Cherry: A novel

The Acknowledgements is the best part.

You’re not gonna want to read this. Our country is all optimism all the time, except when it comes to the government/political situation. Everyone’s got hope, everyone’s a winner…

But it don’t really happen that way at all.

“Cherry” is a buzz book, but there’s no buzz about it. No one telling me to read it, no one talking about it. Because it’s a hard read. Not because of lofty language, not because of density, but because of story.

I hate it when people say they hate art because there are no relatable characters. That’s what ruined art for me, when Spielberg took over and it became about artifice, when it all worked out in the end. That’s not the way it really is. One false move and you can be forgotten. Then there are those who’ve got no chance to begin with, like Arnold, the son of a hooker. Used to be we wanted to give you a leg up, now all you get is lip service. You had health care but somehow it penalized the corporations and the rights of those wanting to be free so they’re taking that away now too. You’re a grifter, ripping off the country with its food stamps and welfare payments. You need to go into the army, be a hero, make a man of yourself, stand for something.

Like Nico Walker.

A soft boy from the upper middle class, educated in a private institution, he joined the corps, he became a medic in the Army, and he’s yet to recover, to this day.

You see horrors worse than those alluded to by Marlon Brando in “Apocalypse Now” You think everything’s a fantasy, then you’re confronted with real life.

And it sucks.

You don’t know who to be. School seems phony, with all those overachievers trying to get a job in middle management. And those you’ve never encountered before running the world. We hate the rich, not those who inherited wealth, but the techies who started from scratch. They dropped out of Harvard, you couldn’t get in. They get to wear their street clothes like the rock stars of yore, you have to dress up to sell crap. And they write books and tell us they know everything, as if they knew anything about real life. And the media establishment lauds them, writers feed on this crap, it makes them feel important, that they’re championing winners.

But the truth is everybody’s got something to hide, even me and my monkey.

So Nico Walker survives Iraq, many of his compadres do not, and he comes back to Ohio and…

Flounders.

Does dope.

He feels dead inside, he just can’t get it together. You might have felt this way too, but you can’t admit it, unless you’re already famous and doing a mea culpa. Celebrities get to say they’re depressed, that they’ve triumphed, yet no one pays attention to those in the crowd, burdened by their troubles.

That’s what they don’t tell you growing up, you’re flawed. And you’re gonna spend your whole life either fixing those flaws or living in a deranged world of your own making where your flaws constantly get in your way. Like the person who can’t hold a job, the one who constantly gets divorced, it’s never their problem.

But it’s Nico Walker’s problem.

So I bought the book because I was going on a trip, I always load my Kindle up with books before I leave home, the worst fate in the world is to be stuck with nothing to read.

And I read “The Family Tabor” on my flights, enjoyed it, but you might not, it might be too psychological for you. What if the perfect aren’t so? That’s the question the book asks.

And when I got home I dove into “Cherry.”

I won’t tell you what that means, I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m sure, like me, you’ve got no clue.

And at first it’s hard to get into. Robbing banks. Doing dope.

And then…

He goes to Iraq.

This ain’t the movie war. Nothing really happens, nothing is really achieved. You work outside your purview and don’t get to say no and your superiors are lying and you’re running on empty, but you could get your ass shot off, your whole body blown up, your latex gloves could melt as you’re picking up the pieces, this really happened.

And then I couldn’t put the book down. Tried not to stay up all night reading it. Until…

He came home.

You knew he was gonna, otherwise the Prologue made no sense.

But then you’re just at the middle of the book, and from there…

Nico and Emily do drugs. She’s in graduate school, he’s trying to stay in school. And they’ll do anything they can get their hands on and they run out of money and they run out of dope but there’s no redemption, Nico’s hollow inside, he’s a prick. An admitted one.

He treats women badly, is dishonest, but he’s not famous so no one is outing him, he gets away with his behavior, but as much as people hate him, he hates himself more.

And the dope culture is peopled with incompetents, who are screwing up when they’re not ripping you off.

But this is the life you chose.

And it’s this life that is real.

That’s what the Acknowledgements are all about, where Nico tells the story of how “Cherry” came to be. He was in jail, corresponding with someone who turned out to be a publisher who ultimately sold the rights to Knopf.

And you don’t always know what’s going on, but you do.

This is what rock and roll used to be. When the musicians were on their own path and didn’t care about mainstream society, never mind corporations and money. Today it’s all about giving people what they want, and if you’re not a winner, you’re a loser and you’re ignored, so people fake it. They buy the clothes, go to Vegas, it’s all smoke and mirrors.

But on the inside…

P.S. You know every word of this book is true, that he’s tangled up in blue, they call it a novel, but…

This is kind of hysterical. The pussy-grabber in chief rapes and pillages our nation and its relationships, yet a comedian is unable to pursue his career. Have we lost perspective?

And isn’t it interesting that not a single male has weighed in on the Louis C.K. comeback, because they’re all afraid of what the women might say. Are the women winning here? I’m not sure they are, because I will tell you the #MeToo movement has had little to no impact on male conversation, it’s only forced the behavior underground, which begs the question, are you winning the battle and losing the war?

Louis C.K. needs to be able to come back. When? I’m not sure. But he’s an independent contractor, not given a fat deal by Fox or NBC or CBS… It’s right to set rules for those corporations publicly traded, but an individual?

And let’s not forget, Louis C.K. is the only one who apologized and went away immediately, even Harvey Weinstein is fighting the fact he did it, never mind those who followed in his wake. Does Louis C.K. get no credit for being a mensch after being outed?

That’s another question.

America hates sliding scales. America hates gray. It wants all its public figures to be squeaky clean, even though those paying attention to them are not.

I have no idea what went through Louis C.K.’s head when he masturbated in front of women. I can’t conceive of it. And I would never force myself upon a woman, if anything I’m waiting for a clear signal before I take action, this whole #MeToo thing has me reevaluating my behavior, am I the only man in America who’s a wimp?

Furthermore, we all have our quirks, our peculiarities, our fetishes. What do they say? Want someone to come to the table, just threaten them with outing their Google search history, no one wants that public.

However, those wanting to keep things from being public, paying for this “privilege,” are now learning the truth outs, not only Trump but Asia Argento. For all you Kennedy conspiracists out there, if we can’t even keep secrets re sex, what are the odds no one in the government has ever spoken… NIL! People love to talk, and the truth always outs, especially in this internet era.

So what was Louis C.K. supposed to do to earn his return?

Maybe it is too soon.

But we have no criminal code for his behavior, he was not sued, we have no established penalties, what are they?

Kinda like Jackson Browne, he was accused of hurting Daryl Hannah and for years his career was hobbled, a good portion of his core audience wanted nothing to do with him, but now that time is past. But Jackson worked during the crisis. Furthermore, he denies the behavior took place. Did it? Damned if I know.

Same deal with Dr. Luke, in the news this week when it was revealed he never raped Katy Perry. How long do we banish Luke from the landscape? I’m not saying Luke is warm and fuzzy, but he’s now a pariah in the music business, and for how long? Once again, Luke has denied the behavior, and I’ve heard a lot but I don’t know the truth here either. All I know is his career has been ruined. And forget Dr. Luke, what about everybody else?

Yes, rape someone and get convicted and you’re going up the river possibly for the rest of your life.

And most rapes go unpunished. And for far too long men didn’t listen to women. But now that we’ve accused these perps, how do we decide how long they have to sit out?

The Stanford rapist got too brief a sentence, but the judge in that case lost his job, the public voted him out. You can vote against Louis C.K. by not seeing him, and maybe that’ll be the case, maybe no one will want to go see him. But should we let him find out?

What’s happening here is marriage replicated. That’s right, in most marriages, the women wear the pants. The men are boisterous out with their friends, if they’re permitted to leave the house, but the women set the rules.

Do only women get to set the rules for when #MeToo perps can re-enter the public space?

It’s too early for O’Reilly. And Lauer and Charlie Rose. Unless they want to build it on their own, then we get to decide whether we want to pay attention or not. So far, O’Reilly is losing this war. The other two have yet to play, but the truth is all three have not owned up to their behavior, they’re still fighting the facts, does Louis C.K. get a shorter sentence for owning his behavior and staying out of the public eye?

No one is gonna forget his behavior, he’s gonna be tarred with it for the rest of his life. But unlike weasels like Trump, at least he told the truth, isn’t that worth something?

We’re not gonna solve this problem without men involved. Isn’t that what Dave Chappelle said? Women have to bring men in. And right now men are afraid. If they talk at all, they play to the other sex.

And I’m not saying everything the women are saying isn’t true, that they haven’t gotten the short end of the stick, that they haven’t been sexually abused and held down. Now what? Sure, having women on boards is a good step, but when you prevent a man from pursuing his livelihood, you end up with a very angry man, because males’ self-image is based on their work.

Then again, they bar attorneys.

But at least they can find other work.

Women are at risk here of losing the narrative. Being accused of being strident just like they were in the seventies. Sure, progress was made, but one always has to evaluate strategy. Hell, I’ll step in a hole here, lesbians have weighed in on Louis C.K.’s return, and they’re entitled to their voice, but I’m telling you now the average male is wincing, wondering whether we should take our heterosexual clues from gay people.

Oh, don’t unsubscribe because I told the truth. Or maybe you should, because you can’t handle it.

This is how we got into the Trump jam to begin with. The supposedly brighter, more educated and richer, ignored a whole segment of the public to their detriment, furthermore, they scorned them. They had no sympathy for the dope-doers in Ohio and Kentucky. They worked hard, you should too. That’s right, the rich don’t like affirmative action because that lowers the odds their kids will get into the Ivies. The truth hurts.

So are women now so “knowledgeable” that they’re going to alienate fifty percent of the population?

Men are entitled to a voice here.

And their voices may be wrong. Maybe they can be convinced their opinions are wrong. Only in politics are you unable to change your mind. Don’t we give kudos to those who do? Who become enlightened?

But put people down and allow them no traction and they’re going to react.

And that’s what’s gonna happen with this Louis C.K. thing.

Hell, a Comedy Cellar customer complained the owner didn’t warn him in advance that Louis C.K. was gonna appear. But the owner didn’t know and is this any different from “trigger warnings” in college?

I’m further left on the political spectrum than the Democratic party, but I do know progress is based on communication, knowledge and compromise. Hell, that’s why we all hate the government, there is no compromise.

We’re not gonna come up with a solution that’s gonna please everybody.

But Louis C.K. should be able to work again. He can’t be banished forever. The death penalty for whipping out your dick? If he can’t work, that’s what it’s like, just ask any male when they lose their job, they run out of cash and their wives divorce them.

There’s a lot of power in the pussy.

Oh, did that offend you? Then why were you so proud to wear the pussy hat to Washington?

We are in this together. Let’s get it together. Let’s know there is no perfect solution. And that unless we get males involved in the solution, there will be no true progress, it will just force their take underground, where it will flourish.

Boy can he talk.

That’s one thing Canadians and Indians have in common, they’ve got the gift of gab. I think it’s all those cold winter nights in the Great White North, as for Indians…I’m still thinking about it.

We all know Randy, from the days of the Guess Who and BTO. But what I didn’t know was how loquacious he was, that he could really tell a story, that he was open and honest. I guess I grew up in the era when rock stars were removed and cool and had little to say, BUT NOT RANDY!

I could listen to him all day.

And you could too.

The pizza delivery man plays piano on “Takin’ Care Of Business”:

Randy Bachman on this week’s podcast: https://t.co/ffEVgxpTNM Hear him talk about the pizza delivery man who plays piano on “Takin’ Care Of Business”: pic.twitter.com/ZF56IR6bsw

— Bob Lefsetz (@Lefsetz) August 30, 2018

Randy stutters for you:

Randy Bachman stutters for you. Listen to the podcast on TuneIn: https://t.co/IPgL8VrTRh or Apple: https://t.co/SoYcEZkCKL pic.twitter.com/d0KyvCsOS1

— Bob Lefsetz (@Lefsetz) August 30, 2018

Listen to the Randy Bachman podcast on…

TuneIn

Apple

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You should care. Whether you live in London or Dubai, whether you’re old enough to vote or a felon who cannot.

Because the polls were wrong and Gillum won.

But it was more than that. He focused on YouTube instead of television. And he didn’t triangulate, the old Clinton playbook is dead, you speak from the heart, not the head, you don’t try to appeal to everyone, but those who care. You can build it if you’re honest, if you don’t compromise.

Kinda like music.

But we haven’t had that spirit here since the last century.

That’s why pop music died. Check the chart. Instead of speaking their truth from the heart, acts incorporated beats and rap breaks and tried to give a bit of everything to everybody. Meanwhile, hip-hop has become me-too, and not in a feminist way. What kind of bizarre world do we live in where music is antiquated and politics is cutting edge?

One in which labels are the establishment and everybody’s chasing a buck.

Go into a label and try to sell them something non-hip-hop, something that’s not on the radio, IT CAN’T BE DONE! Labels are the new gatekeepers, they’re the Democratic party, taking the temperature of the country and delivering what they think people want, but is not close to what they need.

The reason there are twenty writers, the reason it takes months to build a track, is everybody’s afraid, everybody wants to buy insurance, they want to make sure that what they deliver will be accepted, by the same damn audience. What kind of ridiculous world do we live in where the dominant musical art form is hated by half the people?

Now hip-hop used to be about rebellion and truth. And sometimes it still is. Its power was unrecognized before the internet and Spotify, just like country’s was unrecognized before SoundScan. And maybe hip-hop is the new rock and roll, then again, rock and roll is brain dead, a third party appealing to niches with no traction. Meanwhile, the biggest act in the world is Adele and she sounds like nothing else on the chart. A great singer singing memorable songs with melody, what a concept! Then again, she shot herself in the foot on her last album by refusing to be on streaming services, that’s like refusing to be on the internet. Trump defeated Clinton because he tweeted, he still tweets. Who else is a famous politician who tweets prodigiously? NO ONE! Because they’re all afraid.

But we’re seeing a new wave of politicos who are not afraid. Who are doing it their way.

Kinda like Chance the Rapper. There haven’t been more of him because there’s only one of him, no one else resonates with the public so. And he keeps on giving money away. While most rappers are talking about their riches, he’s giving to charity. Didn’t anybody in the music business realize that millennials have a social conscience, that this stuff resonates with them, they want you to do good?

Now Gillum might lose in November. And then you’ll hear the powers-that-be say he was too far left. Tell that to the Federalist Society, which took decades to reach critical mass and now rules. Hell, you didn’t even know about it until last year. Hell, you still might not know about it. But the joke is on you, no one’s dumb anymore, everyone’s informed, maybe misinformed online, but you still think it’s about TV.

That’s what gave Gillum’s opponent DeSantis traction, he was all over Fox. Check the stats, old people watch that channel. And what happens to old people? THEY DIE!

Kinda like the old people going to classic rock shows. What comes next?

But no one at the labels is concerned with what comes next, they’re all like rappers, focused on short term numbers for their bonus pay. Because they have no ownership interest, and they’re focused on themselves instead of the operation.

Music used to be the most truthful, immediate medium. Hit songs reflected life. Were up-to-date, were comments on what was going on.

Now you find that on television, which takes much longer to produce.

Now everybody can’t win, everybody can’t get nominated. Gillum did not come from nowhere, he was already mayor of Tallahassee. So when you sit at home and wonder why you’re not successful, blame yourself. You have to find a way to get on the playing field, you have to find a way to get noticed, you have to have traction before the big players get involved. And Gillum benefited from money from Soros and Steyer, the latter banging the drum of impeachment almost since Trump was in office.

And what does the mainstream media say?

YOU CAN’T TALK ABOUT IMPEACHMENT!

That’s the canard the right wing is spouting, and the newspeople, who missed Trump, are so out of touch with fact, that they believe it.

That’s the world we live in. Where we trust the data until we don’t.

The data said Clinton would beat Trump. So she relaxed and Democrats didn’t vote.

Clinton was so busy appealing to everybody, she appealed to nobody.

Kinda like today’s music business.