How’d he go from zero to hero overnight?

Identity, credibility, owning his viewpoints and expressing them.

Sound like a rock star? That’s what they used to have before everybody wanted to be a brand, when the penumbra became more important than the music.

The identity… You practiced, you didn’t emerge out of nowhere fully-formed. Duane Allman even took his guitar to the bathroom. It’s what you do when no one’s looking that counts. And the rock stars of yore specialized in saying no as opposed to yes. You couldn’t convince ’em and you couldn’t buy ’em and they channeled their songs from the heart.

The media has been wrong again and again. It said that Biden was a shoo-in and Bernie was too old. Anybody who follows Joe knows he has a tendency to blow himself up, and he’s mishandled this #MeToo/touching affair… You get two choices, deny or apologize. Anywhere in between does not register, we do not believe it, we cannot accept it.

And they said that Hickenlooper’s name was too tough, a hazard.

And they said a black man couldn’t win.

But now we’ve got a gay mayor who’s captured the hearts of the people.

Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist, don’t tell me you’re a Republican and you hate Buttigieg, you’re missing the point, you’re part of the problem. The point here is the media was out of touch and wrong.

Everybody keeps saying social media is the problem… What about the mainstream media? Not the one Sarah Palin attacked, but the one that is holier-than-thou and thinks it knows what’s going on when it doesn’t.

The story of the week is the expose on the Murdochs in the “New York Times Magazine.” How they could waste a year and deliver so little at such length is beyond me, but the article did illustrate the power of the media… As in “The Sun” might have pushed Brexit over the line. And when you tune in Fox News, it’s like an alternative universe. The conspiracy is on the left, to bring down Trump, and the result of the Mueller report should be a special prosecutor, to look into the Dems’ heinous behavior. Yup, they actually said this. And if you watch, you believe. Hell, you believed all the stuff your parents told you, didn’t you?

We live in a misinformation society. The TV is all talking heads, analyzing what the newspapers break, and the papers have their heads up their tushies and can’t see what is truly happening, they’ve got blind spots, they live in an echo chamber. No reporter’s got a name, so they’re not subject to blowback. I know this because I get it. Say anything political online and you’re gonna hear from the trolls, but those pontificating for the big boys are clueless.

But in such a fractured media world, how did Buttigieg get traction?

Well, politics is the only movie we’re all paying attention to. I read “Shazam” won the weekend, I can’t tell you what it’s about and I don’t care, the title says it all. I think it’s some kind of superhero movie, a fantasy for the masses too dumb to know they’re pawns in the game.

As for records, we’ve got the curious case of Billie Eilish. I like everything about it but the tunes. I mean they’re all right, but this is what the industry comes up with? We used to come up with jaw-droppers on a regular basis. Now we’ve got people following in footsteps playing to ever narrower niches. Imagine if some act decided to play to everybody, by doing it in a new way. That was the story of the Beatles. Everybody was asleep, Capitol even passed on the first album, but Brian Epstein pushed and the band broke through. It always comes down to one person who believes and pushes, without them you never make it.

But today’s musical acts shoot low. As long as the Soundcloud/Spotify crew approves of them, they’re satiated as they sign up sponsors and create hair products.

And then you’ve got the curious case of Beyonce, who waited a year to release her rave-reviewed appearance at Coachella. What, is this 1969 and Woodstock? You strike when the buzz is hot. But no, they had to get the marketing right. He who delays loses these days.

My point is we’ve got no Buttigieg in the music business. Maybe Ed Sheeran, but all the media does is piss on him, mainly because he’s so successful. Goes with the territory these days, but he’s selling songs when everybody else is selling beats, and he sings from the heart, what a concept.

But what this all means is you too can be a hero overnight.

Used to be you had to align with the machine. But the machine has lost its way. In every entertainment medium. Everybody’s so calculating, that nothing rings true. That’s the story of Hillary Clinton, she just didn’t seem authentic. Oh, don’t tell me she was the most qualified person for the job, I think so too, but if this was about credentials, Trump never would have won, but he did.

By saying what no one else would. They can swear on HBO, but not in the “New York Times,” why? Trump uses the f-word, whose ears are we protecting?

So Buttigieg went to Harvard and served in Afghanistan with the Navy. Hard to argue with that CV. Oh, I’m sure Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson and Trump will, but that’s not the point. You can’t convince those whose minds are closed, but those whose minds are open…

And Buttigieg stood up to Pence, who keeps getting a pass despite views outside of the mainstream. Hell, give George Clooney credit for standing up to the Sultan of Brunei. You want to be stoned for being gay? It happens there first, and here later. Like anti-Semitism. We thought it was something in Europe, but now it’s in the open here. And some people shrug. But the point is no one is immune.

And Buttigieg is gay.

And most people don’t care.

Gen-X and millennials grew up with gay people on MTV. You see, the media has influence, young and middle-aged people have got no problem with gay people, only old set in their way and marginalized people do. That’s the conundrum of America, how we’re moving forward and backward at the same time. We’ve got computers in our hands, but we’re using them to spew hatred and argue like we’re in grade school in the last century. Does anybody remember PROGRESS?

I’d like not to think of politics all day. But it’s the only story we all watch and talk about. We’ve all got something at risk. We’re all afraid of what the future will bring, no matter what side of the spectrum you’re on.

We stopped paying attention to movies. They’re niche products for the marginalized.

As for TV… It may be a golden age, but it’s still a one way medium. They make it and you watch it and even “Game of Thrones” garners a relatively small audience.

And music is all niche. The only ones with universal mindshare are the classic acts

Because we’ve got no Buttigieg.

He didn’t change his name for consumption.

This ain’t Hollywood, this is real life.

And the question is, if the media missed Buttigieg, focusing on Biden, what else is the media missing?

Plenty.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday April 9th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetz

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: LefsetzLive

We’re gonna run out of headliners.

I was looking at the ad for the Governors Ball, and once I got below the row of headliners, everyone was a nobody, or close to it. So you’d go to the festival to see the headliners. Can Tyler, The Creator really draw? Is Lil Wayne a bit long in the tooth? Brockhampton a top-liner? I don’t think so.

That’s Friday. On Saturday, you’ve got Florence + The Machine, Major Lazer and the 1975. The 1975 have not broken through in the U.S., however good they might be, Major Lazer is a great act, but their drawing power..?, and Florence + The Machine put out their first album in 2009, ten years ago, and then the landscape was totally different, now it’s fractured.

As for Sunday, the Strokes are has-beens, albeit from New York, Nas is a cipher and SZA is not a headliner.

Used to be the music of headliners was known by everybody, they might not like it, but they knew it. Today, no. Even amongst the younger generation these festivals appeal to. There is no MTV. Radio is not key, especially amongst this demo, you’re deep in your silo, there’s a good chance none of these headliners at the Governors Ball appeal to you. As for the undercard…pay all that money to see nobodies? I don’t think so.

Yes, live business is good. Because it provides an experience you cannot get online.

But despite all this hoopla about recorded music revenues bouncing back, the truth is no one dominates like they used to, despite the inane articles talking about Ariana Grande and others breaking “Billboard” records. Hell, even “Billboard” has no idea what it is anymore. With a dearth of industry advertising, it appeals to the hoi polloi. But the writing is so poor, does anybody get past the headlines? Used to be wannabes read “Billboard” and dreamed, now they’re’ better off reading “Pollstar” to find out what’s really going on.

But chances are they’re doing neither, they’re busy trying to become stars themselves. And they might not be playing music, they might try to become influencers.

And this is another thing the media gets wrong. They think that there’s one chart of popularity and it rules and we still care about actors. No, in today’s world authenticity is everything, and actors are inherently inauthentic, they play roles, who cares what they eat for lunch?

You’re better off following the Kardashians. They’re true to themselves and richer.

So, if you go the festival to hang and show off, headliners are not so important. But at this price, is the festival the best place to do that?

My point being we may see shrinkage. As it is, festivals are falling by the wayside. So, you end up with Coachella, Outside Lands, Lollapalooza and maybe ACL. After that… Hell, is Bonnaroo bouncing back this year purely because of Phish, a thirty year old act?

If you made it before the internet era, before it all blew apart, everybody’s aware of you, even if it’s just knowledge of your name and genre, like Phish. But go to the undercard on these festivals and most acts are unknown by everybody but the promoter. There’s not much there to appeal to you. And as time passes by, and the old acts die or fade away, who is going to replace them…NOBODY! No one has that kind of mindshare.

Rich Greenfield tweeted that “Grey’s Anatomy” pulled a 1.5 amongst the target demo, 18-49. That’s not even 2 million people! And sure, more watched it via DVR, but the point is even a show that made it before the great disintegration is viewed by a tiny sliver of Americans today. We’re all in our own niches. Meaning, one act may be able to do sold out business in arenas with a rabid fanbase, but that does not mean they have national mindshare. Hell, Ghost sold out the Forum in L.A. Heard of them? Believe me, only their fans and some insiders have.

So, I’m not saying that live business will crater, but I am saying that festivals will feel the hit. As we go on, there will be fewer and fewer headliners, no matter how good they might be, most of the public will not know them. Sure, there can be individuals holding their own festival, and theme festivals, but after that…

Well, maybe if the festival itself is a great experience irrelevant of the acts, but how many qualify as that?

We live in a changing world. Who cares about the increase of recording revenue. The media and the recording industry have been wrong ever since Napster.

According to the “Wall Street Journal,” Apple Music has 28 million paying subscribers in the U.S. and Spotify 26 million. Together, that’s 54 million in a country of just over 300 million. That’s pretty damn good. And didn’t we hear for years that no one was gonna pay for music anymore? What b.s. and lack of insight that demonstrated.

And it used to be that most people bought one CD a year. Now, they’ve got the entire history of recorded music at their fingertips, so this means more is listened to and it benefits niches. Forget what piece of the financial pie you end up with from the streaming service, there are many ways to monetize an audience, with live gigs and merchandise and…

But we’ve got a ton of cottage industry acts and a bunch of theatre acts only known by their fans and superstars who are not. The big acts today are playing minor league ball compared to the hitmakers of yesterday, they’re just not reaching as many people!

So when you see festival lineups and scratch your head, wondering about the draw, know that you’re not the only one, most everybody feels this way, youngsters too. It’s not the same value proposition it once was. So you’ve got to really love standing in the mud or sun or both, or you’re waiting to buy a ticket for the act that you really love at the building near you.

Or excising yourself from the scene entirely, turned off by ticket prices and the bad experience. That’s right, to a great degree live music is now a luxury item. Bars have canned music or dj’s and the clubs went out of business. So most people think twice about going. The business is evolving, and you’ve got to see around corners, or be left behind.

The Individualist: Digressions, Dreams & Dissertations

He definitely wrote it.

And no one proofread it.

This surprised me. Rundgren’s a known quantity, he almost made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I figured it was finally time for his autobiography. You know, you hire a ghostwriter, tell your tale, sling a little dirt, and you’re done. Another exercise in capital attainment.

That’s not what “The Individualist” is.

The mistakes drive you wild, it makes the whole affair appear amateurish.

But I couldn’t put the book down.

This is not “The Dirt,” insider stories that make your jaw drop.

And the funny thing is…other than the end, when Rundgren owns up to his family obligations, you don’t really like him.

But you learn so much.

We know the career arc. You play bars, you have hits, you were on VH1’s “Behind the Music,” and now you’re playing sheds every summer to pay your bills.

That is not Todd Rundgren. He is truly an individualist. Experimenting, confounding expectations, alienating others while he satisfies himself.

Every page is a chapter. He says you can read it out of order, but I wouldn’t, it’s written chronologically.

And what you learn is his father never showed affection, he was bad in school, and when he left home at eighteen, he was gone for good.

And all the usual topics are not covered. How he learned guitar, the ins and outs of his career. Instead, what you get is how Todd felt during all of it.

We tend to think of these musicians as stars. You read “The Individualist” and you end up thinking of Rundgren as a musician. Which is kind of funny in today’s era. Yes, he takes digs at the internet world now and again, but he’s moving forward, and not always successfully, but he keeps going.

Talks about being in Nazz and failing, about taking Marlene to London and her disappearing. That might not mean much to you, but if you bought and listened to “Something/Anything?” you’ll understand.

Engineering and producing records under the aegis of Albert Grossman, paying the man what he didn’t deserve to go free.

Living with two women in one house at the same time. It’s not what you think. One has started playing for the other team. As for Bebe Buell…he’s got not a single good word to say. But you hear him struggling. He doesn’t think this is forever, but he can’t break it off.

And in the middle, after his success, he buys an around the world Pan Am ticket and visits Morocco and Turkey and Iran and India…even buys a moped to get around. This is not the rock star lifestyle, this is little different from the way you or I do it, or even college students, albeit with more money in traveler’s checks.

And Todd admits to going bankrupt.

And he’s not a love everybody kind of guy, he calls out the injustices and bad behavior he sees.

And there’s a lesson on every page.

But he sums it all up at the bottom of page 95. Something radically different from what we see in the music business today, something we’re yearning for, the individualist.

“Most people, if they have a calling, will likely not realize what it is. Conformity is still the foundation of most societies and if your calling takes you too far out of the mainstream you are on shaky territory and nothing is guaranteed. But if you can succeed at it you’ll find that many have tried and failed to survive on that barren plain and if you do survive you represent their hopes. Your calling is to hold that ground. You are the individualist.”

If you’re a Todd Rundgren fan, you should read this book.

If you’re not…you may not catch the references, but this is the journey of a man who was loath to repeat himself, who went his own way, a wizard, a true star.

He’s a beacon.