It appears he’s irreplaceable.

Reach a certain age and you know the people in the newspaper. Like Mr. Sorrell, who ran WPP, not that I could exactly tell you what WPP was before I went to their Stream conference in Ojai last November. Turns out WPP stands for “Wire and Plastic Products.” Sorrell took control of that company that made grocery store baskets and transformed it into an advertising juggernaut, after working with the Saatchis, after getting an MBA.

But Saturday he resigned.

You see there was an investigation. Questions of impropriety. Although I mingled with the brass at the Oaks, I’ve got no idea of the truth of the accusations, but I will say Sorrell was both approachable and driven, it’s not often you’re up close and personal with the U.K.’s highest paid employee.

Now I don’t want to apologize for social and fiscal improprieties, especially at public companies during this #MeToo era, but it’s interesting how the builders usually cannot only not be superseded, but can’t be replaced.

The two most famous cases are…

Steve Jobs at Apple Computer.

And Jim Morrison in the Doors.

Sure, Janis Joplin died. Jimi Hendrix too. And while we’re at it, Buddy Holly and Otis Redding. But there was no group, they were individuals, you’d think that the Doors were more than Morrison and they’d be able to carry on.

But they weren’t.

Now you’ll tell me about Genesis and Van Halen and the interesting thing about Genesis, even though it went on to greater commercial success, it was definitely not the same act, Peter Gabriel tested limits conceptually and lyrically that the ones who were left did not. As for Van Halen…Sammy Hagar’s got a much better voice than David Lee Roth, but Sammy doesn’t have the irreverence, the skewed view that made Van Halen more than a meat and potatoes band.

Now we can focus on the uniqueness of these characters.

Or we can focus on how when they’re gone the enterprise is done.

But we live in a world where we’re told everybody is replaceable, everybody is just a cog in the system, that you don’t matter.

But you do.

But everything they teach you in school is wrong.

In school they teach you how to get along, be a member of society. But the Van Halen brothers couldn’t tolerate Mr. Roth, and Steve Jobs was notoriously mercurial… Have we been sold a bill of goods?

Kinda like those Ivy League graduates who go into consulting. Or those with MBAs who go to work for the man. They make money, they move their way up the management ladder, but they don’t impact society, they don’t change anything.

It’s about risk and vision and you’re either born with them or you’re not, and the ability to execute on them is another step, the world is riddled with people with ideas without the willingness or courage to execute them.

Now the funny thing about these creators is they have rough edges, they’re not warm and fuzzy. I won’t say they’re not friendly, sometimes they are, but they don’t suffer fools and they don’t want their time wasted. And if you’re ignorant, they’ll dismiss you. And they won’t be afraid of offending you.

Furthermore, they won’t worry about being PC, about being nice, about saying something unfavorable or challenging preconceptions.

Now some of these people are damaged beyond repair. Someone like Travis Kalanick, you could tell he was a prick during the days of Scour. He seemed to have no remorse and evidenced an aura that he knew better and didn’t have time for you, despite the topic not being that hard to fathom. And it appears that Uber is on the rebound, latest research says that Lyft may have peaked, but I’m not betting on the new CEO, he’s not Kalanick.

Kinda like Daniel Ek and Spotify. Dynamic and charming Daniel is not, but dogged he is. He was not always a billionaire, he flew in the back of the plane and waited all day for meetings. And it’s not about the investment of time so much as the willingness to stay the course, not because someone told you to, but because you can’t do it any other way.

This is what bugs me about business books, about self-help, you think if you read them you can get answers, but you can’t because you’re not that person, your only hope is to be your best self, not that you can’t learn lessons, but they’re probably social ones as opposed to business ones.

But what bugs me most is the change in the picture of an American.

An American was someone who knew no limits, who pushed the edge of the envelope, who was can-do, who was not worried about formalities, but results. And that spearheaded innovation and success for two centuries, but now…

Those with the power and money have grouped together to keep those without down. That’s right, used to be everybody had the tools at their fingertips, but with governments challenged schools are ill and underequipped and you can’t get into the Ivies without a legacy and cash. Of course there are exceptions, but not many.

And it was always hard to get a bank to fund your idea. But you could scrape by on a minimum. Now if you’re working for the minimum wage you might still be on welfare.

But this isn’t so much about helping those on the bottom than recognizing those on the bleeding edge, the stars of our society, who amaze us and inspire us.

Not the me-too musicians. Not the me-too superhero movies.

Kinda like Reed Hastings, who doubled-down on Netflix production which caused subscriptions to go to the roof while movie studios cut the number of flicks they made and record companies dropped the number of releases and genres. Just imagine if a major label signed and promoted something different not radio-friendly… Then we might have a change in the system, that company would make beaucoup bucks. But no one at a major label has skin in the game anymore, they’re protecting what once was as opposed to what will be.

You have Elon Musk arguing with the government. Mark Cuban before him. I was always taught to be scared of the system, but looking at them I wonder if I’m wrong.

And Martin Sorrell was open to me, available, but he didn’t want to make nice, he could contradict…

Whilst proffering his easy to remember e-mail address, saying how simple it was to reach him, any time.

Not that he knew who I was, but he knew I was there, and he was open to those who were.

That’s where you want to be, just like “Hamilton” says, “the room where it happens.”

But just being inside delivers a story no better than saying you did coke in the bathroom with somebody famous.

No, the truth is you’ve got to make it on your own. You’ve got to have confidence. You must take your inspiration to the limit. You must let your freak flag fly. You must be yourself.

And that’s different from everybody else.

The greats are irreplaceable.

The institution is bigger than the acts.

You can’t play Coachella every year, but you can go there.

For decades, the touring business was talent based, but the burgeoning festival scene has turned that paradigm on its ear.

When rock music started to break out with the Beatles the promoter made the lion’s share of the money. Then Peter Grant realized Led Zeppelin was gonna sell out no matter what and he flipped the script, now the act got 90%. And then came the days of Jimmy Buffett, when his Parrothead following would drink and buy merch and Jimmy got 110%, the promoter knowing it would make it up on the ancillaries.

Looks like bad business, right?

WRONG!

Never forget that the promoter is the one who pays, who’s got all the money. While the labels tried to rip off their acts to make up their margins, with 360 deals, the promoter paid and paid, making it up on ticketing and sponsorship and ultimately festivals.

That’s right, the initial Coachellas were a disaster, to the point where the festival was sold to AEG. And now…it’s the highest grossing “concert” in the world.

Think about that, the promoter invested in its future, what did the label do?

Meanwhile, the labels are finally being challenged by DIY. Their only hope is control of playlists, which they’re doing a mighty fine job of, but their physical distribution power is now passe and as for radio…it means less and less every day.

Meanwhile, this is the year the younger generation has taken over at festivals. About time, since the younger generation in acts are people like Eminem, who’s been around for twenty years, and Beyonce, fifteen. The classic rock acts have been shoved aside, along with the alternative favorites of Gen-X.

And now you go to the festival not to experience the music so much as hang with your buds and have a good time. Meanwhile, they keep enhancing the experience, with better food and amenities.

How did the acts become second-class citizens?

That’s right, Coachella sells out with no acts announced. And despite the hosannas heaped on Beyonce and a stream of her performance on YouTube, one wonders why it doesn’t stay up for all time, the festival is much bigger than she is, and will outlast her.

This is what Justin Timberlake didn’t realize about the Super Bowl, it supersedes him!

So what we’ve got are savvy promoters who’ve augured the future and seized it…

And me-too acts that don’t realize they’re fungible.

Coachella just needs someone on stage, not YOU! Especially those on the undercard.

And there is an endless parade of deejays to fill the Sahara Tent, the real musical draw, and now that pop acts have infiltrated the scene…there are much broader pickings.

So think about it. If you’ve got limited cash, you’re better off going to the festival than any specific show. You can see more and get closer and hang with your friends to boot.

Sure, there’s a club scene for the highly dedicated, but this business has always been built upon the whims of the once in a whiles, for a long time Rapino said Live Nation’s customer only went once a year. Well, if they’re going to a festival they’re laying down a whole hell of a lot more cash than they are at the arena.

This is a sea change.

For the promoter…they make a lot more money, they pay a flat fee to the acts and reap the rest, this is no 90/10 deal.

For the attendee…they get to see many acts for one fee, and have a good time roving the premises with their friends.

For the acts…sure, they can get a big payday, but not every year, and the undercard is privileged to play and gets paid accordingly.

Welcome to the new era, where the promoter is king.

Is about challenging preconceptions, surprising us, delivering the unexpected.

I just got finished watching John Oliver. The funniest part was the MSNBC newscaster who kept quoting rap lyrics to make his point, making himself look ridiculous in the process. And then there was a long expose on corporate taxes, which I actually am very familiar with, devouring three newspapers a day and surfing stories online in between. Nothing makes me angrier than ignorance, which is plentiful, every day I hear people speak inanities and untruths with soulful conviction, and if I bother to correct them, which I’ve learned not to, they get all puffed up and say I’m the problem and I’m wrong which is why I’ve ceased doing this. America is all about getting along, especially amongst millennials, and then someone jumps the track, delivers the unexpected, and you’re wowed.

Now let’s be clear, this is not about more cheese on your nachos, more explosions in your movie, no, creativity is an intellectual thing, it speaks to your brain, not your wallet, and when it resonates…you’re thrilled.

This was the essence of the sixties, this is why the right wing excoriates that decade, because of the decision by young people to question norms and authorities and wow the audience, in the arts, in clothing, in expression… Believe me, you didn’t swear in public like they did in the sixties previously, there was no such thing as free love, although the birth control pill helped, remember tie-dye? It wasn’t about fashion, so much as self-expression, letting your freak flag fly, which no one does anymore unless they’re trying to gain followers on Instagram.

But this creativity was evidenced most in art. It was about pushing limits. Look at album covers, which started as commercial art and ended up an art form unto themselves. But even more were the records…there was a constant testing of the limits, whether it be Frank Zappa with the first double album and then the “Sgt. Pepper” parody “We’re Only In It For The Money,” or the Doors’ “The End.” And it was in movies and theatre, how about the nude scene in “Hair”? Never underestimate the power of shock, can you say “I Am Curious (Yellow)”?

And just when the John Oliver show was winding down, when it looked like it was over, the host starts talking about this Russel Crowe divorce auction, and its overpriced, irrelevant items.

But it wasn’t a joke. Actually, it was. After making fun of the items for sale, after lambasting the person who purchased a jock strap for seven thousand dollars, Oliver revealed it was HIM!

The show bought so much crap, to deliver to the sole remaining Blockbuster store in Alaska.

This is not Jimmy Fallon trying to create viral material, this is a bunch of hooligans trying to freak out and crack up their audience. This is why you used to go to the live show, FOR THE UNEXPECTED! When it was clear who the stars were, not the people in the audience, and you had to have talent to stand on stage.

It was kind of like tech in the last twenty years, we were addicted to the creative explosion of the sixties. There were books, like Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” when you read the liner notes for Dead albums and saw the publishing company was Ice Nine, you were clued in. There was Richard Brautigan’s “Trout Fishing In America,” there was even “Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice.”

And sure everybody wanted to make money, but there were no billionaires, and you could make it on minimum wage. Science was putting men on the moon, but art was keeping us fulfilled.

Back when the building blocks were taught in school, before home schooling was invented, when we were all in it together trying to find our way.

It’s these creative moments that make life worth living. But they’re hard to make and have been superseded by a focus on cash. I’ll never forget Fee Waybill running around the Roxy with his chainsaw humming during the “Rock and Roll Hospital” number, which never made it to a Tubes album, but the experience was just that indelible.

And it’s funny how comedians are testing limits, when way back when George Carlin had to can his act and reinvent it to truly succeed, comedy was not a leader in the days of yore.

I’m waiting, surprise me.

Alaska’s Blockbusters

There was no review in the newspaper.

I now track TV shows like I used to track record albums. I research and find out when they’re going to be released. “Bosch” launched yesterday on Amazon Prime, but you wouldn’t know it unless you’re a fan, and you should be.

As I always say, distribution is king. If “Bosch” were on Showtime, it would be the talk of the town. It’s not an HBO show, there’s no deeper meaning, it’s plot-driven only, but oh-the-cinematography! You watch and fall in love with a city you already live in. It’s got the film noir look we haven’t seen on the big screen since “L.A. Confidential,” back when movies were America’s foremost art form, when we tracked them and went to them.

But now…

If the newspapers want to survive they’ve got to get with the times. I’m turning the pages of the NYT seeing reviews of films I’ll never go to see, that I won’t remember when they ultimately hit the flat screen, meanwhile, television drives the culture. This disconnect between and art and commerce, art and publicity, is unfathomable to me, kind of like the new ESPN app…if you’re not going to give everybody everything, don’t play. You can’t bunt in a world of home runs, and you must be willing to cannibalize your legacy business to protect your future.

So “Bosch” is a cop show. And I’m addicted, even though I’ve never read a single Michael Connelly book. Actually, I’m off genre tomes. Too often there’s a twist at the end that is wholly unsatisfying. But the truth is America lives for story, and those who deliver it succeed.

The star is Titus Welliver. Whom I did not know. Now you’re gonna tell me he was on “Lost” and “Sons of Anarchy” but I never watched those, I don’t watch much TV, still don’t, but health problems got me searching and I love escaping into the story, there’s a way filmed entertainment (digital video) allows you let go of your troubles and releases you into a new world that is wholly satisfying. This is what I loved about going to the movies. You sat there during “Chinatown” and were engrossed in a fictional story that became real for two hours. In a world with too many distractions, this is incredibly fulfilling.

And at first you don’t get Titus. I guess we’re used to more suave cops, spies, people larger than life. But as the series progresses you can’t imagine anybody else in the role. He comes across as a loner. A man of principles without being too self-righteous.

As for his ex-wife…

She blows like the wind. We know people like this, who are pulled by their desires. And in the new season when she’s playing poker at night and looks haggard, she looks real, and I’m all for truth in my viewing.

I remember Amy Aquino as Melanie Griffith’s secretary in “Working Girl,” a tiny role. She’s great here, as a lesbian lieutenant with an edge yet a heart.

And there are people of color.

It looks like L.A.

And it’s not shot on the uppity westside, nor the transient Hollywood, but downtown. Angels Flight, the Bradbury Building.

Everything’s kind of yellow, kind of twilight, deep in meaning, you’re drawn in.

Now the TV shows that get publicity unfold over months, the HBO syndrome. But that’s unsatisfying. It’d be like having “Sgt. Pepper” dripped track by track whereas when it was released you sat at home, alone, and played it over and over again until it revealed itself and you knew it by heart.

I feel like we’re the only people watching “Bosch,” but that makes the experience even more satisfying. We can own it, and spread the word as we enter the world. Seemingly everybody’s got Amazon Prime, do they know this series is on?

I doubt it.