Democrats need a bold agenda. Here’s what they should do in the first 100 days of Congress.

I’m kinda weirded-out.

Yesterday Angelica died, and she was full of life. We met nearly twenty years ago, when she worked for Atlantic Records. I went through my e-mail last night and found one from last spring where she detailed the treatment for her cancer. Hard to think someone’s gone when they’re so fierce on the page.

And one thing Geli e-mailed me about consistently was Bernie Sanders. Not that I made the connection last night, but I did today. After reading Bernie’s piece in the WaPo.

I know, I know, you’re not supposed to discuss politics, or religion, on Thanksgiving. Even worse, you can’t really change somebody’s mind. Furthermore, I get the WSJ, which is like a disinformation society, topsy-turvy, electric cars bad, Russia didn’t interfere in the election, and if you let the corporations run free all issues will be solved.

And I’m open-minded, I read what the writers have to say, but then I turn to the NYT and the WaPo and get a completely different take. And in an era where even a right wing Supreme Court Justice has to stand up to Trump, it’s hard to be optimistic about America. Then again, Roberts saved health care, sometimes people do the right thing.

But not often these days. Like Facebook. Protect yourself at all costs. The Street is your boss. Deliver profits and forget about the proletariat.

And that’s how we ended up with Trump to begin with.

I know, I know, now they say it’s racism. Then again, how do you feel when other colors eclipse you? It’s all rolled up in one ball of wax, and it’s hard to trust a media that got America so wrong to begin with, that couldn’t see Trump coming.

So every day I wake up and get on my phone. I have a folder with all the news apps. I see the insights from “New York” magazine. I go to the L.A. “Times” last, the paper being an illustration of what cutbacks to protect your margins leaves you with, close to nothing.

And when I got to the WaPo this morning, I saw this headline, “Democrats need a bold agenda. Here’s what they should do in the first 100 days of Congress.”

The media missed Bernie Sanders too. And if the socialist from Vermont had started earlier, he’d be President today. We thought it was an outsider run, making a point, but it turned out Sanders captured the mood of America best, and his agenda was positive, unlike Trump’s negative. Sanders was all about truth, justice and the American Way. And we’re looking for a Superman to solve our problems, to lift us above this crazy world full of strongmen and people voting for them, America used to be a beacon for Democracy, the country you could count on helping you out.

No more.

But Bernie is too old and…

By gosh, I’m reading his words today and they resonate, I want to throw my fist in the air, he’s unafraid, he’s leading, he’s direct, he makes sense and…

That’s been the problem with Democrats for too long. They’ve been playing defense, they’re on react. They let the Republicans define the game and then they play it poorly. Bernie wants to bat first.

The middle class has been eviscerated. Income inequality is a huge issue. We’re supposed to venerate the winners, but the victors are duplicitous turds with blind spots who oftentimes got a leg up upon birth and are out of touch with the issues confronting the hoi polloi.

Who doesn’t want better wages? Who doesn’t want the guaranteed health care the rest of the western world offers? Who doesn’t want to help our seniors? And if you take prescription drugs and you’re not horrified each and every time you go to the pharmacy, even with insurance, you’re rich.

These are the things Bernie Sanders is standing for. This is a positive agenda. And he’s talking about Democrats, he’s not an outsider independent, but one of the team.

You remember teams, before we were all in it for ourselves? You can’t win without a team, ask Serena Williams, who got signals from her coach illicitly during the Open.

Without optimism we die. Living in our silos we die. That’s what the internet has wrought, a Tower of Babel society. And no one seems to want to combat it. Whether it be the famous wankers wanting to use the system to promote their wares or the individuals looking to garner fame and attention. The music business has been broken by too much music. Didn’t they say the internet was gonna make it so no one wanted to make music anymore? Another negative viewpoint from those refusing to accept the present, never mind the future.

I want a better world. One of harmony, where you love your brother and sister. Where you believe you have a voice. Where injustice is not tolerated. That can get on the right course and continue to succeed.

And what impressed me most in Bernie Sanders’s screed, was the focus on climate change. You’ve got to tackle the big issues. And acknowledge facts. Without facts you’ve got chaos.

And in this era of chaos, politics reigns supreme. Because it is focused on the people. For far too long, government was in the background, life was free and easy, like in the nineties. But things have changed, and too many refuse to change with them. Like those right wingers that want to jet back to a past that didn’t exist in the first place.

The future is here. We need leaders. We need optimism. We need truth.

I’m sick and tired of everybody pulling punches, putting their finger to the wind before speaking, afraid of angering some potential constituency. Honesty is the best policy. Didn’t you learn that in the first grade?

When people speak the truth it resonates.

We’ve got a war for the soul of our country right now.

This past election illustrates that despite gerrymandering more people are upset about where we’re going than aren’t.

Let those who abhor life reside in their backwater. Trumpeting their main streets and albums and buggy whips. Until you acknowledge where we are now, you can’t solve the problems.

I’m thankful that Bernie Sanders surprised me with his spot-on piece today.

That’s the power of the individual, that’s the power of the word.

Meanwhile, we’re more together, more alike than projected by the press.

Watch the parade on TV, watch the NFL which has been revolutionized by passing, as a result of trying to save hits to the passer. Eat turkey. And talk. Talk is the highway to the future. And listen. And know that although you cannot change someone’s mind on the spot, you can plant seeds that will grow in the future.

So now I’m contradicting myself. Now I’m evidencing hope. I’m pro-engagement. Because I just can’t help myself. I want a better America. I want a better world. I want to take care of others. We can’t make it alone.

But we can make it here.

Not every leader is a celebrity with a clothing line and a perfume. Some rely on their essence to make it. Whether it be Neil Young in music or Bernie Sanders in politics. Be who you are. Let your freak flag fly. Know that you are enough and we can make it if we really try.

I am trying.

I know you are too.

Here’s to a better tomorrow.

Over and out.

Tune in today, Tuesday November 20, on Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

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

Twitter: @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive

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“No one gives you power. You have to take it from them.”

Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi’s Last Battle

“You have to skate where the puck is going, not where it has been.” Wayne Gretzky’s statement could be the most famous aphorism of our lifetimes, yet still many ignore it.

That’s why Irving Azoff continues to win. He can see where the puck is going. He’s always two steps ahead, ask anybody who knows or deals with him, not the rabble rousers who talk crap about him, those with power learn to ignore the haters, otherwise they cannot succeed.

Yet the media is littered with commentators saying we must stop Facebook. But the truth is we must stop Instagram and WhatsApp, both ironically owned by Facebook, both where the puck is going.

Unless you live in the U.S., or China, you’re aware that the de facto messaging platform is WhatsApp. But it’s more than text, it’s more than iMessage, it’s got groups, you can live your whole live on WhatsApp, and misinformation on WhatsApp was one of the reasons Jair Bolsonaro was elected in Brazil, but American citizens hew to Trump’s nationalism, believing the rest of the world does not count.

But it does.

Mark Zuckerberg could see where the puck was going, that’s why he purchased WhatsApp and Instagram. Snap stayed single, it’s in the process of dying. Sometimes you have to sell. The skill is knowing when.

So the world is divided into two groups, those seizing power and those refraining from doing so. The latter believe they’re entitled to a fair deal, or have given up and are pessimistic. But the individual can change everything, like Alastair Mactaggart, who nearly single-handedly got California’s new privacy bill passed. Congress holds hearings, Mactaggart gets things done.

Kind of like Pelosi.

I know, I know, she’s been demonized by the right, give Republicans credit, they’ve been playing a long game. Most notably with the Federalist Society. When the left turns on itself, after Elizabeth Warren takes a DNA test that shows she’s a smidgen of Native American, the right circles the wagons and laughs. It’s a skill to get people to turn on their own leaders.

But Pelosi is not backing down, and the Democratic cabal that is attacking her…has no candidate. This is like saying you’re gonna win a game without fielding a team, or win a boxing match with no fighter, you not only lose the contest, you lose ground.

Now today’s artists have got it all wrong. They believe power is playing the business person’s game. But the business person is duplicitous, the artist’s power comes from truth, embodied in their art. And there’s this concept that that power is immediate, when the truth is it’s also a long game. Bob Dylan was making records long before he was an icon. But he never would have reached the heights without Albert Grossman. You see artists need business people to do their dirty work, and to aid them in their vision.

So where does this leave you?

You’ve got to decide, are you a leader or a follower. And today, more than ever, followers get screwed. Unions have been decimated, there is no long term employment. If you’re putting your faith in others you’re the ball in the pinball machine when you want to be the flippers.

Not that everybody can be a leader. Then again, the U.S. is a giant pecking order centered around a greased ladder.

But, you must know who you are, you must be a student of the game, you must know when to risk.

That’s what the techies really talk about when they say failure is a badge of honor, they walk into the wilderness without a net, with no guarantee. Most people are afraid of doing that, they’re worried about moving backwards on the game board of life.

And it’s also why the scions of the powerful rarely are powerful themselves. They grew up in a cushy environment, removed from the action, they have not learned the rules, they’re unaware of the people their parents killed to succeed.

I’m speaking metaphorically, but if you’re not willing to hurt another’s career or business, don’t become a leader.

And a leader is about loyalty. If you read the above article about Pelosi you’ll see she insists on it. And you may criticize her for it, but she’s playing a long game, she wants to get her legislation passed, it’s all in service to the goal. The route may be ugly, but in politics the end justifies the means.

And you want to be loyal to the powerful of your choice. That’s why Irving is loyal to Rapino. Rapino holds the purse strings, you don’t want to alienate those who pay, those whose choices you depend upon.

Furthermore, you must be willing to raise your voice, make a stand if you’re powerful. Notice that all the powerful tend to be colorful characters? You just wish you could be like them, but you’re afraid of the blowback, you just want everybody to love you,

Meanwhile, the powerful are not self-deprecating. Don’t play that game, the powerful are supremely self-confident. When someone is making fun of themselves they take themselves out of the game. Then again, there is a style in which it succeeds, but that’s a deeper lesson.

But Americans can’t handle the truth. They don’t want to learn the lessons. And they alternately admire and denigrate power as they’re whipsawed by those who have it.

Furthermore, the powerful are rarely brought up in the system. They tend to be outsiders. That’s one of the reasons the music business is moribund, almost nobody involved ever had their own money at risk. Except Irving, Rapino and Jay Marciano. They understand the game, and power. It’s visceral when it’s your own money on the line.

And Chance the Rapper. Sure, he did it outside the system with a backer, but still it was a huge risk. Taylor Swift was never going to go to Spotify, that’s inane, she needs the label team to deliver press and spins via their ongoing connections. But this is not a story, she’s now on the downswing, nobody lasts forever, and despite most of her tour doing well, her album did abysmally, certainly regarding expectations, so those who think this is a story are not Wayne Gretzky, certainly not Irving Azoff. As for extracting a promise that Universal would split Spotify stock proceeds with artists regardless of their royalty position, that’s like Kirsten Gillibrand saying she would not run for President in 2020 and then reversing course. Meanwhile, Spotify’s stock is now in the dumper, Universal’s not selling now, if ever, by owning that stock they have impact, you never ignore such a big stockholder, owning a piece gives you power. Yes, Lucian Grainge knows how to play the power game.

And the truly powerful stay out of the press, or utilize their PR people to trade horses and spin stories. Because they can deliver access, and without it you’re doomed.

That’s what you want, access, to the powerful, so you can see how the game is played. And if you don’t want power, you’re going down, not up. And one of the reasons artists today are so powerless is because they’re uneducated and from the lower classes. The middle class that used to inhabit the chart understood their power, and learned their most powerful asset was the ability to say no. That’s right, no to the sponsor, no to the candidate, no to the label, no to the promoter. Your power is worthless unless you exercise it. But don’t employ your theoretical leverage if you have none.

Now the weak and uninformed will e-mail me about Nancy Pelosi, painting a negative picture. They missed the point. Too many people miss the point.

That’s right, don’t look where the puck is, but where it’s going.

And then strike at the right moment and seize power.

Then you’re truly in the game.

Well there’s just a little bit of magic
In the country music we’re singin’

Richie Furay did not expect to be here fifty years later, and neither did we. It’s not that we saw rock music as a fad, but that we thought we’d never get old, and if per chance we did, we’d be just like our parents, wearing conservative clothing and going to classical concerts and the opera.

But it didn’t turn out that way at all.

Richie Furay has had a peripatetic career, but he’s always had the music in him, he’s never been able to fully give up, although he tried. Most significantly in the sixties, when after failing to break through in New York City, he used an uncle’s connections to work at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut. He assured this relative that he’d be there for fifty years, get the gold watch, but when his buddy Gram Parsons insisted he listen to the Byrds album, he quit, and sent a letter to find his old friend Stephen Stills, to start over, to try once again.

Richie’s letter to Stephen’s dad in Central America was returned postage due, but ultimately Richie made the connection and drove to L.A. to start over with Stephen, they’d sung in a group in New York that had even been featured on the Rudy Vallee TV show, but what you think is your big chance rarely is.

And they did run into Neil Young and his hearse on Sunset Boulevard. And they pulled over to Ben Frank’s to plot the Buffalo Springfield.

This you know, and so much more. Richie was reciting history from the stage, deep nuggets, but he acknowledged we were in the loop, that’s what being a rock fan was, long before the internet, the rumors, the realities, we had to know them all.

And after the Springfield there was Poco. Where he gave Timothy B. Schmit a chance after Jim Messina exited the band. Last night Timothy B. said he was worried it wouldn’t work out, but upstairs at the Troub, in one of the old dressing rooms, Richie told Timothy B. not to worry, he’d chosen him, he was the guy.

And then Richie moved on to the Souther, Hillman, Furay Band, whose first LP went gold, but during the recording of the second, in Miami with Tom Dowd, his heart was not in it and he quit. You see the kind woman wanted a family, they’d been separated for seven months, he wanted to be with her more than the music, or at least the fame.

And fifty one years after their meeting at the Whisky, they’re still together, with thirteen grandchildren, and Richie is plying the boards again, playing the entirety of Poco’s third LP, the live “Deliverin’.”

But that was the second half of the show, after the break. The first half included a cornucopia of numbers, from Buffalo Springfield and his solo career and…

Richie was enjoying himself. I think even more than the assembled multitude, which was mostly over sixty, who’d been there, and knew every word. You see there’s a pleasure in playing, it far eclipses the fame, which won’t keep you warm at night. This was not a brief show, it was over two hours, this was about music more than saying you’d been there, this was the way it used to be.

And maybe the old Buffalo Springfield number “So and Say Goodbye” was the highlight of the first set, but the amazing thing was a recent number, “We Were The Dreamers,” fit right in. You see the band could play. Which is the way it used to be. CSN couldn’t hit the harmonies, just watch the “Woodstock” movie for edification. But at this late date, half a century later, in a club, Richie and his bandmates hit the notes perfectly, it was a revelation. As for the players, none of them were household names. Most were refugees from the era that was, when we all saw the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan” and picked up guitars and played. Some never gave up. They were on stage.

As for the second set, “Deliverin'”…

We couldn’t afford many albums. But those we bought we knew by heart, we played them over and over again. So those in attendance were all singing along, as Richie and crew ripped through the numbers with an exuberance most twenty year olds don’t display.

And when he hit “Hear That Music,” penned and sung by Timothy B…

The man with the now long gray hair emerged from the wings with a lyric sheet…

I thought this would be substandard, a joke, some flubbed lines.

Some songs are forever, some are part of the passage to what comes next, even though hard core fans know them all.

Timothy B. had forgotten it, but when he stepped up to the mic it was 1971 all over again. His voice was crystal clear and he missed not a line. How Richie and Timothy can still hit the notes, sound like their young selves in their seventies, I do not know, but they do.

And the funny thing is even Jim Messina’s number “You Better Think Twice” was a winner. It’s been in my head all morning.

But when the show was over, after the applause continued, the band came out with Timothy B. for one more number.

Funny how the energy’s still there. How when we hear this music it doesn’t feel like nostalgia, but part of a long continuum. Funny how being at a show can be the same, sans seats of course. We used to take our music seriously, maybe standing is cool for punk shows, then again, these sexagenarians bravely stood throughout. It’s just that our music was not background, not light and poppy and forgettable, but everything. It was the sauce that made life worth living and our records were our most prized possessions. We didn’t go to the show to hang with our buddies and shoot selfies, but to connect with the gods on stage, as we closed our eyes and drifted away.

So Richie and crew were bringing us back down home where the folks are happy.

And when Richie and Timothy strode to the mics for the final number…they sang Poco’s “A Good Feelin’ To Know.”

And it was.