Is a cheap way for poor people to get rich.

Skill helps, but is not necessary. Art is all about inspiration, which usually arrives like a lightning bolt. To be inspired, you must be stimulated. Talk to any real artist, they’ll tell you when they’re stuck they take a break. Your best ideas come when you’re doing something else.

Is not a competition, and therefore they come up with ways to quantify it that don’t really square with the truth. There are concert grosses, sales/streaming charts, Grammy/awards… It’s always nice to be recognized, then again they usually miss you the first time around, they recognize you after the fact.

Does not pay as well as you think it does. Manufacturing went overseas and riches went to the techies and financiers. Only a thin layer of musicians make millions. If you don’t, you’re just a journeyperson, welcome to the club.

Shortcuts shorten careers.

Identity is everything. If you’re just a vessel, no one can believe in you. Your identity/feelings must come across in your music as well as the penumbra…social media, interviews, etc.

Does not have the power that it did in the pre-internet era. The internet opened up many more avenues for the public’s interest. To be top of mind, you must be different and great and stand for something…unfortunately this is very few.

Just because your mother likes your music, that does not mean anybody else will.

The easier it is to do, the more competition there is and the lower your odds of success. Anybody can rap. Well? I’ll leave that for you to decide. But not everybody can play the violin well enough to be a studio musician, never mind play in the philharmonic.

You know it when you hear it, but people are swayed by repetition and peer pressure.

Everybody wants to hear something new and different, but this is anathema to record labels and radio and…they want the tried and true, they’re not built for the new and different, that’s too heavy a lift, that went out the window when the internet came in.

Just because you know how to play, that does not mean you’re worth listening to.

People resonate with the visceral, the sentimental…edgy and emotional wins.

Everybody says their music is great, but very little is. Conversely, if you don’t say your music is great people will ignore you, because they don’t have time to check out that which is not great.

Your genre is dormant just waiting to be invigorated. George Benson had huge success during the height of rock and rock could triumph in today’s world if…it had the elements of yesterday’s rock…then again, today they call that country, and it’s burgeoning.

The system doesn’t want you to succeed. Because the system is invested in its own priorities and doesn’t want the apple cart to be upset.

Live by the hit, die by the hit… But today you don’t need many to sustain a career. If you have a few, you can tour forever, more than ever before.

You need help. But you will only get it when you build it yourself.

Dumb is easy, smart is hard. Truly dumb can succeed, but smart always has an audience…this is the essence of Steely Dan.

1. HEALTH

Without it you’ve got nothing. My father used to start our conversations with “How’s your health?” (And after that, “How’s your car?”) I brushed it off, but at this late date I know it’s the only important thing. You can’t be too scared to get healthy, that’s what someone told me once, and I try to live by it. Don’t be afraid of going to the doctor, don’t be afraid of getting surgery, the other side is always better, even though the exceptions they tell you about before surgery, the odds you won’t have a perfect result…for some reason I always fall into that camp.

2. LOVE

No man is an island, and no woman is either. At the core we are just animals. Here to eat and reproduce. I’ll let you decide whether to have kids, I don’t and I don’t regret it, and I’ll let you decide whether to get married, I’ve been with my girlfriend for 20 years and we are not, but you need someone in your life. That’s what life is about.

3. WORK

Life is meaningless without it. You may think you want to sit home and lounge, but you don’t. I get it if you retire from a job you hated, then again, do your best to find fulfilling work. Forget the old aphorism “Do what you love and the money will follow.” That’s complete horsesh*t. Not that work for cash is the only work there is, but the bottom line is you must have a purpose. You may think you want to be rich and live the life of leisure, but I know people like that and you don’t. Too many devolve into alcohol and drugs and…

4. EDUCATION

It never stops. Learning is fun. You don’t have to go to school to learn, and there is a plethora of information available for free at your fingertips on the internet.

5. PASSIONATE INTERESTS

a. Don’t be a couch potato. Unless you’re invested in television, which today is more fulfilling than movies and music. Just like people were addicted to film in the sixties and seventies, you can be addicted to streaming television today. But just like in that era there was tons of mainstream dreck, ditto re streaming television. But if you are a student of the game and do your research, there’s a plethora of great stuff, especially foreign, subtitles are your friend.

b. Don’t work out because you’re supposed to. Some people love going to the gym and lifting weights, I find it boring. There is some physical activity that will titillate and entice you, find it. Not because your body is a temple, which it is, but because it will make you feel good! It’s one of the few free highs. And you feel good about yourself. But don’t believe you must run or swim or do what everybody else does, there’s a physical activity built just for you, you’ve just got to find it.

6. NEW THINGS

They’re de rigueur when you’re a kid, but as you age too many people become complacent. Doing something different, going to different places is stimulating and educational.

7. EAT

This can be one of your passionate interests. In any event, never has food been better in the U.S. (and U.K!), both at grocery stores and in restaurants. Food can be a cheap high, but beware of cheap food. I’m not saying to never eat a doughnut, but the dirty little truth is when you get older you’ll regret all that fried food you ate.

8. EMBRACE THE FUTURE

a. It’s coming down the pike 24/7. This does not mean you must wear the clothing of the youth, but it does mean you need to keep up on popular culture and the news and… You don’t want to be a Luddite, don’t be proud of this. All the people who e-mail me they don’t have a smartphone…the joke is on them, the smartphone delivers so much information and makes your life easier. And don’t hate on social media. It’s here to stay. People have a built-in need to connect, and that’s what social media provides. Sure, bad comes with the good, the future leaves good things behind (vent windows in cars?), but generally speaking progress is just that, it goes forward. You don’t want to age in place.

b. Be willing to challenge your precepts, don’t be afraid to learn and change your mind. Those who are moribund are marginalized.

He’s never changed his message.

He didn’t go disco in the late seventies.

He didn’t feature a rapper during the break of his comeback single.

He just stayed the same and waited for the public to catch up with him.

Or as Carly Simon sang, he’s coming back ’round again.

This desert appearance is not equivalent to RuPaul insulting Milton Berle at the VMAs, nor Pee-wee Herman opening said show. But in terms of cultural statement…

It eclipses the performance of Lady Gaga and the other headliners at Coachella. Because Bernie is doing more than the performers, he’s resonating with people’s brains, which lead to their emotions and…

Maybe you disagree. My inbox is full of people defending Trump and his tariffs, never mind the rest of his actions. However, the best story I read in the past twenty four hours compares the U.S. to England in the wake of Brexit:

“How Brexit, a Startling Act of Economic Self-Harm, Foreshadowed Trump’s Tariffs – Britain’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016 was sold to voters as a magic bullet that would revitalize the country’s economy. Its impact is still reverberating.”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/world/europe/how-brexit-a-startling-act-of-economic-self-harm-foreshadowed-trumps-tariffs.html?unlocked_article_code=1._U4.OG0V.F0imE8rc18eU&smid=url-share

Read it and weep. Then again, people are still defending Brexit, despite its deleterious effects. All those musicians… The EU has still not loosened travel rules. And it was the less advantaged who voted for Brexit just like the same voted for Trump, and they’re the ones who are being hurt.

In a world of disparate interests, Coachella triumphs by being a smorgasbord of acts/entertainment. You can see it all in one place. Assuming it’s worth seeing.

Of course there are headliners who refuse to play the festival because they can now make more playing stadiums themselves. This reflects America, where the rich get richer and the poor pay attention to delusional scams believing they’ll save them.

But we all want someone to believe in.

It’s hard to follow the Trump news now… Sure, he’s flooding the zone, but there’s whiplash. Today one thing, tomorrow another. It’s overwhelming and disillusioning. You don’t want to detach, but you’re numb.

And then along comes Bernie.

His gathering of 36,000 in Los Angeles was more impressive than last weekend’s protests, if for no other reason than there was a clear message, never mind a clear leader. The oligarchs are ruling, and no one can defend them unless they’re an oligarch themselves. This crosses all political lines, from bro to trans. We feel we have no control. And we certainly can’t trust our leaders.

Furthermore, the Democrats have been denigrating Bernie for eons. Because he doesn’t play nice with others. Isn’t that what a hit musical act does? Innovate and stay on message? With people flocking to them instead of being dunned to pay attention/donate money?

And who are the acts in bed with? They say they love their fans, but truly they love their corporate sponsors and the business people who help them pull the wool over the eyes of the public.

I mean who’s a bigger rock star? Bernie or Chappell Roan?

Bernie sells his message sans artifice. He doesn’t don outfits, he doesn’t need explosions and production and you can’t look at him and laugh, like you can with the wannabe metal acts with tattoos and piercings who are about as dangerous as a doughnut.

Not that Paul Tollett will let any politician take the stage at Coachella.

You want one that captures the zeitgeist, that makes news.

Once again, you cannot reach everybody these days, it’s impossible. But like a rock act Bernie Sanders is on tour. And he’s going into the red states, the enemy camp.

He’s a hero for our era.

Because he’s got credibility, a message.

He gives us hope. That truth can triumph, that the little guy can win.

And he never gives up.

This is my biggest takeaway from the desert festival. It’s big news that’s everywhere. Because Bernie Sanders is a bigger star than anybody who’ll take the stage at Coachella.

His appearance makes me feel good. That the little guy has a chance.

And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

I can’t predict the future, I can’t predict the ultimate effect of Bernie’s campaign, but at least he’s standing up and doing something, unlike the somnambulant doofuses leading the Democrats.

Makes me feel optimistic.

And we haven’t had that spirit here since…

The plan was to go to Frisco, to Amy’s synagogue’s mass seder.

But Peter didn’t want to drive and we don’t have a car so…

We did it ourselves.

Passover is one holiday you can’t miss. It’s somewhat joyous compared to the other two heavy hitters, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Then again, Rosh Hashanah is the New Year, which we used to celebrate by playing the Rosh Hashanah Open at the Equinox Hotel in Vermont. Our house was right down the street. And we purchased it from a Jewish realtor who invited us to the holidays at the Manchester temple.

Not that that was an official golf tournament. But that’s what my mother called it. She had a good sense of humor, and an attitude, and people loved her for it. I’m sure that’s what drew my father to her. You were never going to be sitting at home wondering what to do if my mother was around.

But she’s no longer with us. Nor is my dad, he died back in ’92. At the time 70 seemed somewhat aged, a good life, to die that young today is a tragedy.

So Felice looked up a recipe for charoset… There are very few Jewish delicacies, but charoset is one of them. You use it to make the Hillel sandwich, the highlight of the Passover seder.

So we start reading the Haggadah and…

My mind is flashing on seders past.

At first we used to go to my mother’s parents’ house in Peabody, Mass. They lived in the top floor of a triple-decker. My granddad owned two, he purchased them with the money he made in the tannery.

My older sister loved going to Peabody. Me, not so much. There was an old people smell in the apartment. But at least Uncle Harvey was there. He followed his dad into the tannery, but he hurt his back and ultimately O.D.’ed on pain medication in his forties. Beware of going down the back surgery route, sometimes your pain just gets worse and worse and worse.

But then we started to go to the Sheketoff’s for the seder. At this time they were still living in Bridgeport. There was a kids’ table, where we all got grape juice in paper cups. But eventually we started to sneak wine. Someone always boasted they could feel the effects, I’m not sure that ever happened.

But then the Sheks moved to Fairfield, into a spiffy new house they built. And we all sat around one big table and that was where Alan, instead of saying “bitter herbs,” said “bitter honey.” We joked about that at seders for years thereafter.

The seder was led by Harry Sheketoff. I never believed I’d get to the point where I’d run the seder myself. The leader has two big jobs, to assign the reading and decide which pages to skip.

So tonight’s Haggadah said the Jews left Egypt 4000 years ago. You mean this story has been passed down for all these years?

Not that I take it literally. Not that many Jews do. But we’re still Jews. It’s not like being a lapsed Catholic, you can even call yourself an atheist, but you’re still Jewish.

And it’s tough being Jewish in today’s society. We’re a tiny minority of the world’s population, but for some reason we’re responsible for all the world’s problems. And chances are we’ll go extinct. Primarily because of intermarriage.

So we hit the highlights… The four cups of wine…

And ultimately the Hillel sandwich.

You put the charoset between two pieces of matzoh and…

It’s always the highlight of the seder for me.

We passed on the overdone brisket, but we did have chicken soup.

And then we finished the Haggadah. We never did this as kids. We dreaded this as kids. We wanted to watch the baseball game, we wanted to go home and call our friends, we thought about school the next day… But Harry and a couple of other fathers would finish. They’d pour the cup of wine for Elijah, open the door, and after we were through running around the house they’d point out that the glass was now half-full, that Elijah had partaken. We were convinced that Harry or another dad had gulped the wine, but they’d never cop to this.

And of course there was the search for the afikomen, and the prizes dealt out thereafter. When we were young, we all got prizes. But as we got older, only the winner did, and it was a better prize to boot.

There were no kids in the condo tonight. We thought of Felice’s grand niece Ella. She has a friend in first grade who told her all about Hanukkah and…she came home and told her mom that she could celebrate the holiday, after all her Uncle Bob was Jewish, and that meant she was Jewish too!

Get old enough and it’s the younger generation that makes the seder interesting. You see them learn to read. Grow up. And someday they’ll be here and we won’t.

The sixties seem so antiquated now. But we felt they were cutting edge when we lived through them.

But we’re old now. Waiting to be replaced.

And all these years later, traditions mean something, they make you feel good. Just reciting the prayers, drinking the four glasses of wine, dipping and dropping the wine for the ten plagues… You feel part of a continuum.

And this bonds us to each other.

Let’s not talk about Gaza and Hamas, or even George Soros… Then again the Haggadah spoke of the concentration camps and the six million. But will that story continue to live, with Holocaust denial rampant and history even being disappeared in the United States?

I don’t know.

But I do know that during tonight’s seder I could see myself at four, at six, just learning to read, in high school, at various locations around this globe celebrating the holiday.

And this reflection was bittersweet. In that now I’m closer to the end than the beginning. But there’s a zone you enter during the seder. And the fewer the participants, the more palpable it is. You tingle a bit, you feel a bit special. You don’t feel better than anybody else, but you feel part of a tribe.

And that feels good.