Green Blade

I spent an hour today watching a recording of last night’s Public Theatre play on YouTube:

“What Do We Need To Talk About”

This is the latest chapter of the Apple Family. Previous stories have been performed over the past ten years.

But this is the first one to make its debut live on YouTube.

Broadway is now seen as a place for the out-of-towners to experience an overblown musical that has been running for years. And some of them are good, but most are not that different from the blockbusters shown on the big screen, all effects, a spectacular with little protein.

A play is something different. It’s the ultimate presentation of a story. And if you go to the theatre…

It’s so weird, everybody’s really on stage, it’s alive, and it’s being done just for the few people in the room. This is why Springsteen’s show on the Great White Way was such a hit, and the recorded version for Netflix was not. You see, you had to be there.

But when it’s done for the first time live online, without a net…

“What Do We Need To Talk About” is not a ten. But it captures a lot about life in these United States today. Especially the family Zoom calls. What is covered, people leaving the conversation… If you’re a fan of theatre, you should check this out. If not, know that the Public Theatre is pushing the envelope when music, the most immediate medium, is not. In music, we get live renditions of oldies, in fact, everyone’s holding back new stuff for fear of losing money. Meanwhile, that’s one of the great things about legitimate theatre, you can’t make that much money, so it’s first and foremost about the art.

But then I was just e-mailed this Steve Winwood video.

Winwood tried pushing the limits back in 2003. When most of his contemporaries had given up on releasing new music, Winwood released the LP “About Time” that was not only new, it was different from what came before, it was jazzy. But it started out on an independent label and it’s hard to get traction on radio if you’re old and it didn’t quite fit the rock format and…

Winwood toured the LP for years, it was astounding if you went to the shows.

And then he signed with Epic and made an album like he used to. The envelope was no longer being pushed.

This happens all the time. You see artists live in the eye of the hurricane. They get feedback from sycophantic friends and business associates, and they read the reviews, but they’ve got no idea how the public really feels, so they change directions when they should stay the course, they don’t know people are behind them and the only change necessary is the amplification of the story.

Now Winwood does oldies shows. But the strange thing is he hasn’t lost a step. He’s usually better than everybody he plays with. He blew Eric Clapton off the stage on their joint tour. You see Winwood still has the pipes, and he’s a vastly underrated player.

So yesterday, Winwood put out a new live video. You probably don’t know, even if you’re a Winwood fan, because it’s nearly impossible to get the message out, but a reader e-mailed me and…

I was enthralled.

Winwood is so good, you’ll think this is prerecorded, but it’s not. I went through that with Steve when he posted a version of “Can’t Find My Way Home” recorded in front of his crackling fire.

Now through the magic of the internet, you’re transported to a field in the U.K., your mind is immediately set free.

And then Steve starts to pick.

This is not fake, this is not treated, this is just acoustic music, no different from how it’s been for eons.

And then Steve starts to sing, and so does your heart. It reminds me of seeing him perform “John Barleycorn” at the Fillmore East, back in 1970.

It’s an old hymn, and being Jewish, I don’t know it. And I’m waiting for the chorus, for Steve to bust out with that vibrant emotion he’s famous for.

But that’s not the song.

But in this world of duplicity, humanity can still reign, even if it’s conveyed by digits.

You’ll feel like you’re sitting in that field alone, right in front of Steve, taking it all in. You’ll be transported in a way only music can do.

Plays can show you life.

When done right, music is life itself.

“Green Blade” will touch your soul, and isn’t that what you’re looking for?

Broken

This is Don Winslow’s best book.

Winslow is most famous for his drug cartel trilogy. You should check it out. “The Power of the Dog” is excellent, “The Cartel” is even better, however last year’s finale, “The Border,” is a disappointment.

You see Winslow has a couple of writing styles. One dense, another minimalist. To read something in the latter style, check out “Savages,” or “The Gentlemen’s Hour.” They’re easily read, and the former was made into a substandard Oliver Stone movie, but watcha gonna do.

And although I liked Winslow’s 2017 book, “The Force,” about New York City cops, in retrospect it was not completely satisfying, it was almost like an abstract expressionist novel, not everything was clear, not everything was comprehensible, and ultimately you got the final story, but I do not want to recommend it.

But, once again, I want to recommend the drug cartel series.

You see Winslow seems to know more about the dope scene than any other writer. Sure, there might be some people in the government, some students of the game who know more, but they don’t write, certainly not in a readable way. If you want to understand all about the Sinaloans, the distribution of heroin today, just read the trilogy.

Not that it’s didactic. There’s a story, involving people, it’s not dry, it’s not only facts and figures, like “Midnight in Chernobyl,” which I finished recently.

I needed more about Russia and the nuclear disaster. “Midnight in Chernobyl” has a five star rating on Amazon, it was one of the “New York Times” best books of the year, but it’s not as good as the HBO series, it’s dry, the people don’t come alive, it’s a tome, good luck getting through it. I did, as I’ve said previously, if I buy it I finish it. It’s less about getting my money’s worth, and more about completion. Because if I don’t complete this book, what else won’t I finish? It’s kinda like listening to playlists. You’re into it, and then then it flows into a track you’d rather not hear, but if you skip that one, you end up skipping a bunch thereafter, and your good mood is broken. So I try to endure what I’m not dying to hear, at least in my self-created playlists, as for those curated by others, all bets are off.

If you’re interested in getting a taste of Don Winslow’s drug knowledge, I point you to these two magazine articles. Even if you’re not going to read the trilogy, check these out, you’ll learn so much.

“El Chapo and the Secret History of the Heroin Crisis”

“The Dirty Little Secret of El Chapo’s Downfall”

So, Winslow’s new book, “Broken,” is comprised of short stories.

These books are almost always unsatisfying, you get into a story and then it ends, I was reluctant. But Steve Martin bought me a copy and I had to check it out.

I’m glad I did.

The first story was a bit dense and then…

I got hooked.

Yes, this is crime fiction. People get murdered. So, if you can’t handle that, maybe this book isn’t for you.

But Winslow has an amazing way of detailing characters, they come alive, you know them, especially if you live in Southern California, where most of these stories take place. We resonate when a writer lays down what we see, when they encapsulate and add to our vision, and Winslow has got a skill for this, raising him above too much two-dimensional crime fare.

And living in internet, celebrity culture, we lose track with daily life, ordinary people, who may not be broke, but may not be famous, who are just doing their job. Normally, these people are not three-dimensional in either the news or on television, but in writing…that’s where you can do it, which is one of the reasons the written word will never be supplanted by video.

And Winslow has incredible skill when it comes to love. That warm feeling you have that you wonder if someone else has. And how do you respond? Do you say something or not, do you double-down, do you ask for a date. Two people have feelings for each other, but that does not mean the other one knows, nor does it mean they’re going to end up together, nor does it mean they know how to follow those feelings into a sustained relationship.

And laws have consequences. Change ’em, and you might be out of business.

Enforce them and you might end up with a result you do not want.

I’ve got to admit, I didn’t really feel the sin of the incarceration of those illegally crossing the border until I read the final story in this collection. You’ve got a right wing Fox viewer, confronted with reality. And it’s not black and white, nothing ever is. And that’s why the story is so good.

And the silent suffering.

And the struggle of life. We think everybody is paid attention to, everybody’s got their place, but the truth is many fall through the cracks. You can be damn smart and end up nowhere. Is anybody looking out for you? Do you have the wherewithal to make good choices and stick with them?

This is not difficult reading. “Broken” is the kind of book you will enjoy even if you only crack one book a year. Not to say that it’s lowbrow, but that it nails the essence of life with a lot of plot, it makes you think and you reach a point where…

You cannot put it down.

Is this the number one diversion for Covid-19?

I’m not sure.

But it’s definitely one I recommend. It’ll make you think about more than what is in the news today without being a total fantasy. It’ll root you in life, making you feel like an outsider at the same time you feel connected.

That’s right. Few care about you. Maybe your family, maybe a couple of friends. The media doesn’t care. So how do you navigate life?

The characters in “Broken” are trying and not always succeeding. These are real people. You’ll dig this.

Bassist for the Go-Go’s, Kathy Valentine recently published a memoir, “All I Ever Wanted,” that is a must-read. Listen as she tells tales of growing up without limits as the daughter of a single parent, venturing to Los Angeles to make it and becoming a member of the Go-Go’s. Valentine is articulate and quite the raconteur, you’ll dig this.

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There’s never gonna be peace in the Middle East.

Unless the Arabs succeed in eliminating the Jews.

The “R” word the Israelis are up against isn’t rationality, but religion. Everybody in Gaza, everybody south of Hebron, greets each other in a religious way. Religion is baked-in to everyday life. To a limit even the Evangelicals don’t push. But both believe they’re going to be saved in the afterlife.

And life in Gaza ain’t so good to begin with.

The power goes out. There are few opportunities for work. Best to dedicate your efforts to a cause.

Now, in these days of political correctness, you can’t call a spade a spade, you certainly cannot use that word to describe a black person, oops, an African-American. And somehow, you’re unenlightened if you don’t see the plight of the Palestinians and blame Israel.

Israel is not blameless. Netanyahu is not a saint and the settlements in the West Bank are just asking for retaliation.

But once again, the Palestinians won’t be satisfied until Israel no longer exists. Would you fight for your very existence?

I’m sure you would.

Right now, you’re at home worried about a deadly virus. But you also know if you stay home, you most assuredly will stay safe. Whereas in Israel nowhere is safe. Your life is constantly on the line. It’s palpable, you can feel it in the air.

But “Fauda” is not about the big issues, a theoretical two-state solution that the Arabs have refused to ever agree to, the Israeli government, no it’s about the ongoing war between the two sides, and neither emerges a winner, it just goes on and on and on.

Now season three is different from seasons one and two.

Usually, these series that are a surprise hit falter after their initial success. The producers/actors/directors wing it the first time around, they’re not self-conscious, they’ll try anything, after all no one is paying attention. But when everybody is…

We laud the basketball players. They’re incredible under pressure. But they’re not reinventing the game. That’s the essence of creative work, you start with a blank slate. Sure, you might have some parameters, the characters from the season before, but you’ve got to make it up out of thin air.

But “Fauda” delivered, season two was just as good as season one.

But the first two seasons were about the nuts and bolts. How the Israeli and Arab bosses speak to each other, how there are constant skirmishes.

Season three is about the action.

Hebron is part of Israel, but it’s never been safe for Jews. You enter uptight and you do not close an eye, assuming you enter at all.

As for Gaza…

That’s what frightens all the Israelis, going into Gaza.

So, at first you’ve got no idea what is going on, Doron seems to be hanging with Arabs, or..? It’s confusing. But then it comes clear.

And it seems contrived, seems like a typical cops and robbers Hollywood thriller but it just doesn’t work out that way. Of course Doron can’t die, he’s the star, but everybody else is fair game.

So what we’ve got here is a group of adrenaline junkies. They’re willing to face fear, put their lives on the line all the time for the good of the country.

Not that they’re automatons.

Sure, their home lives suffer, but they have emotions. That’s one of the best parts of this season, seeing how the team deals, or doesn’t deal, with loss.

But just when you’ve got it figured out, when you wince because you’re sure you know what is gonna happen, it doesn’t go down that way.

And once again, victory is only temporary. And the worst offenders can be returned in a prisoner swap. It’s a game, but it involves life and death.

Now there are all these canards about TV watching. That you’ve got to have someone to care about, that you must be invested in a character, there must be an uplifting ending.

Well, you root for Doron, but you’re not sure you want to be friends with him. You’re not sure he can be friends with anybody, but he’s loyal.

As for Lior Raz, who plays Doron, he used to be a bodyguard for Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, he’s not only tough on the show, he’s tough in real life.

And he doesn’t have a Hollywood look. He’s not cute or precious, this is not Brad Pitt, this is the guy down the street on a mission, and that’s who we’re drawn to, just like we’re drawn to the doctors and nurses and hospital workers during this coronavirus crisis. Surface only goes so far. Especially when your truth is exposed in this internet age and we oftentimes find out you’re a soulless dummy, an empty vessel.

So, there’s action, it’s gripping, but it’s also real.

There’s an inside joke in the middle, when in Gaza someone talks about Kentucky Fried Chicken. That was a thing, it was in the news a few years back, the Arabs tunneled to Israel to bring back KFC.

The tunnels. They’re here too. These are not the tunnels of the Sinaloans, these look like they were built by the military, you can argue they were. With finished walls and…

You can’t quite divorce yourself from the show. With most movies and TV shows they ask you to suspend disbelief. But the truth is the Israelis and the Arabs are fighting against each other as I write this.

And it’s not the low-tech war of yore, but highly digitized.

And if you only like happy shows, with no bullets and no deaths, you should watch this anyway. Because this truly is real life, these people put their lives on the line for you. And despite all the hosannas, the adulation comes and goes nearly instantly, everybody goes back to their regular life and those on the front line, stay on the front line.

Duplicity, family, honor, credibility, all the characteristics of humanity are evidenced in “Fauda.” And for those of us surrounded by our gadgets, surfing the internet, the Arab/Israeli crisis is almost appealing. These people have something to live for, a cause. It’s not about money, it’s not about your place on the totem pole, all the markers we judge each other by in the U.S. are nearly irrelevant.

And that’s one of the things too often missing from American life today, meaning.

Without meaning life is empty.

You think you want to retire, to do what?

And you work all those years at a job you far from like just so you can earn a pile of money so you can stop doing it?

Once again, these people in the show are not robots. They’ve got feelings, but that does not conflict with their mission.

Not that “Fauda” needs to be on the top of your streaming list, but it needs to be there somewhere.

For far too long television meant mindless. And although there’s still a lot of bogus entertainment on the flat screen, there’s a plethora of meaning there too, even more than you see in theatres, good riddance.

You see life is about story.

That’s what propels hip-hop.

But the best stories on television embody truth. And somehow, in music, we’ve left truth out of the equation, we equate success with chart position and dollars and making it is so difficult you’ll compromise all your values in an effort to succeed.

But the characters in “Fauda” won’t.

That’s the difference.

You should experience it.