This is what happens when government and big business refuse to address a problem or pay lip service and sweep it under the rug.

Roger Goodell makes in the neighborhood of $65 million a year, do you think he’s going to do anything that challenges the financial success of the NFL?

Ditto United Health.

The public is disillusioned. If I hear one more Democrat tell me to wait until 2028… If you believe there will be a fair election that year you’re delusional. Trump has already requested the voter rolls from every state. Furthermore, it has been documented that Republicans deleted many legitimate Democratic voters from the rolls in 2024. I’m not saying Trump didn’t win, but I am saying that once you control the apparatus of the system, you can put your finger on it to tip the result. And who wants to give up their job anyway, the Republicans in Congress are so afraid of Trump that they refuse to challenge him, because if they do they’ll be primaried and out of a job.

Now I’ll get e-mail from Republicans saying I’m wrong. But one of the big problems is they’re reading different news, which intentionally leaves out anything negative about their party or its officials.

Ditto the NFL. Are you going to see reports on C.T.E. during the game? OF COURSE NOT!

Actually, C.T.E. has been well covered in the “New York Times.” As has the deletion of legal voters. But when you have an autocracy, the first thing you do is hobble the legitimate press. To the point now where those on both the left and the right refuse to believe anything in the “Times,” never mind the “Wall Street Journal” or the WaPo.

Unlike ABC and CBS, the WSJ is never going to cave. Rupert Murdoch knows if he settles with Trump his entire staff will revolt, there will be no paper. Furthermore, if you know anything about legitimate news outlets as opposed to online blather, the price to pay for willingly printing a falsehood is so high that they fact-check stories up the yin-yang before they run them. But Trump says he doesn’t doodle and sues. Even though many of his doodles have now surfaced.

What’s a poor boy to do? Certainly not play in a rock and roll band. That’s for chumps. Everybody starving becomes an influencer, because that’s where the big, easy money is available.

Or believes they’ll become a sports star.

Now I’m not saying the rest of the sports are injury free…

Anytime I write about the NFL, people ask me about skiing. Did you see that Italy just passed a law making helmets compulsory?

But that’s an apples to oranges comparison anyway. Skiing isn’t based on hitting your head repeatedly, violently, which football is.

John Madden, who may be dead but whose name still fronts a mega-successful video game, said that your body would never be the same after just one game in the NFL. Many of these men can barely walk, never mind think. But the game continues.

Not for me. I’ve opted out for years now. I’m boycotting. I’ll watch the Super Bowl because it’s a national holiday, but nothing else.

I’M UNAMERICAN!

Yes, our tribal country denigrates anybody who won’t go along with the herd. This is what artists and musicians used to do. But now everybody’s so afraid of alienating a potential fan that they refuse to. They’re business people, not artists. They’re not leaders, they’re cash registers.

My inbox is going to go WILD with pro-football people.

But do we still have gladiators?

And how about AK-47s… But you do need those to hunt, PEOPLE!

Our entire society is hypocritical. And if it makes a buck, you do what is expedient, you don’t challenge power at the risk of your enterprise.

That’s what the big law firms said… If we don’t settle our rainmaking attorneys will quit. Thank god the underlings, the associates with no power, are leaving these firms for their stance. Ditto law students who are no longer applying for jobs.

And then you’ve got ABC and CBS… Isn’t it funny that the Skydance merger was approved after Colbert was fired? If you don’t think this is a factor, you don’t believe football causes C.T.E.

Then again, RFK, Jr. is busy contradicting science every day. Science is now up for grabs. It’s what you believe, having done your own biased research, if at all… As for herd immunity…THAT’S FOR SUCKERS!

But you don’t play football and you immunize your kids so you have a hard time getting upset.

That doesn’t make it right, that just makes you complicit.

Meanwhile, the Chinese will own the car industry within ten years, but let’s focus on combustion engines and gasoline, THE PAST FOREVER!

Make America Great Again?

When the effect finally hits the individual, when you lose your Medicaid, when there’s no hospital in your neighborhood, what are you going to do.

Be disillusioned.

But there will be some who take action.

This is exactly what happened in the Arab Spring. An overeducated fruit vendor just couldn’t take it anymore. Like the guy who shot the United Health executive and this latest shooter. No one is standing up for the little guy, no one is addressing the problems of the hoi polloi.

So eventually someone revolts.

Don’t tell me they’re mentally ill, OF COURSE THEY ARE! But if you write off these two killings that way, you’re missing the point.

Notice how we haven’t gotten the true reason for Ozzy Osbourne’s death, was there a suicide solution?

I don’t know, I’m only speculating, but people take their lives because of ongoing pain on a regular basis. And oftentimes it’s nobody’s fault, but other times there’s glitch in the health care system and…

Don’t say I’m being hysterical, don’t unsubscribe and think you’ve triumphed.

I am one, just like Pete Townshend sang. Back when you got your lessons from musicians. And one can make a difference. And one made a difference here. And he’s not they only one.

Because when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.

Never mind being angry at the rich whose taxes just went down, who run rampant all over this country. Bezos is so stupid that he has an over the top public wedding not realizing that he’s one of the most hated men in America. Man, if you’ve gotten rich milking the system you’re better off hiding today. Or maybe the Kiss Cam will come to you!

Just a little sunlight. Does anybody have any sympathy for the Astronomer canoodlers?

No, because they’re offended on a moral basis.

I’m offended on a moral basis that football has not been banned in America. From kids to adults. You want to play flag football, be my guest. But the full contact sport we now enjoy kills. You just won’t admit it.

But famous players from Junior Seau to Dave Duerson have shot themselves because their brains were so injured. Never mind the walking wounded still alive.

Just ignore what I have to say. Enjoy your Sundays and beer. But if you think bad behavior goes unnoticed and unchallenged…

You’re just putting your head in the sand. An uninjured head.

People feel no one is looking out for them, that they’re powerless, therefore they’re talking matters into their own hands.

Hell, isn’t that what America is all about, the rugged individual? Ha!

Think about all this and justify the status quo.

A thinking person can’t.

Are you wearing blinders?

Don’t say you’ve got no power, a movement starts with one and then engulfs many.

Is a movement coming?

I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

I stopped doing paper books four years ago, and haven’t regretted it for a nanosecond. Regarding economics, it’s important to remember authors can leverage a *much* higher royalty than print. And with no paper, postage, shipping, warehousing, etc., even with a high author royalty the publisher *also* makes more than with print.

My world of writing technical books is different from writing something like romance novels, and there are two unique advantages. First, I can update them as technology changes. Aside from keeping books current for years instead of months, this makes it difficult for the “information should be free” folks to keep up. Piracy seems to be minimal, but that may also be because my books are $19.95 regardless of page count or subject. People seem averse to stealing something that inexpensive.

Second, there are ways to encourage ownership. When you buy one of my books, you’re entitled to free updates when new versions come out. The ebooks also include supplementary material like audio examples, presets for gear, and the like. Because of the extra material, the books can sometimes run into hundreds of megabytes. I can’t see libraries wanting to store all that stuff, they’d probably just go for the PDF. Also, if you own the book, you can mark it up, make notes to yourself, etc.

And of course, eBooks are a whole lot better for the environment.

Craig Anderton

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Big user of Libby and kindle unlimited here. So cool to be able to borrow books from different libraries and not have to make the drive:)

Wendy Waldman

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So right, Bob.

Been using Libby since the pandemic. I had been purchasing books digitally on Amazon, but when Covid sequestered us, I was reading 3 books a week and spending a fortune. Then I discovered Libby. I don’t even bother with the Kindle. I read everything on my phone with the Kindle app. The vast majority of my friends refuse to go digital. I still love browsing in bookstores. Interestingly, Barnes and Noble just opened in a neighboring town. But I’m not going back. I’m a Libby lover.
Oh, and my aging eyes can read endlessly with digital.

Vicky Germaise

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You said it, Bob. Long live Libby. There aren’t many things anymore that are good and free and just there to make you happy and make your life better, without any catch. Libby is one of those things though!

Bill Higgins

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Libby is fantastic! There is also Kanopy, which we access through our local library. It’s a streaming video platform that offers films, television shows, documentaries, etc. The depth of the catalogue of available titles is outstanding. Only a library card is needed for full access.

John Schimmelman

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Libby is a god send.

 

In the DC area, there are reciprocal agreements between different libraries around the region…so you can get the best of a number of libraries.

 

Libraries are real gifts.

Dave Wakeman

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I LOVE Libby for ebooks and audiobooks. The speed and convenience of browsing and borrowing is unbeatable.

My wife still swears by hardcopy books – but she gets them from the library. She checks them out by the dozen because our local library has done away with late fees. She’ll get the same titles as audiobooks to get through them more quickly (she drives a lot for her job).

More generally, we just love our library as a community resource. I’ve gone there to work during power outages, I use their printers (cheaper than Staples or owning a printer), we’ve borrowed their hotspots for travel, I access LinkedIn Learning and the Times through them, on and on. During COVID, I got my elderly aunt – a voracious reader – a Kindle and sent books directly to it using my library account. That capability converted her to ebooks.

CK Barlow

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I read Libby on my phone, same as your letters.

Best thing since sliced bread.

And best of all, I’m reading books again . . .

Cheers

Paul Holdom

Aotearoa New Zealand

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I have been taking advantage of getting ebooks for my Kindle from the library for years.  The only ebooks that I buy are Michael Connelly novels since I don’t want to wait for them.

Robert Paris

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Funny you should mention it. My son goes to BCIT here in Vancouver and he mentioned it to me as he’s been using Libby, along with most other students today, since it came out. I love it and just got signed up after I got a library card from my local library this week and wouldn’t you know it, here’s your take on it.

Once again you hit the mark on tech, technology and how everyone should at least be aware of what there missing out on.

I, like you, am a little long in the tooth and it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who is excited for what comes next.

Mike from Mission

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Love this, Bob.

I was THE physical guy. From books and magazines to pen and notebooks. The first shift for me was the Kindle, but now it’s all iPad Mini. Which, I think is the best content device ever created. For ebooks, digital magazine, newspapers, comic books/graphic novels but especially video. You need to add a “paper like” screen protector but once you do, the Apple Pencil and writing experience is brilliant.

I’m also a huge Libby user. Through my library we also get PressReader which is a ton of newspaper, magazines and more books. It’s incredible to have access to to magazine like Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock and countless others. All free. Wild.

Lastly, every morning, on Amazon under Kindle section, they have daily deals where ebooks can be as low as .99 cents and it’s just fun to browse those daily deals as well.

Keep reading and learning…

MITCH JOEL

Six Pixels Group

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Can’t live without access to my e-books. In fact, my library is quite extensive.

Khila L. Khani, Esq.

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Gen Xer here and I’ve been an audiobook lover for over a decade since my job involves driving, as as much as I love music, some shifts I need more to stimulate my brain. Podcasts are my main thing but audiobooks not far behind. Discovered Libby probably 5-6 years and love it. Sure I may have to wait a while for a popular title, but it’s a minor inconvenience for free access we collectively pay for like other public services like fire, police, parks, healthcare(Canadian here).

Now about the library streaming service Kanopy…..shhhhh!!!! ?

Michael Moniz

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I joined the Enoch Pratt Public Library (that’s our main library here in Baltimore City) a few months ago, and I’m totally hooked. I haven’t read this much in decades.

My preference is Kindle, but if something’s available sooner in hardcover, I’ll go for it. I just had a two-week e-book loan for Long Island Compromise expire before I could finish it. So to renew, I got back in line for both the e-book and the hardcover. The hardcover came through first, and I’m reading it now.

So guess what? I can now officially attest to this: Kindle is fifty times better.

Rich Madow
Baltimore, MD

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I am a recent Libby-ite too, though my preference is audio and some books are available only as text.

Yes, with Libby you may have to wait for a title (I am currently 14th in line for Peter Wolf’s  “Waiting On The Moon” – I started at 73rd a couple weeks ago.  In the meantime I read 7 other books that had little or no wait and would have cost me over $100 on Audible (which is worth keeping for immediate access and titles that are unavailable on Libby).

Also, you can read or listen directly on Libby, you don’t need to use Kindle, though you can if you want to.

Love going back to the library again!

Judie Gregg Rosenman

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I’ve been using Libby for years. I love it! And there’s Kanopy – library videos. That match all the DVDs they offer. Its interface is not as seamless as Kindle but it’s pretty good.

The other great thing is, you can highlight sections of the book or mark them up in your Kindle, and it will save them. Before you return it, you just download all those sections if you want to use them in something – such as having ChatGPT, write an essay for you. 🙂

John Parikhal

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I love reading and I’m as dedicated a lover of books as you’ll find. In fact, every shelf in my house, and there are lots of them) are cram beyond belief with printed matter

But for the past two maybe 2 1/2 years, every book I’ve read has been on The Kindle or the Kindle app on other devices. Look, the fact that I can enlarge the text, read at night and not have to worry about where I put the book down are compelling arguments. I read plenty of classics, too. Companies like Delphi make brilliant editions of classic authors – complete works of Dickens, less than two bucks, well organized and proofread. The early days of substandard additions of Project Gutenberg are far behind us.

For the record, I’m a boomer and I’ve never been down on e-books. Why be stupid about it?

Last book finished, all on Kindle:

“London: the Biography“ by Peter Ackroyd

Currently reading: “Walden, or, Life in the Woods” by Thoreau

Up next (unless I change my mind): “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety” by Eric Schlosser

Happy reading!

David A. Basskin

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Libby rules. My experience mirrors yours, re the “long estimated wait”, and then much faster actual availability. I agree that perhaps the library rental model needs a royalty tweak but there is NO going back. E-books allow me to bring a MUCH wider diversity of reading materials with me on travels. I used to have to pick 1-2 for size and weight, and like you would get “stuck” with a  dud, because that was the only book I had with me.

*They are positively transformative for guidebooks- Michelin/Lonely Planet, et al.. I can have 2 or 20 on my phone and/or kindle now. And can use the phone for maps and Kindle for guidebooks and content. Just sayin’…

 

I assume (I’m sure) you have used Hoopla as well? The 5 instant d/l’s are good for back catalog, or a deeper dive into a rabbit hole if you can’t get it right away on Libby. Some of the other A/V content is decent as well, especially if you are chasing foreign series, and don’t want to join every Scandinavian or Spanish version of Britbox (ha), but then the 5x limit is terrible if it’s a longer series.

 

I didn’t realize that we were at the Fanning to Ek tipping point (re publishers), but I should have guessed! My children only wanted d/l’s or e-books for HS and College instead of paper. Even though they read paper frequently, they all said “Will I ever read this again? And if so I can get it…” And to be fair, only very few of the many textbooks I kept (from my K-xxx education path) have proven to be evergreen. Well framed!

 

Do keep up the reading rec’s, I’m sure they not your biggest fan favorite, but as you have frequently pointed out – we lack viable and accurate curation (in all media and news). I’m happy to poke at something that someone literate and learned is passionate about, even if we diverge on some authors or genres.

 

Best-

Jonathan Pines

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And no silverfish to eat the bookbinding glue!

Lesley Bracker

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Thanks for turning me on to Libby, Bob. You’re the greatest!

Alicia Etchison

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Hey, thanks Bob! Now instead of 8 weeks wait it’ll be 6 months.

Joseph Lazar

These people are STARS!

And it’s all based on credibility and honesty.

Whilst RFK, Jr. is saying autistic people will never work, many do… Connor works at the market, as does Tyler White, Tanner works at a hotel and is loved by all, he adds joy to the experience.

Never mind Dani Bowman making a living teaching animation.

Autism is like homosexuality. It exists in every family. To varying degrees. There are those who are nonverbal and those who are just a little bit different. But now we have a label for it. So what we see on Netflix is not completely foreign, we empathize with not only the cast members but their families. It’s a constant struggle having a family member on the spectrum, but the rewards!!

Now I don’t want to generalize, it’s a big spectrum, but many of the people on it are honest and forthright. A welcome antidote to our duplicitous society. And then there is the expertise in certain verticals. Connor Tomlinson is always coming out with factoids that I didn’t know, never mind his mother.

Yes, Connor and his mother have a running series of TikToks/Instagram Reels wherein they’re in the car and discuss certain topics. It’s fascinating to get Connor’s take on things, but it’s also heartwarming.

Which is the word for Madison and Tyler’s relationship.

Now if you’re not on these platforms, you don’t know that sponsors are all over these people. James talked about his Weber grill, and he got sent a new one. 

Now James appeared to be trolling for said grill, and then there’s Madison getting tickets to see Katy Perry and asking whether backstage passes are included, and when they are not, she’s disappointed.

We are seeing the truth of fame in an unfiltered, unvarnished way. Believe me, these people dig being famous, getting the perks. And no one begrudges them, because otherwise what chance do they have of getting them? It’s kind of like Howard Stern’s Waack Pack…and if you’re a listener, you know that Wendy the Slow Adult is always asking for money…

So this is the third season of “Love on the Spectrum.” I’ve watched all three, and they’ve all been heartbreaking and heartwarming, but it wasn’t until this season that it clicked in the culture at large. Probably because there was finally love, however unanticipated.

It’s kind of like a musical act, with three albums. Today everybody expects to hit on the first, that’s what the labels want, but your product has to percolate in the marketplace, for years, until people discover it and you ultimately find the winning formula.

Now it is very easy to be completely oblivious to this phenomenon.

First and foremost, you have to have Netflix. And not absolutely everybody does. And although the big shows get reviewed in the media, there is none of the overblown hype of the music and movie businesses, no scorched earth publicity. Rather the show plays and either it clicks with people or it doesn’t. It grows via word of mouth.

Now it’s not like these cast members were not on TikTok/Reels prior to this season, but once the mania hit, they were ready. You’ve got to be in the marketplace, have a plethora of material ready for people to explore if they’re interested.

Prior to this season I got served Abby Romeo’s clips. Where I found out that she made hats. And got more information about her relationship with David.

And then I saw Tanner meet Jack Black on the Kelly Clarkson show. You can watch the video here:

Then there’s the episode of the series wherein Madison and Tyler test each other on their knowledge of country music. It’s astounding, they’re savants, they know EVERYTHING, more than many people working in the business!

These people are fans.

So today I was served up a video of Connor and Tanner at a Toto show:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Connor Tomlinson (@connortomlinson5)

And I sent the clip to Steve Lukather.

And then I got served up another clip of Tanner actually meeting Luke:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tanner Smith (@tannerwiththe_tism)

I told Luke what a big deal this was, how famous these people are.

And in reply he said:

“Hey Bob, 

I know them.

Just met.

My oldest daughter Tina followed Tanner.

You know my youngest son Bodhi is autistic.. It’s close to my heart!

Tina told me this sweet kid loved our band, showed me a clip of him seeing us last time and I reached out. 

And invited them out.

I did not know I was being filmed. 

I don’t do stuff like this for press ever!

But happy to make anyone happy.”

And I’m sure Luke is not thrilled that I’ve included his words, but every time we get together he tells me about his adventures with Bodhi. It’s like I know him, and I’ve never met him.

How long does this phenomenon last? Will we be wondering “Where are they today?” in the future?

Well, I think the mania will die down. Then again, these clips are just about their lives, there’s no trick involved.

This is what America is all about.

“Inside the Rise of the Multiracial Right”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/24/opinion/minority-voters-trump-right.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk8.UsOJ.lYWoS2WHSg0N&smid=url-share

This is the most important article you will read today.

When I wrote about Maggie Q in “Ballard,” I was accused of Asian hate. Not by an Asian woman, but by a white man. If I mention anything negative about a woman, I get blowback from white males, not women.

That’s the Democratic party in a nutshell. Elites defending those who don’t ask for it. People who think they know better who have no idea what minorities and women really think.

Israel is dropping food aid and halting some military action in Gaza. Was it because people protested in the street? No, it’s because the “New York Times” has been on the country’s case. for months now. And yesterday published an article saying that the Israelis admitted that Hamas was not stealing U.N. aid.

We live in a two-tiered system. The mainstream and the internet.

If you want to affect those in power, you must address them in the mainstream, most particularly in the “New York Times” and “Wall Street Journal,” although the “Washington Post” does have some influence.

Those in D.C. read the opinion pages of these newspapers and the letters in regard thereto. That’s how they take the temperature of what is going on. The world is run by print, not TV.

The other tier lives on social media. And the irony is the two rarely meet. It’s not very often you get those in power living in both camps.

So if you want to effect change on a grand scale, you’re probably better off with a top down effort. If you want to reach the Democratic brass/elite, tell them the truth in the “New York Times.”

If you want to build a movement, from the bottom up, you do it online, and in podcasts.

Yes, at this late date the powers-that-be don’t understand podcasts and TikTok. All they know is they have power. Why and how to utilize them…they’re clueless. They just know they have to be on them. But sans understanding of the culture, their efforts are fruitless.

Now we see a similar thing in the music business. The major labels have been out of touch with what the public wants. It still believes that the vast majority of people are interested in the shenanigans of rappers who shoot each other and glorify violence. Sure, the world is a dangerous place, but in truth homicides have gone down. Hip-hop has become a cartoon, akin to Marvel movies, and if you follow the box office those are no longer a slam dunk. Some succeed, but a whole bunch don’t.

Which is one of the main drivers to country. Although the banal lyrics about family and church turn off large segments of the public too.

And if you say anything against hip-hop you’re a racist.

And if you say anything against country, you hate the South and traditional values.

The fact that hip-hop might be out of touch and unappealing and country music may have no edges to catch you is completely discarded, the knee-jerk people on both sides are defending their fiefdoms.

What does the public really want in music?

Authenticity, credibility. Which is why Zach Bryan can sell out multiple stadium dates and many in the Spotify Top 50 can barely sell a ticket. Whilst those at the top of the chart are busy building brands, making deals with the Fortune 500, those with more credibility are not. We’ve heard for eons that the public doesn’t care about brand endorsements, the same way we heard that Blacks and Latinos would never vote for Republicans, but they did!

Another must-read this week comes from the “Wall Street Journal”:

“It’s Not Just You—There Are No Good New Songs This Summer – Hits from 2024, and even 2023, continue to rule the charts”

Free link: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/top-songs-2025-benson-boone-shaboozey-justin-bieber-swag-133fd33f?st=HAZeCB&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

The headline says a lot, but the truth is a bit deeper.

Yes, the industry is out of touch with what the public wants. It created the construct of “Song of the Summer” which no fan ever cared about. The truth is the day of the ruling pop song is in the rearview mirror. Because everybody no longer likes the same thing. And the major labels and the media refuse to acknowledge this. They’re still waiting for new stars akin to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to emerge. But Swift started in the aughts and Beyoncé in the nineties, eons ago! The world has completely shifted today. Today it’s no longer about the hit but the career. Not worrying about chart numbers but a dedicated fan base.

But if this is true, the major labels have much less power. As does the attendant media that propped up their hype/b.s. It’s akin to the Democratic party, rather than a redo, a rethink wherein the entity gets in touch with the real movers and drivers, those on the street, there’s a belief that they still rule, in a changed world.

The Democrats are f*cked. Kamala lost and all they can do is beat up the Republicans, they can’t look at themselves and see what is really going on. They were afraid not to run Kamala because Blacks would resent it. The same Blacks who voted for Trump? They kept to the canard of Bidenomics, that the economy was doing well for everybody when nothing could be further from the truth. They catered to fat cats with money when income inequality has never been worse in our lifetimes and the rich are resented. Jeffrey Katzenberg? Who the f*ck cares what he thinks, who put him in control, pushing his Biden agenda? Everyone on the street could see that Biden was too old, it was only the insiders who couldn’t see or admit the truth.

You might find the above uncomfortable. But we live in a changed world where the old tropes and techniques no longer apply. Fads, trends, movements happen online, period. And almost all of them happen on TikTok. Instagram Reels with an inadequate algorithm is a distant second. As for YouTube…do not mistake its competition in viewing hours with Netflix for its impact on trends. Visual podcasts are a thing. But trends don’t start on YouTube, they start on TikTok, and then move over to YouTube and/or Spotify.

And it’s almost impossible to game TikTok, although the labels continue to try and do so.

But it’s outside their wheelhouse, they think TikTok is akin to MTV, that you only have to be on. That’s wrong, today everybody can be on, it’s about creativity. Unique clips that engender virality.

And then you’ve got the oldsters criticizing the successful youngsters on TikTok because their songs may only be thirty seconds long. But that’s the way you do it today, money for nothin’ on the device that’s in everybody’s pocket.

The Democrats don’t want to believe they’ve lost control of their constituents. Ditto with the labels. What is their response? That the audience is dumb! Voters are voting against their interest and the music that works on TikTok is tripe. But to quote Journey, who’s cryin’ now?

The Democrats can’t adjust, they need a rewrite. An expulsion of the out of touch oldsters hanging on to power and a takeover by the youth who are in touch with what the public wants.

As for the music business… In truth, the promoters have taken up the slack, they know that you don’t need a hit to sell tickets.

However, like the Democrats, the entire music community has been tainted by lowest common denominator cartoon music that has turned off a majority of the public.

If you said you didn’t understand Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance the problem was you. You were racist and out of touch, you didn’t get the references. But in truth it’s the reverse… Most people didn’t get either the music or the references, to them it wasn’t powerful. But to say that is racist!

But is it? Is that how far we’ve come, you can’t speak your truth because an elite cabal says so? This is why Trump got elected and one of the reasons there are no hits. I’ve got no problem with Kendrick Lamar, good for him and his audience, but don’t tell me everybody else must love his music and what it means or STFU!

You can’t speak truth anymore. You’re shouted down by institutions. Your only hope is to go online and find like-minded people. That’s the essence of the Joe Rogan podcast and those who’ve followed in his footsteps. But all we hear from the educated elite is we must read and watch Heather Cox Richardson. Fine if you do, like those who like Kendrick Lamar, but if you think the average person can relate to educated Richardson and her analysis, you’re plain wrong. They need someone they can relate to, on their level, who speaks their truth. Sure, Trump may be out of control testing laws and norms, but what does that matter if I lost my job and I can’t make ends meet. Who is speaking to me?

And the minority voters who switched to Trump in the “Times” article above have not let go of MAGA yet. That’s not how change happens. You can’t change people’s minds that fast. Just like in music, we keep being told we want radio and Spotify Top 50 hits when the audience is looking for something deeper and more fulfilling. And we need a number of these out of the box successes before public perception changes to the point people believe new music is worth listening to.

But it’s easier to just believe one is always right and bury one’s head in the sand and resist all change.

The world has changed, and too many in power don’t know it, never mind admit it.

But the joke is ultimately on them. Like the Democrats. They think it’s about the system and elections, whereas the public no longer believes in the system or elections. You’ve got to start there.

But they refuse to do so. That means everything they’ve invested in is now wrong.

But that’s the truth.