version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” But there were a couple of new tracks that I played whenever I went to someone’s house and they had it. I needed to hear “When I Got Home.”

But dropping the needle on the third cut, I’d end up hearing “Slow Down” and then “Matchbox.”

I was three when the Carl Perkins original came out, needless to say I’d never heard it. Hell, Carl Perkins was just a name to me, his comeback didn’t happen for decades. But for some reason I knew “Blue Suede Shoes.”

Well it’s one for the money…

Talk about rock and roll! “Blue Suede Shoes” was the essence, but it was years before I heard the Carl Perkins original, I think I was more familiar with the Elvis take, not that I remember ever hearing it, it just permeated my consciousness.

So, as time went by, I began to appreciate Carl Perkins. He was part of the bedrock of rock and roll. Hell, I was just playing “Matchbox” the other day. And then…

I decided to listen to the new Dylan “Bootleg,” you know, the one with Johnny Cash.

Now I’ve got nothing against Johnny Cash, but I must say the endless adulation recently bugs me. As if there’s nobody else to venerate.

And to tell you the truth, “Nashville Skyline” is not my favorite Dylan LP, I’m more into “John Wesley Harding” or “New Morning.”

Now one of the bad things about these new Dylan releases is they’re condensed on streaming services, in other words you’ve got to buy them to hear them complete, which just plain sucks. I know, I know, it’s about the money. But if you’re not on streaming services, your music is lost to history. Why should these cuts sit in the hands of a few collectors, essentially unheard, believe me, if there were streaming services in the sixties I’d know all of the Carl Perkins originals.

And there’s some interesting stuff on this new “Bootleg,” stuff in the condensed version, on streaming services, like “I Am A Lonesome Hobo.” And “Wicked Messenger,” which the Small Faces did such a delicious version of on their first album with Rod Stewart (it wasn’t until later that they changed the artwork on that LP to say “Faces”).

Actually, both of those are from “John Wesley Harding.” And I dig the rollicking version of “Country Pie” on “Bootleg,” but what blew my mind was the version of MATCHBOX!

A duet between Dylan and Cash. Not the usual stuff we’re aware of, from the TV show, it’s as if they’re in the studio on a lark, warming up, having fun, that’s what playing music is all about, fun, when you turn it into science, when you employ a zillion writers in hopes of a hit, you eviscerate the fun. But when no one is paying attention, when it’s just the players and maybe a few people in the control room, you can let loose, show your roots, let the music take you away.

And unlike so much of the stuff Dylan did with Cash, this ain’t slow, this is a train rolling down the track, and you’d better hang on to your hat or it’s gonna blow right off.

These are the surprises we’re looking for.

These days, the publicity departments go to the usual subjects and have them print a press release saying the project is out, and that’s the last you hear of it. Used to be you had a friend with the album, you’d hear a cut on the radio, stuff would percolate in the marketplace, but today if it’s classic rock, forget about it.

Maybe because the classic rockers can’t stop bitching about streaming music payments, maybe because the audience for this music is out of touch technologically, but this iteration of “Matchbox” is exactly what they’re looking for. Johnny Cash is not cast in amber, this is the guy before he was canonized, when he was just a musician, when he had runway in front of him and was less worried about getting it right than just doing it. Yup, when done right music is here and then gone, you had to be there, that’s one of the reasons live is such a big deal these days.

Now doing some research I was stunned to find out that Carl Perkins essentially stole the song from Ma Rainey. And then Blind Lemon Jefferson did a version. Could it be that Carl Perkins was white?

This is the history boomers live for, context, that which the internet provides, if you can find an entry point.

There have been some stellar albums in the “Bootleg” series. My favorite is the “Live 1964” project…maybe because it’s so alive, Dylan even forgets lyrics, he’s at the peak of his initial fame, the folk king before he went all rock and roll.

And this version of “Matchbox” is minus the sneer, minus the attitude, Dylan is confident in his skills, this is long before his voice became a croak, Bob’s all over the scale and it’s a joy.

What deceased musician would you like to see come back to life?

Tune in today, Tuesday December 3rd, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

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