Software rules.

And geeks have inherited the Earth.

I wasn’t going to watch the Apple presentation. Steve Jobs is dead and the excitement seems overblown.

But not on Monday.

You see I didn’t like the news reports, they just weren’t in depth enough. So I dove in, I watched the two hour and seventeen minute presentation. And I’m glad I did, because now I know what is truly going on, and I look forward to extracting the power from my devices when the software launches.

It’s a hardware world in the media, run by old farts looking for metrics to make the incomprehensible sensible. Like iPhone sales. These were the same wankers who thought the gravy train would go on forever. But users knew you had to upgrade to the iPhone 5 for LTE and the 6 for the big screen. After that?

Sales started to decline, and Wall Street looked at these numbers. But they’re no longer what counts.

Usability. Pushing of the envelope. Power. Those are the code words today.

It’s like we’re back in the seventies, at the Homebrew Computer Club. Only geeks are paying attention, and then you watch this presentation and you get excited about the possibilities.

The mainstream news is about the death of iTunes. This was on Mac sites weeks ago. AND IT’S NO BIG DEAL! All Apple is doing is exploding the app into three. Which is the way it already is on the iPhone, the device of choice. What, am I supposed to be reminiscing about Word 1.5? Or the days when a spell checker was an add on feature you purchased?

Once again, the mainstream gets the story wrong.

But the reporters were right about privacy. That’s clear from the beginning of the presentation. Even better is the ability to log in with Sign In With Apple. You don’t want to give all your info to Facebook, now you don’t have to give up your info at all. I could explain it, but you’re better off watching the presentation. Then again, you won’t. But you also cough up your privacy on a regular basis and then bitch about it afterward.

They started with the Watch. I returned mine, I just couldn’t see it, I’m too damn old. I don’t want to put on my reading glasses every time I raise my wrist. But the demonstration was convincing, especially with the info right on the Watch, it no longer needs to be tethered to your phone. But then I also thought about the short battery life, that’s the only thing holding this device back.

As for the iPhone, it’s all about iOS 13. iPhone users upgrade the software on their devices, Android users don’t. It’s eighty five percent to ten percent.

But they tell us Android rules the world.

And Android is a pretty good product, but if you pair it with a PC… Windows has come a long way, but it’s still got the look and feel of a techie-only device. The techies bitch about the lack of customization on the Mac, but that’s a small fraternity, they can live on their PCs.

It’s all about features, which Apple added. I know, I know, that’s not sexy to the hoi polloi, but it is to those in the know. And the truth is upgrading your phone is now like upgrading your laptop or desktop computer, you only do it when the device is long in the tooth and it can’t handle the new OS, or is too slow to work effectively.

As for the iPad, it now has its own OS, but it will never be a desktop replacement, but if you’re a Pencil user…

I’m not, I only wish I was. But drawing is not my thing, and I don’t mark up documents.

Kinda like I don’t write software. But listening to the AR and Swift talk, it almost made me want to.

Like in the days when computing was a hobby, not de rigueur.

As for the new operating system Catalina, it too was about features.

That’s why I blew two hours plus, I wanted to learn about the features not included in the news reports, because I want to extract as much power from my devices as I’m able to. That’s right, there are the power people and the powerless. And if you’re the latter, you really don’t know what’s going on.

Then again, we live in a world where so much is going on, no one can grasp it all.

But the mindblower was Minecraft Earth. The demonstrator put herself in the game. You’d have to see it to get it. And it made me realize the kids know what they’re doing, if you want to get them out of the house you’ve got to build something exciting, or they won’t go. Baseball has no chance against videogames. You can see why eSports is such a big deal. But most prognosticators have never been exposed to these games, they’re brain dead in front of the flat screen. It’s almost like music in the sixties, burgeoning, big, but the mainstream didn’t get it until Woodstock. There will be a Woodstock moment in videogaming, just you wait. Could just be the money involved, but it’s gonna be something that shows the oldsters they’re on the wrong path.

So, the world is being pushed further by software. Sure, Apple released the halo Mac Pro, but if you’re spending five figures on a computer, you already know all this, and now only pros will truly pony up for this stuff. Hell, the monitor STAND is nearly a GRAND!

But you were wowed by the features.

Emojis and Memojis are the entry points. But your devices have much more power than that. But chances are you don’t know that, you probably have never even used AirDrop.

Yes, the leaders are pulling away from those who’ve been overloaded, who no longer care. But if you don’t understand software, you don’t understand the future. Like those in government trying to regulate Facebook. Believe me, limit the social media giant and something else will pop up, just like KaZaA blew up after Napster closed.

Oh, and one more thing… There were women presenters, even a handicapped presenter, to the point where you wondered if Apple was picking these people based on their identities. But, they did a good job of presenting, not only males are into computing. Or gaming for that matter.

Your devices will do more than just surf the web and send e-mail. You can now edit your photos easily, without having to be a pro. The big wheel keeps on turnin’, and you’d better get on the Proud Mary or you’re gonna be left behind.

Apple Special Event. June 3, 2019.

And if you pull up the status bar at the bottom of the screen, you can see dots. Hover your finger or mouse over those dots and you can go directly to the part of the presentation that interests you most.

To see Minecraft Earth, go to 2:01:15, even better, navigate to a few minutes before to 1:58:45 to see the technology that makes this game possible.

Politics is show business for ugly people.

But this year, the politicians are playing the game better than the entertainers.

You’ve got to be able to say no. That’s one thing a musician no longer is capable of. If you’re willing to pay, they’ll show up. They’ll even sing for dictators. There’s no endorsement they won’t sign on to. The whole enterprise is built on cash, and everybody wants some, in fact they want more.

But Elizabeth Warren won’t take corporate donations. Leaving her potentially with less cash, but a stronger bond to the rank and file.

The North Vietnamese won the war because of hearts and minds. South Vietnam and the U.S. didn’t have them. America felt its firepower could conquer anybody, but this proved to be untrue, it couldn’t overcome the guerilla tactics of its opponent.

You play to everybody, not just those with the cash or the supposed power. A cache of individuals can always exceed the power of the so-called “man,” especially today, when the tide is turning. Everybody’s dealing with the results of globalization, and there are far more losers than winners, which is how Trump got elected to begin with. Doesn’t matter if you agree with the Donald’s position, or Warren’s, the future is up for grabs, and those who hew to their own identity and have a backbone ultimately succeed. Warren refuses to go on Fox. She gives up eyeballs for beliefs. And this bonds her core to her even tighter. She’s not willing to do anything to make it, especially when it enriches an entity her adherents abhor.

And you’ve got to be willing to do what is unpopular. Once again, you have to stick to what you believe. Ergo, John Hickenlooper at last week’s Democratic confab in California. He was booed. He said using the word “socialism” would hand the election to Trump. That he was against Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, at least for now.

Now we can argue all day about whether Hickenlooper is right, but the question is are you willing to say something unpopular?

The truth is, the audience was extremely left-leaning. Was it representative of the electorate at large?

But as a result of being booed, Hickenlooper got unforeseen traction. Suddenly he was all over the media, there was a lengthy article about him in the political paper of record, “The Washington Post,” because he made news. Furthermore, it wasn’t train-wreck news, but news that begged a lot of questions that were worth analyzing. So, Hickenlooper went from back of the pack to the front page without even contemplating it, he just said what was in his heart.

Once again, it doesn’t matter if you agree with him or not, that’s not the point, as with Warren above. The point is in this social media world where everything is manipulated, where the fat cats believe marketing is king, Hickenlooper succeeded in getting his message out and getting facetime/publicity by doing nothing other than hewing to his core beliefs.

Musicians are incapable of saying something unpopular, they’re afraid of alienating their audience, unless it’s to get in some online war with a competitor. Isn’t that how Meek Mill got notice?

Turns out triangulating, trying to second-guess the public, is no longer working in politics. That’s why Hillary lost, that’s why AOC defeated the incumbent. Everything’s up for grabs.

But not in music. We keep selling the same thing we’ve been selling for years. The big story this annum is Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Built on a controversy whether it’s country or not. When the truth is its success proves that that’s a non-issue, you can become mega without radio. And “Old Town Road” was built by TikTok and is ultimately meaningless. That’s what we’re selling in music, froth, publicity, cash…did you see that Lil Nas X bought Billy Ray Cyrus a Maserati? Any millennial, any Gen-Z’er knows you’re supposed to give back, fight poverty, give opportunities, clean the air. Hell, look at Nipsey Hussle. Most people in America had never heard of him, but when he was shot dead the story was about all the good he did in his community, that’s what made him a legend, not his music.

So the lessons are there. Stand your ground, be willing to do the unpopular, go with your identity, don’t follow the crowd. Because conventional wisdom is no longer smart. Now is the time for you to stand out.

But you must stand out with substance. Publicity stunts don’t work. Especially in an era where if you shoot someone in the morning it’s no longer news in the afternoon. Hell, if you shoot a bunch of people it’s off the front page in a matter of days. No, you’re building your identity to last. Who you are is what’s important. Entertainers can be leaders. Even though those on the other side keep telling them to stay in their own lane. And hell, that which is outside becomes mainstream overnight. The Beatles sounded like nothing else that came before them, they wiped out Perry Como and the rest of the vapid singers. Nirvana killed the hair bands.

Trump killed Hillary.

Times change. You need to be willing to change. Hew to the past at your peril.

But your core values, those are what you’re judged on, those determine whether your success is lengthy or short.

Stand your ground.

The news is up front, the death of iTunes and the superstar syndrome, as detailed here:

The Economics of Rihanna’s Superstardom

And it’s the best album Clapton plays on, which means “Delaney & Bonnie On Tour” counts, as well as John Mayall’s “Blues Breakers.”

My favorite is the very first solo LP, produced by Delaney Bramlett. I remember learning “Easy Now” on the guitar, the track was from the heart, a harbinger of things to come. My second favorite is the closing cut, “Let It Rain,” whose five minutes and two seconds is not a second too long. And, of course, the first solo LP contains “Blues Power” and “After Midnight,” and I know you’re gonna say “Layla” is your favorite, the version of “Little Wing” was definitive before Sting’s rendition, even though they’re completely different, and I love “Anyday,” it’s just that “Easy Now” touches my soul in a way nothing on “Layla” does.

Then again, my favorite cut on Cream’s “Goodbye” is “Badge,” with the George Harrison solo, which I believe is more memorable than Eric’s on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

And am I the only one who hates Eric’s version of “I Shot The Sheriff”? My favorite cuts on “461 Ocean Boulevard” are “Mainline Florida” and “Let It Grow,” in that order.

Tune in tomorrow to play.

“Lefsetz Live,” Tuesday June 4th, 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

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

Where The Crawdads Sing

It’s rare that number one delivers. It’s oftentimes dumbed-down, made to appeal to the masses, when the truth is we want something that appeals to our hearts.

A book is a journey. And you don’t want to find out halfway through that you don’t want to get to the destination. You’ve figured out the plot, you know where it’s going, and the rest of the ride is akin to that flat track at the end of the roller coaster, not exciting at all.

Now I read the synopsis. And it didn’t appeal to me.

That’s right, I check out the book reviews. Don’t read ’em ’til the end, because they usually give away too much of the plot. Like Pauline Kael, I don’t watch a movie twice and I don’t read a book again. I love the ride.

But today’s literature is often written to impress a small coterie of intellectuals, the supposed seers of literature, who feel they, and only they, should control where reading goes.

So you oftentimes get a book with good writing that goes nowhere. Oftentimes with too much description. The first rule of reading is readability, if it’s not easy to read, it doesn’t matter how important the text is. The second is plot. It’s like a great performance of a bad song, no matter who sings and plays on it, it will never succeed, because that’s not what we’re looking for. What we’re looking for, always, is something different, that resonates, that pierces our hearts and makes us feel warm all over. You know the feeling of hearing a hit track the very first time through. Sure, you might get tired of it down the road, as a result of too much exposure, but… I think of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” or “You Oughta Know,” or “Crazy.” They might be a synthesis of what came before, but with a twist. Nirvana’s song was like punk, fused with the songwriting of the sixties, melodies and a magic chorus. “You Oughta Know” was so in-your-face it was hard to deny. And “Crazy” encapsulated exuberance with a beat…a melding of old soul with today’s sounds.

But the only one of those songs that got me the first time through was “Crazy.” But I felt the same way about Alanis’s “Hand In Pocket.” I’d dance around the house with the volume cranked and it made me feel good.

Most books are not hits, irrelevant of how many copies they might sell. They’re formulaic, or overwritten. When you hear someone say rewriting is the essence of writing run away. That’s like the modern tracks with sixteen writers, art is always about inspiration, and any true artist will tell you you don’t want to mess with the original inspiration, which is why you hear the stories of the demo being the final record.

Furthermore, there are too many genre books. Which I avoid. You know, whodunits, romance. I don’t need to read James Patterson, that’s about commerce, not writing, you might as well sit your ass down in front of a network drama. As if that were satisfying.

But no, we’d rather watch “The Sopranos,” or “House of Cards,” which are too edgy for the usual suspects but end up being legendary because of the truth they contain.

It’s damn hard to create a story out of thin air. But those are the ones we like best. I didn’t feel like I’d read “Lake Success” before.

And almost everything worth reading is fictional. If you’re reading business books to get ahead, the joke is on you. Fiction has more truth than non-fiction. But when non-fiction is well-written with a great story arc, it too can deliver, like John Carreyrou’s book about Theranos, “Bad Blood.” You can’t put it down, even though you know the story. Don’t think if you watched the documentary or listened to the podcast you know the story, there’s so much more. Which is why it’s rare that a movie is better than the book. Ninety minutes compared to ten hours?

Now you’ve got to suspend disbelief if you read “Where The Crawdads Sing.” It won’t be long before you’ll think that can’t happen, and it truly can’t. But, Delia Owens depicts detachment and loneliness so well. The urge to be connected, but the inability to achieve this. Kind of like those incels, they want to get laid, but they don’t know how to approach women, don’t know how to go on a journey littered with anxiety, indecision and cloudiness. If you can’t handle the tension, you’re gonna have trouble in this life.

And forgetting the incels, the rank and file male is just as confused, which is why you end up with rape. They know what they want, they just don’t know how to get it in a reasonable manner. And also don’t realize you can’t always get what you want, even if you’re Mick Jagger.

And that’s in the book too. An aggressive man.

And I don’t want to give away that much more, because it will ruin the experience.

And just because it was recommended by Reese Witherspoon, that does not mean it’s lowbrow crap. That’s what the high and mighty always say when something becomes popular that they didn’t anoint. I wish this would happen in music, not a playlist but one or two tracks a week, but no one’s built up enough credibility to do this. Yes, less is more. Recommend two tracks and I’ll listen, recommend ten and I won’t. Which is why Witherspoon doesn’t recommend a book every week.

Now this is ultimately a genre book, a murder mystery, and you keep thinking you’ve got it figured out when you don’t. But really, it’s not about the mystery at all, but the people. Some never grow up, live in their tiny town on past glories from high school. The star athlete, the prom queen.

And the truth is we’re all ultimately alone, and we feel self-conscious and worried about our interactions. We yearn to be safe, when we never really are. Then there are those afraid of interaction, for fear of loss. You know, like those who have sworn off romance. But without romance, all you’ve got is yearning. So you must try, try and try, and not be frustrated when you keep kissing frogs, your prince is out there, but you’ve got to work on yourself first, know your own foibles and grow. Personality always trumps beauty. May take a while, but the truth always outs. You want someone you can read in bed with, who gets the jokes.

Now there’s too much description in “Where The Crawdad Sings.” And some of the characters are paper thin. But the truth is you reach a point where you can’t put it down.

Not at the beginning. This is one of those books you’ve got to stay with until seven or ten percent of the way through to get hooked. And the more you read, the more you’re hooked, I spent all afternoon finishing it, even though I was only halfway through last night.

Books are different from records. It’s a personal experience. There’s no party, no gig where everybody listens to a song or a performance.

And sure, there are legends whose books are hotly anticipated.

But we’re always looking for something different, something new. And the funny thing is that takes a while to get attention in the marketplace. Most books, like most records, die on arrival. But some limp along until they catch fire, those are the ones we’re interested in.

And if you judge life by how many likes you get, or the car you drive, you probably can’t take time out of your busy day to read a book. But the dirty little secret is breaking up your schedule, ridding yourself of rituals, delivers the greatest rewards. Not only in the doing, but the cleaning out of the brain, the inspiration.

And the funny thing is women rule the book world, because they read. When most men, if they read at all, are into facts, not concepts, and it’s always concepts that win in the end.

So “Where The Crawdads Sing”” is not as good as “Lake Success,” then again it’s totally different. And if you stick with it, it’ll deliver rewards. Then again, if you doubt my credibility read the Theranos book first.