What kind of crazy, fucked-up world do we live in where Steve Bannon knows more about the Democratic party than the DNC?

Did you watch Bannon on Bill Maher last Friday?

You should.

Of course there’s a lot of insane drivel, but don’t forget it was Bannon who got Trump elected, somehow he had his finger on the pulse of America more than Hillary Clinton and her minions.

So, let me get this straight, the party of the people, of labor, of the underdog, of the big tent, is gonna nominate a Republican oligarch to be President?

Come on, the Democrats rail incessantly against billionaires, income inequality, they want a seat at the table and now they’re going to get behind a man who represents everything they’re against because they think he can beat Trump?

Bloomberg cannot win enough delegates to secure the nomination on the first vote. The math is against him. If Mike Bloomberg wins thirty percent of the delegates on Super Tuesday, a good number, he has got to win sixty four percent of all delegates thereafter in order to pull himself over the threshold, a near impossibility. That’s math, Nate Silver did it. But the Democrats run on emotions, they tend not to go deep, unlike the right, they just go with what feels right, which is why they often lose the debate and the war.

Bloomberg is the man for African-Americans! Yup, Mayor Pete, who couldn’t even keep peace in his own damn city, is discounted because he can’t appeal to black people. But what about Mr. Stop & Frisk?

Now that Bloomberg has bought his way into the race, proving that billionaires are anathema to the process, the spotlight is finally upon him. Let’s see him wiggle his way out of this one. He flipped for the nomination. Isn’t that why Bernie is surging, since he’s been true to his beliefs, been saying the same damn thing for decades?

And you wonder why people don’t vote. They’ve given up hope!

As for Donald Trump, that was a protest vote, by people who felt the government was not working for them. Sure, he was on TV, sure he was supported by white supremacists, sure he had a lot of billionaires on his side, but there were not enough of the foregoing for him to emerge victorious. Talk to your friends, calmly, you’ll be surprised who voted for the Donald. But you’re so busy hating on them you won’t listen to them. Hillary promised business as usual, more of the same, Trump promised change. Forget the truth, the 2016 election is history, even though Trump and Fox News keep squaring off against Hillary, it’s now 2020, and the concomitant feeling is happening on the left. And what do the DNC and the media want to do? SHUT IT DOWN!

This is why Republicans win. The Democratic elites feel they’re better than the rank and file, they don’t want to know them and they don’t want to hang with them. They want to stand behind the velvet rope before they fly private. So, a group of insurgents is fighting for the heart and soul of the Democratic party and what do these insiders do? MAKE SURE IT CAN’T HAPPEN!

The media has been excoriating Bernie since Iowa. It just can’t be. How can a septuagenarian socialist Jew who just had a heart attack be ahead? This has got to be stopped. Biden faded, so let’s push Mayor Pete, the boy wonder, and if that doesn’t work we’ll let Michael Bloomberg buy the election! Yup, that appeals to college students and laborers. Let’s put all our faith in someone we hate, just to beat someone we hate even more.

But it gets even worse. ANY Democrat can beat Donald Trump. Not only do the polls say this, so does Rachel Bitecofer. Who? The woman who called the 2018 election correctly when no one else did.

There are almost no independents.

I say this all the time. People are afraid to admit they’re Republicans. Just ask them…”When did you last vote for a Democrat?” They’ll be scratching their head, and then they’ll say…”Well, I’d consider one.” But they don’t. Furthermore, the same thing exists on the left, independents who always vote Democratic. So instead of fifteen or twenty percent of the public being swing voters, Bitecofer believes it’s really just six or seven percent. So, it’s not about playing to the middle, trying to pull people over the transom to your side, but rather rallying your party, circling the wagons, getting out the vote.

Look at Bitecofer’s numbers. By turning off the Bernie fans and nominating Hillary third party candidates surged, denying Hillary the Presidency. Do you think it can’t happen again? That’s what the DNC is attempting by trying to trip up Bernie through any means possible.

Oh, there’s that word “socialist.” Truth is America is already socialist, can you say Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? Trump wants to cut the social safety net, how well do you think that’s gonna resonate with people, especially those on the right who were against Obamacare but wanted the government to keep its hands off their Medicare. Let’s see, you work your whole life knowing there’s a pot of money at the end that will help you survive and now the insiders are gonna take it away from you? Never gonna play.

And it’s sixty five degrees in Antarctica yet climate change is not a big issue?

The economy is burgeoning but you can’t make ends meet on your low-paying service job income?

Bernie is speaking English, that’s why he’s got traction.

Of course Bill Maher is afraid of socialism, he owns a piece of the Mets!

Everybody with money is freaking out, afraid they’re going to lose something, which is why they’re getting behind Bloomberg. Yup, when the going gets tough everybody wants to save themselves and their lifestyles, they’ll sacrifice you in a heartbeat. Which is how we got into this mess.

So if the Democrats rally around their candidate, whomever it might be, according to Bitecofer, they’ll win. But by rewriting the debate rules in midstream, speaking of the bad acts of the “Bernie Bros,” what are the odds these people are gonna rally around Bloomberg?

And let’s say Bloomberg gets elected, do you really think he’s going to undercut his fellow oligarchs, turn against his class, suddenly become a bleeding-heart liberal after stop and frisk? ARE YOU NUTS?

Of course I’d rather elect Bloomberg than Trump. But I don’t believe he’ll fix the endemic problems of this nation, the can will just be kicked further down the road. We need radical change. Isn’t that what the last twenty five years have been all about? Did you miss the memo on mattresses in a box, electric cars, glasses via mail, everything shipped to your home, the internet itself? We’ve been through a wrenching transition, and the truth is some people profited handsomely, and many did not. As for those who did not, the winners keep telling them they’ve got a computer in their pocket, they’ve got the means of creation at their fingertips, if they too just put their nose to the grindstone they could win. Meanwhile, best to let the winners run the table and rule.

HOGWASH!

Steve Bannon on Bill Maher (watch at 6:45 and then wind back to 4:25)

Nate Silver on Bloomberg

“An Unsettling New Theory: There Is no Swing Voter-Rachel Bitecofer’s radical new theory predicted the midterms spot-on. So who’s going to win in 2020?”

Tune in today, Tuesday February 11th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

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

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive

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The Purple Disco Machine remix is a hit.

Word was this song was a loser. Most people didn’t even know there was a new song in “Rocket Man.” And even though I was invited to multiple screenings I did not go, because I’m not into fantasy, I’d rather keep my memories intact, the ones I grew when Elton John went from instant hit newcomer to album after album of killer material.

And, of course, Elton burned out after “Blue Moves” and Geffen could never achieve the same success he had on Uni.

Yes, he had hits, he was on MTV, but the songs did not quite resonate the same way until 1989’s “Sleeping With The Past,” with a return to greatness with “Club At The End Of The Street,” which could fit on any early seventies album, and the haunting “Blue Avenue.”

But Elton moved on to the Great White Way and Africa, with great success, but it appeared he was done on the hit parade. 2004’s “Songs From The West Coast” delivered, but it was out of time. Elton was too old, the scene was too pop and hip-hop, and it was mostly ignored.

Like everything else that doesn’t fit the niche.

It’s so hard to get noticed if you’re not pop or hip-hop, especially if you’re over forty, it’s like you don’t even exist.

And here comes “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.”

Like I said, word was bad. But I was in an Elton mood, so I pulled up the cut on Amazon Music, its ULTRA HD tier is genius, and…

So was the track.

Huh?

This didn’t make sense. Everybody had dismissed this cut as a throwaway, tacked on to the movie, an injection of something new that you did not need to hear.

And if you listen to the original, that’s the truth.

But somehow that’s not what came up on Amazon Music. I searched on “Elton John” and I got the Purple Disco Machine remix of “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” I looked at my phone to do research, because this couldn’t be, this track was too good to be dismissed.

That’s when I found out the version I was listening to was not the original.

Which I then pulled up.

It misses. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that you don’t need to hear it again, it doesn’t stick to your bones, there’s no magic enticing you, getting you addicted, it sounds like a track that would play over the credits.

But not the remix.

I went back to it. And I still got it.

It was that guitar sound, the walk, the slurp, it’s hard to listen to the Purple Disco Machine take and not get up and dance, it’s the essence of music, something that immediately grabs you and won’t let go, puts a smile on your face, reinforces the feeling that life is worth living and that when done right music delivers a hit you cannot get anywhere else.

Purple Disco Machine…did I miss a memo? I mean I’d never heard of it, which turned out to be just one guy anyway. He had some success in the electronic music world, but he was no Deadmau5, he was not a household name, but today almost no one is a household name, and if you’re not deep into a scene you’ve got no idea what’s going on.

Now the skinny jean and black leather jacket crowd will scoff that this is disco. Then again, so is Prince’s “Dirty Mind,” his best effort if you ask me. Actually, there’s been more disco since the demolition back in ’79, seems like the disco beat is everywhere, even though this is called “house.”

Music is like pornography, you know it when you hear it. When done right, it’s inexplicable, it just reaches you. A musicologist can analyze it, but the truth is the people who made it don’t have those skills, they’ve just got the music in them.

Now there’s no place on radio for Purple Disco Machine’s remix of “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” but it could be a bar mitzvah/wedding staple.

Sure, the song won an Oscar, but I don’t expect any bounce.

Yet I’m bouncing as I listen to Purple Disco Machine’s remix of “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” It’s got that same feeling as “Philadelphia Freedom,” and isn’t that what we’re looking for from music, TO BE SET FREE?

P.S. I love tracks that you can play over and over again, for hours. Yup, every once in a while one comes along, it puts me in a mood, I put it on endless repeat and revel in the feeling. I don’t want to turn the Purple Disco Machine remix off, I don’t want to lose that feeling, OH, WHAT A FEELING!

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” Spotify

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” YouTube-

Purple Disco Machine remix

“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” Original

“TV Ratings: Oscars Fall to All-Time Lows”

I didn’t watch.

Who needs to see a throng of self-important lefties revel in their fabulousness while they promote their fatuous work?

Yes folks, movies have become baseball in a land of football that is being challenged by soccer.

In other words, the theatrical experience doesn’t hold a candle to the home/flat screen one and series are much more appealing than two hour snoozefests and shoot-em-ups.

So it’s not only the paywall of theatres, it’s also the form, it doesn’t fit today’s world where if you’re into something, you want to go deep, if you stop and smell the coffee you don’t want a cup, but the whole pot.

Used to be the Oscars were a religious experience, at least for me. I’d gather with friends in front of the screen, which was much smaller back then, and there would be no talking as we watched the shapers of culture vie for victory, even though Woody Allen refused to attend because he believes competition in the arts is pointless, which is true, but everything needs to be quantified in today’s society, no matter how fallacious the judging.

Movies drove the culture. We wanted insight into those in front of the camera and behind. We learned the lingo. We knew the studio heads (quick, name one today!) and had to go to the theatre not only for the experience, but in order to participate in conversation at parties.

But then the producers went solely for the bucks and everybody we knew stopped going and we did too. Talk to friends, either they go all the time or not at all. I’m in the latter category, it just takes too much time, and I hate the audience and the timing…I want to watch when I want to watch, we live in an on-demand culture, that’s what streaming is all about!

As for rallying around the set with your brethren…

We call that the Super Bowl. And it’s about the ads and the ability to discuss the halftime presentation more than the game, if the game is good it’s a bonus. The Super Bowl is now a national holiday, if you’re not invited to a party you feel like a loser.

But the mainstream media did not get the memo that things have changed. The L.A. “Times” has its inane “Envelope” section, puff pieces published to satisfy clients that their publicists are doing the work.

And then there are the endless ads in both the aforementioned L.A. “Times” and “New York Times.” Who are these for? Oh, I get it, oldsters who still get the physical newspaper, the same ones who won’t vote for women and people of color.

Not that I think sexism or racism or even politics are the reasons people don’t watch, but the fact that THEY HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIES!

There, that’s the number one problem. Believe me, if they premiered a new movie every Friday night on a streaming service I’d watch it, because I’d want to be part of the conversation, feel like I belong in a culture where we’re all on our own avenue.

That’s why awards show ratings are going down, they’re out of time, just like variety shows and westerns. We don’t want to be glued to the screen in an era where we avoid commercials at all costs, come on, you use an ad-blocker don’t you? You should, your web pages will load that much faster! And Amazon is so cluttered with ads you can’t even find what you’re looking for anymore. Never mind Google, with all its paid ads on top.

But ain’t that America, where you sell, sell, sell.

But movies used to be different. Before it was all about the tie-ins, the sponsorships, the merch. When you oversell you deplete desire.

And the content in the awards shows? People with personal trainers and plastic surgery acting like everything they say is so important while they break for a musical number almost no one has heard to fill in the broadcast.

Want me to watch? Make it like the original Academy Awards, just the awards, twenty minutes, half hour top. I’d watch that, but I’m not dedicating an evening only to find out I consumed empty calories and want all that time back.

And it’s true that if anything happens, we’ll find out about it immediately online, if we care, and we can consume the entire show in a matter of minutes, if that long. Kinda like SNL.

But no one wants to mess with the formula, no one wants to blow the show up.

Or the movie business itself, other than Netflix, which can’t stop being excoriated by the wankers who produce and attend this fiasco.

Netflix will make your movie. Netflix will green light you. Because that’s the agreement they have with their audience, you pay us and we make a cornucopia of new stuff. And they know it’s about mass and niche. As in you need a mass of subscribers but many verticals of product. If they only made supernatural and superhero programming, I’d unsubscribe, but I can watch “Narcos” (coming back this week!) and “Money Heist” and a bunch of personal stuff I dig, like the films of the Duplass brothers, who are at least trying to reflect reality, where we all reside the last time I checked.

Oh, there’s a business in making two-dimensional dreck for international consumption by youngsters and nitwits, but it’s kinda like terrestrial radio, it gets the biggest slice of an ever-decreasing pie. So, these Marvel movies make more than any other ones, but most of us never bother to go to the movies anymore, we’ve been ignored and we checked out.

And don’t tell me about the grosses… If you want to talk about grosses, let’s talk video games, which can be a billion in a matter of days!

Everyone thinks their world is forever.

And long after the innovators are deceased, people without the same drive or understanding prop up the carcass until it dies. Yup, everything dies. Thomas Cook, Atari, 3-D…everything gigantic is a fad these days, everybody stops to look at the train-wreck and then they mash the pedal and continue to drive on by.

The record labels fought the internet for a decade.

The book business refuses to acknowledge the internet exists. They got prices raised on e-books and sales dropped but piracy has now gone through the roof! They’re repeating the music business debacle twenty years later, they thought they were immune when the truth is they were just ignorant: scroll down to

“Book pirates are like termites: harmless as individuals, devastating in groups.”

The movie business killed its essence when money became more important than story, they hollowed out the essence to the point where most people no longer care.

Furthermore, these big swinging dicks, and most do have dicks, refuse to play in the real marketplace, streaming television, where you find out instantly whether people want to watch your product or not. Just like oldsters decry music streaming, where it’s not that you’re getting screwed on payments, but just that most people don’t want to listen to your music!

But the great thing about life is it keeps on rolling along, and the will of the people always wins, especially in an era where the tools of construction have been commoditized, where you can create and market on a shoestring. Sure, a lot of dreck has been produced, but not all of it is junk. When you try to narrow the pipe, the mole pops up elsewhere, in a world where there’s endless shelf space and instant access to everything.

Come on, if the movies were launched on streaming services day and date they once again would be topics of discussion by everybody. But who wants to pay to see “Parasite” today, when everybody who went previously will put you down.

And how can you trust an industry that lauds “The Irishman“? We were subjected to endless stories about its production, its story, its actors, and the final product smells like a turd, overlong with little arc, like a typical Scorsese pic. But no, Marty is a genius, he cannot be crapped on. The insiders and critics are just like those guys in skinny jeans who used to tell you your music was crap and you had to listen to theirs. Now the hoi polloi no longer care, and speaking of the general public, I can’t find a single person who thought “The Irishman” was great, and when ballots were secret, the truth came out, it won no awards.

Yup, impeachment came and went nearly instantly, but we had to hear about the turgid “Irishman” for years, intensely for the last half of 2019 until up to now. No wonder the mainstream media is losing credibility.

Now I used to wait for these flicks to hit the flat screen. But then I found out it was too late, there was other stuff to watch. More people have talked to me about “Chernobyl” and “Succession” than any flick in a theatre this year, and I haven’t even made it around to them, right now I’m into the second season of “Trapped” on Amazon, an Icelandic noir/mystery series that is too slow for the fast and furious movie theatre but plays just right on the flat screen.

I’m inundated with suggestions. And when something is good, I can dig my teeth in deep, sometimes seven or eight seasons! I truly get to know the characters. “Spiral” is better than any movie I’ve seen in years.

But in today’s America you can never go backward, you can never lose a thing you’ve got, which is why the left wing elites are agitating for Bloomberg, because he’s one of them. Bernie? He’ll blow it all up, they’ll pay more money, they’ll have to get in the pit with the rest of us, fighting it out.

But it won’t happen in a movie theatre and it won’t happen watching the Oscars, because they’re HISTORY!