It’s one thing to hate the libs, quite another to put one’s head in the sand and deny reality.

Just like it’s one thing to hate the elites, but quite another to demonize education.

I stopped writing about politics because everybody got the message, everybody became aware of Trump’s actions. However, I am troubled that his flood the zone strategy is causing people to tune out. Furthermore, the flip-flopping on tariffs makes one step aside and say they’ll wait until the dust settles, allowing Trump to take further actions they are unaware of.

I blame the internet. Not smartphones. Not social media per se. But the internet in general. The internet broadened society. The Republicans seem to know this, but the Democrats do not. The Democrats keep believing in a pyramid, a top-down society that was blown apart decades ago. No one is in charge. No one respects someone further up the totem pole. And no one gets their information from the same sources as you do. Facts may be fungible, but we’ve got more than Trump to blame. Like I said, it’s the internet.

It’s right there for you to see, but too many refuse to. They worry about who is in the White House press room, decry the expulsion of the AP and the inclusion of heretofore unknown right wing outlets, but…

They refuse to acknowledge, never mind understand, that vast swaths of the public get their information from said “unknown” right wing news outlets. They’re only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more you’ve never heard of, and people take them as gospel. It’s the infrastructure more than the message that should worry those who believe in facts and truth. These systems have been established over years while the Democrats were completely asleep, believing in big time media. Joe Rogan? Yes, the Democrats missed out on the power of podcasts, but even more the power of information online. They believe in a single truth that spreads, nothing could be further from the truth.

Furthermore, Trump harnessed the power of social media, jumping on Twitter long before Elon Musk bought it, and spoke like the man on the street as opposed to some hoity-toity elite. We’re experiencing this right now with Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis. We’re supposed to stand aside and not talk about his refusal to step down and the new book that delineates his decline and its cover-up. Have you ever been online? Tell me one time the public stood aside for the good of…ANYTHING! The Democrats and those public intellectuals who lord over them are living in the fifties, but that was more than half a century ago.

But time marches on, as does the world. And the United States is falling behind, so far behind it may never catch up.

Did you read that BYD just outsold Tesla in Europe? Now because of tariffs you won’t see a BYD car in the U.S. But not only is it not the only electric car made in China, in many ways it’s more advanced than a Tesla, than any car designed in Detroit, and Chinese electric car bodies are updated in a year or two, unlike Tesla, which is utilizing essentially the same design.

So GM lobbied for the elimination of California clean air rules, the need to go all electric in a matter of decades. And their message won, Congress just struck down said rules. The only problem is the rest of the world is going electric at an alarmingly fast clip. As a matter of fact, BMW and other European car companies did not want high tariffs on Chinese cars because not only do they sell automobiles in China, they have to compete with these companies. Expect the Detroit auto companies to falter and be consumed by international conglomerates. Happens to all tech companies who don’t keep up with the future, who don’t push the envelope, they wither and die and are sold for scrap.

And then there’s DOGE and the destruction of our weather forecasting.

But forget the dismantling of our national infrastructure and compare us to the rest of the world, which is moving on while we’re doing our best to go back to the past, primarily so those in control can own the libs.

Germany and other European nations have switched almost completely to electric power. And in truth, the U.S. is moving in that direction. But all we hear about is the propping up of coal. (Which is akin to the propping up of vinyl, which is a nostalgic fetish… Cutting vinyl for a digital recording is like taking the power steering and brakes out of a fuel-injected automobile.) Sure, the past may have been better in certain ways, but we are moving forward, we’re never getting rid of the internet and…

We can debate all day if colleges are pro-Palestinian indoctrination camps, but the money given by the federal government supports scientific and medical breakthroughs. And now there’s a brain drain, with these experts going overseas.

Not that many are realizing this, not yet.

Look at Brexit. Nationalistic nincompoops voting to exit from the European Union. In the almost ten year wake of that vote Brits overwhelmingly reject it, they feel it was a mistake. Britain has lost its bargaining power, has been hurt economically and immigration has not slowed. Ignorant people were made to hate the Europeans and the immigrants and the joke was ultimately on them. Hell, right after Brexit jobs could not be filled because they were done by immigrants, just like the cooks at Kid Rock’s restaurant. It’s one thing to believe in theory, it’s quite another to see the results in practice.

Somehow the Luddites have taken control. And convinced many that the old days were better. And sure, I lament the loss of some stuff from the past, but it’s never coming back. Best to jump into the fire of the future and present. You can turn off your smartphone, but believe me, almost no one else is. Only baby boomers who believe they know better who end up ignorant.

We live in an information economy and he or she who knows the most wins.

Unfortunately, much of the information is inaccurate, and there’s no way to police it.

Ignorant people love to pontificate and falsehood becomes truth.

Trump has the government say Covid started in a lab when every day more science is revealed that undercuts that theory. Don’t believe me? Read this:

“Genetic Study Retraces the Origins of Coronaviruses in Bats – As China and the United States trade charges of a lab leak, researchers contend in a new paper that the Covid pandemic got its start, like a previous one, in the wildlife trade.”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/science/covid-coronavirus-bats-genetics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE8.2euS.qNRRqrwH36ms&smid=url-share

Oh, it can’t be true, it’s in the NEW YORK TIMES! And not only the right that decries the paper of record, but so do many on the left. Because emotion has replaced truth. Because it’s all about pissing on the big guy. But sometimes the big guy has it right.

It’s not only soft power we are losing, but raw power. Even in Iggy’s world of entertainment. Chinese movies outgross those from America on the mainland today, which was unheard of in the past. And the story in the music business is about local repertoire, America and England don’t dominate anymore. And if you think the argument is about Spotify payments, you’re missing the point. And don’t know that a lot of acts around the world you’ve never heard of are making bank. In addition, one reason Spotify dominates streaming is because it keeps opening in foreign territories and innovating, whereas its competitors are asleep and follow in Spotify’s footsteps at best. And your hankering for the old days isn’t going to change this, never ever.

But a lot of what I write above doesn’t reach the public at large, because everybody is in their silo reading stuff that aligns with their already established beliefs or tribe. Everybody has stuck their head in the ground and in many cases denied reality.

mRNA vaccines have been studied for years and are safe. And you  may believe your body is inviolate but measles neither knows that nor cares.

It’s like America has turned into a sport, with two teams competing for the trophy of control and the truth be damned. The right obfuscates, but so does the left. Biden? All I keep hearing is we’ve got to forget about Joe and look to Trump and the future. The same people saying this are the educated who studied history in school. What’s the cliché, you’ve got to study history to avoid repeating it?

So this is a 50,000 foot view. On some level the specifics are irrelevant. It’s that we’re putting up barriers and denying truth, happily living in ignorance as the world evolves. You can’t beat global warming by ignoring it. But that seems to be the government’s strategy, scrubbing it from the books.

So just consider this a heads-up. You may think you know what is going on, but unless you delve into the world, the head of others, you truly don’t. Most Democrats hate Trump voters so much that they refuse to enter their brains and analyze their thoughts and reasoning. Which in some cases is false, but why is it false? Why do they believe untrue information?

You’re best off reading mainstream news (and not TV, which does almost no reporting) than blogs and listening to biased podcasts, but this doesn’t align with people’s feelings. They want to feel powerful, in control, and they do this by excoriating institutions and coming up with their own beliefs, however cockamamie they might be. The anti-vax movement took hold first with the educated left and then spread to the right. These people were sick of being dictated to, they were angry with doctors and science, and they came up with their own beliefs. They feel bedside manner is more important than skill. I mean how many times do you see the surgeon anyway?

But everybody in America is right. And they’ve got many sites and tribe members to confirm it. This denial of truth knows no bonds. And it’s ensuring that America becomes a second class society. You don’t win by excising yourself from the game, but by competing. And to compete you need to study your competitors. Sports teams just don’t declare opponents bad, they send scouts, they look at the data. But in regular life everybody cocoons and believes they know better.

Forget that elected officials are bought and sold and out for themselves, never mind weak on both sides of the political fence.

It’s a hunt for truth, a full time job, and it’s your responsibility as a citizen. Not only for yourself, but society at large.

But the past is more comfortable. It’s easier to blame an enemy. When in truth it’s your own damn fault.

Rust never sleeps, even though you might.

STAY AWAKE!

I’m new to this.

I was wandering City Market in Vail looking for cookable items. My daily diet consists of coffee yogurt with blueberries and roasted walnuts, and some kind of protein and vegetable at night. As far as how many meals during the day? I’ve never eaten three. Seems like too much food to me. Then again, my mother never ever made breakfast for us, she was in bed until 10 AM every day. I didn’t think twice, even though it came up in school all the time… They seemed to believe I’d do better if I had a full tummy. True? I don’t know.

And now the research keeps flip-flopping. Breakfast good, breakfast unnecessary, only eat when you’re hungry. But I have to take some pills in the morning and food makes the medicine go down easier, so it doesn’t burn up my esophagus and stomach.

As for pills… The anti group… My doctor has the exact opposite philosophy. I know, I know, you feel healthier when you take no pills. But the pills help. And too many people don’t have health care good enough to give advance warning before consequences. Kind of like Biden and his PSA… If you do what the government tells you… No, scratch that, that’s got the wrong connotation. When you hear that prostate tests and mammograms can be spread out or stopped…don’t buy it, I mean do you want to gamble with your health?

Now in Vail I also eat New York Style Nova lox in the morning, for an added jolt of protein, I never stop for lunch, why waste the time, if I get hungry I chow down on an energy bar, and I’m loath to let you in on my secret, but for grocery store smoked salmon, this stuff is the sh*t:

Spence & Co., Nova Lox, NY Style: https://shorturl.at/ZS0OM

That link is to Amazon, but it provides a picture so you can purchase the product at your market of choice, assuming they have it. I’ve found most markets do not. But City Market does. And I’ll buy six at a time. Because inventory control…

There’s this Oui Mocha & Chocolate French style yogurt that’s delish! But good luck finding a market that sells it. When I see it at City Market I buy all they’ve got, sometimes fourteen or fifteen jars! Because oftentimes they’re out. They’re also often out of Chobani Coffee, which replaced the much better Coffee & Cream, and the third coffee yogurt of my triumvirate… I’m not going to tell you what it is, inventory is incredibly spotty, and I too buy all I see when it’s available.

And City Market in Vail is gigantic. They slice Boar’s Head meat, albeit at a glacial pace. And they’ve got my Vitamin Water Zero. And they’ve also got aisle after aisle of frozen products I should not eat.

But being unable to cook and looking for variety, one day I did a deep dive.

All the Indian stuff comes with rice, which my nutritionist calls a “filler food.” If you’re insulin resistant, and I am, and you might be without knowing it…if you eat pasta and then get tired, you are…you shouldn’t be eating any rice. Nor most breads and that includes pizza.

Now in Italy pasta sales are going down for the negative health reasons, even though we all adore it. It’s kind of like how the younger generation in America doesn’t drink. These are trends.

As for the keto-trend, even Gwyneth Paltrow gave up on that, you probably saw that. As for the protein craze… My nutritionist says a man needs fifteen to twenty grams per meal and a woman ten to fifteen. If you see someone ordering a salad for dinner, laugh at them. Sans chicken or salmon or some other kind of protein atop it they’re going to be starving soon. Protein salves the hunger. Fat makes the food taste good. There’s more underneath all this, but those are the basic rules.

Oh, just one more thing. Don’t eat anything within three hours of going to bed.

All this science I know from my nutritionist, I never paid attention in school, you may know the basics, but you’d be stunned how many don’t. I see these people whose parents died of heart attacks eating KFC and french fries and no vegetables and even smoking. Sure, some people get away with this, but the odds are against you.

Now Green Giant has made big strides in the frozen vegetable vertical, you’ve got to try out their “Restaurant Style” stuff:

https://greengiant.com/products/restaurant-style-sides/

Sure, fresh is always better, but it’s good to have a couple of these in the fridge.

So, I tried some frozen Chinese stuff. Almost all come with noodles or rice and very little protein, so I gave up on that.

But one day in City Market I came across Caulipower pizza.

https://eatcaulipower.com/en/products/cauliflower-pizza/

In truth, it kind of tastes like cardboard, but it’s easy to cook and it’s not the bread of the usual frozen pizza and I checked out all the models and you want the ones with protein on top. Not only for the nutrients, but because without them these pizzas taste even worse.

And if you’re hungry after a day of skiing you’re oftentimes bolting down the food anyway, so less than great taste is not crucial, but I bought a couple of Caulipowers after coming back from the mountains and…

The taste is just too bland.

But I like having one in the freezer, for when I’m in a pinch. You heat the oven (or large toaster oven) to 425 and then the pizza bakes in 14-16 minutes and the amazing thing about cauliflower pizza is it cools down much faster than the regular stuff, so you can eat it earlier and not burn the roof of your mouth.

And just the other day we were ordering from Instacart and I thought about Caulipower and started to wonder, does the company have any competitors?

And that’s why I’m writing this.

They offered Milton’s. A terrible name compared to Caulipower. And the graphics on the box are nowhere near as good. But Google is your friend and doing some research I found out that Milton’s was on a par with Caulipower so I ordered one. The Meat Lover’s Trio. For the protein, if not the taste.

And I tend to eat lunch late, to the point where it’s actually dinner. I don’t like to take the time to stop. And today I saw the Caulipower box in the freezer along with the Milton’s and I decided what the hell, let me try the Milton’s.

Now I had a hankering for Caulipower. Never ignore your inner tuning fork. Yes, I know Caulipower mostly tastes like cardboard, but it was titillating my taste buds, conceptually anyway. But variety is the spice of life so I heated the toaster oven (the pizza just fits and it warms up much more quickly) for the Milton’s.

Now I’ve learned that the toaster oven also cooks more quickly than your regular oven. So you want to remove the ‘za at the low end of the time spectrum, in this case 13-15 minutes.

And I was hungry and looked through the glass door of the toaster oven at exactly thirteen minutes and the damn pizza looked BURNED!

So now I wasn’t having Caulipower and the pizza was at the limit of golden brown and I sliced and took a bite and…

It was immediately clear that the consistency was different. The Milton’s is more like a cracker. I was getting a bad vibe, but I put the food in my mouth and…

It was definitely different from Caulipower.

And then I’m continuing to eat the Milton’s and it gets better with every bite.

Now let me be clear, it’s not as good as regular pizza, and frozen pizza is inherently substandard compared to cooked to order, but the Milton’s actually tasted pretty good. The pepperoni wasn’t bad, the sausage not great, but both were a bit better than Caulipower. It’s about the crust not the toppings, and since pizza is mostly crust, in this case cauliflower, that’s good!

Now in truth I haven’t run these cauliflower pizzas by my nutritionist yet. They’re probably not that great for you. But they’re definitely better for you than the conventional DiGiorno and Tombstone. And I have a sinking feeling my nutritionist is going to nix them, but…

If you’re in the market for cauliflower pizza…

Well, let me just say I’m at the beginning of my research, I’m sure there are experts with knowledge that far exceeds mine and I even know people who make their own, kudos, but the Milton’s was actually filling and fulfilling, satisfying, and I had an urge to tell you.

Meat Lover's Trio Cauliflower Crust Pizza

“Trump ally Richard Grenell joins Live Nation board amid antitrust probe”: https://shorturl.at/20cUD

You may not be aware that Bruce Springsteen just released an EP containing his anti-Trump rant. You can listen to “Land of Hope & Dreams” here:

Do I expect people to listen to what he has to say over and over again?

No, just like most people listened to Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul” once, if at all.

But what the posting of this EP represents…

First, oldsters are now living in the modern era. Forget the set-up, these Springsteen recordings were recorded literally one week ago, on May 14th.

Second, and even more important, is Bruce Springsteen is not backing down. Despite teams co-opting Tom Petty’s anthem to their advantage, that’s not the genesis nor the meaning of “I Won’t Back Down.” It’s quite simple:

“Well I know what’s right

I got just one life

In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around

But I’ll stand my ground

And I won’t back down”

Sports teams don’t care about what’s right, they’re constantly looking for an edge, even cheating. They’re all about groupthink as opposed to the individual, whereas artistry is the opposite.

You only do have one life. And you’ve got the choice to do what is right, but most people are afraid of this.

And this is what we’re seeing across this great nation of ours today.

Trump and his cronies don’t want to play by the rules.

As a result, lawyers and corporations are blinking, afraid of consequences, especially when Ed Martin says he will shame those who can’t be charged.

Which brings us to the sad case of Live Nation.

Of course the public has it wrong. They’re as misinformed as those who believe the “New York Times” is anathema and One America News has it right. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are not responsible for high ticket prices, that’s the province of the artist. But the artists will accept no responsibility and their fans can’t believe they’re at fault.

However, Live Nation has been sued by the Department of Justice and thirty state attorneys general, who are accusing the company of “monopolistic control” of live events.

So what’s a poor boy to do?

If you were born in the fifties or sixties, you joined a rock and roll band. If you’re younger than that, you join the bank, money is everything.

Now if you look at the Live Nation board… This is not a bastion of left wing thought, as a matter of fact, the seats controlled by Liberty and the Mays family are notoriously right wing.

But how cynical is it to hire Trump’s crony who is destroying the Kennedy Center? Hell, if he was doing such a great job all those acts whose shows Live Nation presents wouldn’t have pulled their dates from the legendary performing arts center!

But by putting Grenell on the board, Live Nation is not only appeasing Trump, they’re hoping to tilt the playing field in their favor. Because if you get in bed with Trump things tend to go your way, like the January 6th protesters. Hell, there is even talk that Trump is going to pardon Diddy if he gets convicted.

Back in the day, before the corporatization of this business, acts and promoters were legendary for fundraisers supporting left wing candidates and causes. But not cynical, expedient Live Nation.

So who can we rely on to speak truth to power?

The same ones we relied on back then, the artists. Springsteen is speaking up and Neil Young has supported him.

The artists have power, they could refuse to perform Live Nation shows, not making new deals and claiming force majeure… Insisting that Grenell be kicked off the board before they capitulate.

Of course the acts have this power. The entire business relies on the acts, without them it’s nothing, just like with the NBA and its players.

Then again, pro hoops players regularly stand up against injustice.

But today’s musicians are afraid of alienating one potential customer, afraid of losing a single dollar. Do you call that an artist? No, that’s a BUSINESSMAN!

Or woman.

Target’s numbers just went down because of boycotting after the company’s elimination of DEI policies.

The people have power and it always comes down to money.

Forget protesting in the street, just don’t buy a ticket to a Live Nation show. Just like lawyers are quitting and barking back at those firms that settled with Trump.

You want change? It comes from the person on the street, who has the ultimate power.

And the people on the street take their lead from uncompromised artists.

But too many shrug their shoulders and say this is not a big deal. And then they wake up and lose all their freedom and cannot regain it. The U.S. accepted that Qatar jet, what’s next?

So Bruce is doing the heavy lifting here. He’s taking the risk. He’s doing what an artist should. He’s a beacon to not only fans, but other artists. There’s power in numbers.

You don’t back down, you do what’s right.

And Live Nation is cynically doing what’s wrong.

You want to effect change? Start here. Live Nation depends on artists and fans, without them the company is worthless.

Your move.

Bob!

I was there. Devo was on fire. The boys don’t slow down, and the fact that they are playing tracks like Going Under, Gates of Steel and Smart Patrol with such fervor shows that they respect the core audience. But it looked like nobody came just to hear Whip It and move on anyway.

I currently have the honor of working with Mark on a live theatre show concept (think skateboarding + punk rock on a Broadway-ish skatepark stage). His energy is prolific, and he continues to come up with new ideas for our project while simultaneously creating some of the biggest movie soundtracks. It’s inspiring and dizzying.

Devo was ahead of their time and we are all still catching up. And Cruel World is a gift to our generation of misfits, from Midge Ure to Nick Cave and all the “New Wave” that we still hold dear.

Tony Hawk

____________________________________

So great to see you writing about the great Aimee Mann and the Til Tuesday reunion show at Cruel World. I signed the band to Epic (with an assist from John Boylan) after WBCN started playing their demo of “Love In A Vacuum” and the band won the annual ‘BCN Battle of the Bands. “Voices Carry” was just another song on the demo tape, going into the recording sessions we assumed “Love In a Vacuum” would be the first single. But from the moment Voices Carry was recorded, produced by Mike Thorne and single remixed by Bob Clearmountain we knew it was the song that could break them. Little known is that Aimee originally wrote the song about another woman. The unforgettable video which MTV awarded New Artist of the Year to helped the song go top 10.

Aimee continues to write amazing songs, release terrific albums (she won a Grammy for the “Mental Illness” album in 2018) and tours regularly but I was surprised and thrilled that she put the original band back together for this festival.

Dick Wingate

____________________________________

Very glad to hear you didn’t miss ‘Til Tuesday at the Rose Bowl. And yes, that was the original band of Aimee Mann on bass, Michael Hausman on drums, Joey Pesce on keyboards, and Robert Holmes on guitar, all still playing like it was 1985. Which also reminds me of how Dick Wingate and I came to sign the band to Epic Records some forty years ago.

The entire Epic A&R Department was in Boston that weekend, gathered to hear a band we were about to release called Face To Face, who were showcasing at a local club. Wingate was in from New York and I came in from LA. We met in the lobby of the hotel and decided to go to Durgin Park for dinner and then make it to the club, skipping the opening act and arriving in time for Face To Face. The line around that famous Boston restaurant was ridiculous, so we said, let’s just grab a burger at the club, which meant we would see the opening act which….  you guessed it, turned out to be ‘Til Tuesday.

I don’t mind saying I was transfixed by the band from the first downbeat. Aimee looked in complete command, with her spiky blond hair, low-keyed vocal style, incredibly intelligent lyrics, and mastery of the bass. Robert, Joey, and Michael were a perfect complement. Gator and I got really excited and decided to sign them on the spot. There were some headwinds – another CBS A&R guy had already passed on them. I stayed over in Boston and we took the band into Syncro Sound,  the Cars’ studio on Newbury St., to cut a demo. Gator took it to New York and we pushed the project through.

This past Friday, the band held a dress rehearsal at S.I.R. in Hollywood and as they ran through the set, I was transported right back to that time and place. Since then, I’ve always tried to get there in time for the opening act. Just in case.

Best,
John Boylan