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What you’ve got to know is she WROTE those songs!

So it’s October 1973. I’m driving with the top down on my 1963 Chevy Impala trying to get something on the radio.

This was before cassette decks. Sure, you could buy an aftermarket 8-track, but they sat under the dash and were notorious for getting stolen. Furthermore, the 8-track format itself was wonky. With the movement of the heads from track to track…tapes wore out quickly and thus were a bad investment. Which is all to say when you were in the hinterlands, long before the days of Bluetooth, never mind satellite radio, you’d drive down the highway with your right hand on the radio dial, trying to pull in a listenable station.

Now this was in the hinterlands of Vermont. Needless to say, this ’63 convertible didn’t have FM, not that there was a station broadcasting in the backwoods. But AM signals travel further and…

What you notoriously got was rural news, the farm report, and country music. In an era where no proud rocker followed what was going on in Nashville.

Sure, Ringo made a record in Tennessee. But most of us in the north had never even been south of the Mason-Dixon Line, unless it was the hop, skip and a jump to Florida. We wrote off the south, that’s where you went with your long hair and got attacked by rednecks.

Now don’t confuse today’s country music with yesteryear’s. Today’s country is the rock of the seventies. Back then, it was people with high hair singing twangy songs…

Sure, there was a TV show, “Hee Haw.” But this was long before the average fan of the Fab Four gave props to Roy Clark for his picking ability. As for Buck Owens…we couldn’t find Bakersfield on a map, never mind name a single song of his.

Sure, we knew Roger Miller from the AM radio of the sixties. “Trailers for sale or rent…” This was what we endured to get to the Beatles.

But I’m in a pensive mood, wondering how I’m going to endure another year of college, it’s a brisk day and I stumble on to a station and what comes out is “Jolene.” It was not only the first time I heard the song, it was the first time I’d ever heard Dolly Parton. She hadn’t crossed over, she wasn’t featured on Top 40 radio in the metropolis. But rather than continuing to mosey down the dial, looking for some rock, I listened.

“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene”

This was rootsy. Not that different from those Bonnie Raitt albums I was enamored of. This was not drippy drama, songs to sleep to. I could relate. And I never forgot it.

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Now we knew who Dolly Parton was. I mean how could you not? With that hair and those boobs?

But the real breakthrough into the mainstream was “9 to 5.” Back when Jane Fonda could open a movie and a flick like this could garner an audience. “9 to 5” was a staple. Everybody saw it. And what they saw in Dolly Parton was someone who didn’t deny her roots, but was in on the joke. That was the thing about Dolly Parton, she had a sense of humor, she could make fun of herself. Not to mention writing the title song, which went all the way to number one and earned her an Oscar nomination.

Dolly Parton was now part of the firmament.

From the holler, but never lumped into the same bucket as Loretta Lynn and George Jones, no matter how talented they might have been. Dolly Parton was now mainstream, when those other acts were not. They were still inhabitants of the country ghetto, Parton had transcended that.

And she maintained this status for the next half century. To this day! Most people have ups and downs, their careers wax and wane. People change their opinions on them. But not Dolly Parton. Somehow by being aw shucks and exhibiting all that talent, she was embraced.

And, once again, she was in on the joke. She’d go on late night TV and play the role. You’d think she was ditzy, almost a bimbo, and then she’d let out a zinger showing that she was as sharp as you and me and to underestimate her was a mistake.

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But Parton’s crossover appeal, the cementing of her credibility amongst those who were not country fans, was the 1987 “Trio” album, which she made with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

I bought that album, played it too. It was a natural extension of the country rock that began with “Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” which always had a place in the firmament, it never died.

Now the funny thing is the true star, the person who could make it happen, was Linda Ronstadt, who was a superstar in the seventies and then broadened her purview to the stage with “Pirates of Penzance” and then cut three albums of standards with Nelson Riddle. If Ronstadt’s name was on it, it sold.

And in truth, Linda had much more broad-based musical success than Dolly, more hit albums, but now, nearly forty years later…

Linda’s star in the public firmament has faded, yet Dolly’s shines as bright as ever.

Because Dolly wrote.

That’s what makes it so you’re remembered. The songs.

And Dolly’s songs were personal. And her story from there to here was one of lifting herself up by her own bootstraps. Gloria Steinem may have gotten all the ink, but Dolly was just as much of a role model for women’s liberation, if not more.

Dolly wrote for herself. And the personal is universal, when you do it right.

And she was so damn likable. Without being syrupy sweet, without shaving off all of her rough edges. She played the game with a wink. And those who play and can beat the odds doing it their way…we cotton to them.

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And then there was the whole kerfuffle with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Unlike the desperate with a chip on their shoulder, looking for the accolade as a victory lap they can put on their résumé, Dolly thought she didn’t deserve induction, because she wasn’t really a rock artist.

But if you’re going to induct Whitney Houston…

And, of course, Dolly wrote Whitney’s signature song, “I Will Always Love You.” An outstanding performance, but it’s the song that will live on, not Whitney Houston. Look at history, rarely are interpreters remembered, but writing, when done right, is forever.

So Dolly Parton, of all people, is calling the Hall on its B.S. Ironically, she’s standing up for the leather jacketed crowd pissed that pop, never mind hip-hop, is now part of the Hall. She was more interested in the integrity of the institution than the award.

But when Dolly finally acceded, she took the stage, played the guitar and ROCKED! I was there. You couldn’t watch it without a smile on your face. If this was the Rock Hall, she was going to deliver, and she did!

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Now if you want to know every facet of Dolly’s career, there are plenty of obituaries to fill that need. You can go on Spotify and listen to her catalog. I’m no expert.

I’m just like so many of you. Country music of the sixties and seventies was not my bag (Although I did love Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl”… Then again, do youngsters even know that classic? I don’t see any of them covering it. But young acts continue to cover “Jolene” and other Dolly Parton songs.), but Dolly Parton was an exception. We all knew her, she was embedded in our hearts and minds. As much as she appeared, she was never overexposed, we were always glad to see her. She was like someone from down the street, dropping by for a cup of coffee, gossiping with relish. She was more than a performer, she was a person!

I know you know what I’m talking about.

Which is why there’s a national, international outcry over her passing.

Old rockers? They’re dropping like flies. Then again, when they’re not on the road…out of sight, out of mind. But Dolly Parton never left the news. And she’s left a hole that cannot be filled, because she was sui generis, there was only one Dolly Parton.

And there will never be one again.

Just like the Beatles were a product of post-war Liverpool…

Dolly Parton was a product of a rural America that has expired with modernity. Sure, there’s still poverty, but there’s also flat screen TVs and smartphones and the internet…

Actually, all you can really do is marvel. At what Dolly achieved, and she never rested on her laurels, she continued to march forward.

Wow.

We may never get to season two, I could barely get Felice to finish season one, that’s how intense, gritty and realistic this prison drama is. I mean I’m watching it thinking this is the best prison show I’ve ever seen. I mean there’ve been tons of movies and I did enjoy “Oz,” but plot does not supersede the vibe, the drudgery and pressure inside the walls is primary in “Time.”

What we’ve got here is Sean Bean as Mark Cobden, a white collar person in a blue collar jail. Cobden had an alcohol problem and killed a man and…

You’d think he’d go to a special prison, somewhere with people like himself. But no, he’s thrown in with the general population.

Cobden was a teacher, and he’s recognized as such in the prison. He thinks he can keep his head down and just sleepwalk through the four years of his sentence.

But then he starts to be bullied.

He’s a man who works with his mind, not his fists. And this goes on and on until the mastermind says Cobden must fight back. The intellectual mastermind, the one who looks out of place in prison, keeps a low profile but is really in charge of contraband and…

All I could think about was Trump and Carney. There comes a time when you’ve got to say no más, when you’ve got to stand up. And the funny thing is when you’re on the side of right, your constituency will support you. The tariffs may hurt the population of Canada, but they’re willing to stand up for what’s right, if only Americans felt the same way.

So how does Cobden survive?

Well, with the help of the chaplain, Siobhan Finneran, who is a staple of British television. If this were an American show, they’d end up getting it on, but that’s not a feature in real life.

But the true star of the show is Stephen Graham, as Eric McNally, the prison officer in charge of Cobden.

Graham is a superstar. You know him from “Adolescence.” Graham conveys his inner thoughts better than any actor out there, even Meryl Streep, and he’s more believable in his character than she ever is.

Once again, if this were an American production, Graham would cozy up to the inmates, end up becoming friends. But that’s not what happens. He is not unduly violent, but he’s not overly compassionate either.

And he’s not touchy-feely like today’s supposed parents. He can’t hug his son. And what is more important, his job or his family?

So what we’ve got here is a constant owing of favors. That’s the nature of life, but it’s enforced more rigidly in prison. There’s always something you want, but you’re going to have to pay for it, even though the ask may be far in the future.

And you expect Cobden’s wife to rise to the occasion, be supportive…

There are no caricatures here. Everybody is an individual.

But really, you feel the walls of the prison closing in on Cobden, and you feel it yourself. You cannot watch this show without putting yourself in it. Could you survive in the general prison population? You might think you’re special, can stay at arm’s length, just quietly do your time, but this is untrue. As for your date of exit… Is it only a matter of time before you do something to add to your sentence, if you survive at all?

It’s kind of like the police, the thin blue line. It’s a gang, with a hierarchy, and you’ve got to play to survive, to keep your job.

Also, this one show is the best anti-drive while drinking advertisement I’ve ever seen. They don’t hammer the point, but if you get behind the wheel telling yourself you’re sober enough to drive… In truth, you shouldn’t get behind the wheel at all. This show will school you.

And like the best art, you’re completely involved, not on the outside.

It’s a nail-biter.

But if you’re up to this kind of thing…

This is what I live for, I don’t want no stinkin’ fantasy, give me real life. People are people, we’re all in it together, don’t tell yourself otherwise.

P.S. Just for the record, the second season is a different story, with women this time.

P.P.S. This is not a huge time commitment, there are only three episodes, the cost is mostly emotional.

This is why the streamers’ lunch is being eaten by YouTube.

So it’s Friday night, I’ve had a busy week, not that I’m complaining, and I come home from an evening hike to finish my favorite new show, “Furious.” There are two episodes left and just enough time to watch them.

BUT THEY’RE UNAVAILABLE!

Chalk this up to the old guard still being in control. It’s not only Congress, it’s in every walk of life. The Boomers still rule and think they know better, to the detriment of the companies they own. They somehow think that by dripping shows out week by week they’re building momentum, via water cooler moments…the only problem is there are no water coolers and no one wants to go to the office anyway. Hell, you consume water from your own bottle, everything is personalized, one to one, but the anti-internet oldsters still want to cram you into a paradigm that expired years ago.

We want it all and we want it now. NOW!

The record business is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to digital disruption. Remember when the companies were pissed about pre-release date leaks? How they messed with their marketing set-up?

How quaint. The issue now is getting ANY attention. If you don’t make it easy…there are just too many other options in the marketplace. Certainly when it comes to visual entertainment.

There’s a reason Netflix rules. It’s run by veritable youngsters. Who know that to be inured to the old ways is a recipe for death. All of Hollywood is up in arms over the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger when in truth, those are both also-ran companies combining to survive. Makes me crazy, the wealthy only thought those who worked with their hands could lose their jobs with impunity. These two entities are merging because they missed the moment, and are trying to survive. We live in a capitalist society, with no guaranteed employment. But when it comes to the denizens of Hollywood… No wonder so many have contempt for the entertainment industry, it’s out of touch.

But it does connect occasionally.

Now in truth, the best television is made overseas. Israel/Denmark/Korea. That’s the trifecta. But then there’s “Ethos” from Turkey…

Now if you’re on the social media the Boomers abhor, you’ll encounter self-described experts telling you what to watch on television. And I know who to ignore by the fact that they never mention a foreign series. Then Friday, I encountered Max & Tyler:

@ohhelloentertainment

Save for whenever you need a fantastic crime thriller! #tvshow #britbox #crimethriller #television #tv

? Moody – Pacific

I was stunned because they got it right. And I’d seen every show they listed in this clip, stunned that they mentioned “Spiral” and “The Bureau,” other than “Time,” and I pulled that up when the last two episodes of “Furious” were unavailable.

Some lessons are immutable. We learned this in record retail. If the album is not available when the customer walks in to buy it, chances are they’ll purchase something else, or walk out without buying anything, and the odds of them returning for the original disc are extremely low.

I wouldn’t have watched “Time” if “Furious” was available. And if “Furious” wasn’t so damn good, I wouldn’t go back to it.

But “Furious” is GREAT!

I found it via research.

I ask everybody what they’re watching. And when they come up with the usual suspects, my eyes roll into the back of my head and I shut up, because nothing I say will resonate with them, because they haven’t seen anything I have.

And not one single person has contacted me about “Furious.” Never has a show so good generated so little scuttlebutt.

Now what we’ve got in “Furious” is a serial killer.

(I’m not going to cough up much here, but if you want to go in completely fresh, you can stop reading now.)

The main character in that half of the show is Lola Petticrew.” An Irish actor you will recognize from “Say Nothing,” a series about the Troubles that is a must-see. But Petticrew plays a different role, a different character here, she’s got range, like too many of the pretty faces we see in American productions.

But this is an American production. And on the other half of the series, the cop side…

We’ve got Emmy Rossum. Whose name I know but could not pick out of a lineup.

Emmy as Alice Black has left her job with the NYPD to work for the FBI. She’s trying to get away from her abusive boyfriend. Emmy/Alice wants to jump straight in, but is constantly held back. The NYPD clears cases, the FBI investigates.

And when Emmy/Alice is stunned by the wisdom of Quincy Tyler Bernstine as Nora, who heads the FBI’s sex crimes unit, Nora responds:

“I’m not a former cop. I went to a fancy school, and I’m very smart.”

This is so brilliant, so right. Too many people judge others by the color of their skin. Alice thinks she’s equal to Nora, but in truth, Nora is not only intelligent, but educated. Yup, she went to a highfalutin’ school, even though she’s Black and working in the basement.

Petticrew and Bernstine are the highlights of the show. Petticrew is a tiny little thing who uses her feminine wiles to her advantage. Bernstine is world-weary, but is willing to do the right thing, even at a cost to herself. Watching them alone makes the show.

But Emmy/Alice is three-dimensional. Not only with flashbacks and fears from the physical abuse of her cop boyfriend, but a need for rough sex and…

Her ex is Jake Lacy, the beefy silent type who normally has no backbone, but here…he’s a grenade ready to explode. All the while trying to get Emmy/Alice to change her story so he can advance up the ladder.

You know Rob Delaney from “Catastrophe,” or maybe another show, he’s been in many. He always plays a light type, yet here he’s a He-Man of the Universe who thinks he can always bend things to his advantage, but can he?

And then there’s Scoot McNairy, who was so good playing Walt Breslin in “Narcos: Mexico.”

The cast is first rate.

But the plotting is too. Predictability is kept to a minimum. You’re on the edge of your seat, wondering what is next.

They say that “Furious” is loosely inspired by the 1987 film “Black Widow.” You remember that one, right? The Bob Rafelson film featuring Theresa Russell, Debra Winger and Dennis Hopper? This was still when we went to the theatre, what was exhibited there could not be found on TV. And what intrigued us was the auteurs, the holdovers from the sixties and seventies like Rafelson. Before the industry flipped to summer blockbusters like “Jaws” and “Star Wars” and evolved into extravaganzas like the Marvel movies.

As for Theresa Russell… She hasn’t been seen in years. And all you really have to know about her, in terms of her magnetism and desirability, is that Pete Townshend hit on her and when he was rejected wrote “Athena” about her. Yup.

But now we follow series instead of flicks. There’s great stuff there if you know how to dig, if you skip over the low hanging fruit. This is not the television of yesteryear.

And, in truth, “Furious” is better than “Black Widow,” more fleshed-out, grittier and a bit more believable.

I highly recommend it.

But know if you get hooked, the final episode won’t air until August 31st.

So either you get started now and binge, which is what will happen, because you’ll be entranced, and get frustrated that you can’t finish.

Or wait until it’s complete before you start…

But by that time there will be something new to watch. And you may never go back.

That’s the truth.

All the focus is on streaming numbers when it should be on how many tickets you can sell.

Pop music is a highly-promoted arena based on a single song, which may stream prodigiously, but that does not mean the act has any fans.

Fans are made live. That’s where the bond is sealed.

For nearly two decades acts have been complaining that they have to go on the road to make their bread, as if this is a bad thing. The paradigm has shifted completely, if you’re not willing to work live, the odds of you having a lengthy career are not good. Furthermore, what works on the road is oftentimes completely different from what’s in the Spotify Top 50.

See streaming as promotion. In truth, many artists are making a fortune as a result of streaming. But then there are the artists complaining that despite even six digits of plays, they’re not making any real money.

Now the dirty little secret is very few of the acts in the so-called golden years ever got royalties. You may have heard them on the radio, and money was generated by airplay and sales, but this cash was eaten up by expenses and bad deals. The label would charge everything to your account, from limos to videos. It was very hard to get ahead unless you had a slew of hits/success and you had a manager who renegotiated. So, this fantasy that you’re being screwed by streaming is a falsehood. And the sooner you accept this, the sooner you can focus on building your career.

Streaming is the best thing that ever happened to you. Whether it be the DSPs like Spotify or social media. Your music is exposed. In the pre-internet era, very little music got exposure. But now, if people want to hear your music, it’s just a click away. The audience doesn’t have to buy it to hear it. Then again, there’s a plethora of material in the food chain and it’s harder than ever to gain attention.

So don’t focus on boosting your streams, focus on building your audience, which starts live and is goosed utilizing social media. See your recordings as an afterthought.

Look at Billy Strings… He plays arenas, seen as one of the biggest breakthroughs of the last five years, with tons of media attention, never mind fans. But his streaming numbers? Positively anemic for an act of this caliber. Not a single track of his breaks a hundred million streams. Sure, he’s got stuff in the low eight figures, 18 or 22 million, but only two cuts even break 50 million.

Now these numbers are nothing to sneeze at, but compared to the acts in the Spotify Top 50, they’re a joke. And it’s not like there’s a hit that’s waiting to go stratospheric. The material is secondary with Billy Strings. It’s about his playing ability and the music made live. Yes, you can check in with the cuts on a DSP, but you’re probably more interested in a live video on YouTube or recordings from Nugs.net or the Internet Archive.

Sure, you can call this Grateful Dead model, but don’t take that too far. Yes, the recordings were a secondary revenue source for the Dead, but they were progenitors, from a different era. Jam band music survives on the fumes of the Dead, and its live business is nothing to sneer at, but that’s not the only kind of music that works live.

But one thing that doesn’t work live on the way up is production. The Spotify Top 50 play big buildings and charge a lot for tickets and therefore believe they have to provide a ton of production, oftentimes with a lot of the music on hard drive. That’s more like a Broadway show than music.

And interestingly, what works live is oftentimes not in the genres featured in the Spotify Top 50. If you’re a starting pop singer, who doesn’t write, or only gets credits in collaboration, good luck. No, live, first and foremost you must have the chops, you must have the ability to play and sing.

Writing is important too, but not as critical as it is with the Spotify Top 50.

Rather you’re selling more than music, you’re selling a performance, an experience. A live, human experience in a computerized/mechanized world. Audiences are not looking for perfection, they’re looking to feel connected, to be moved.

And once you make a fan live, usually they’re a fan forever, if for no other reason than they paid for the ticket, they’re invested, it’s a sunk cost!

Guitars? They rule live, even though they may be hard to find in the Spotify Top 50.

Rock is not dead live, it’s fully alive!

So if you’re an up and comer, focus on gigs, whether they pay or not. Get yourself in front of people, learn the ropes, hone your act. If you’ve got it, people will respond.

And this does not mean you can never have a hit. And you never know when the Spotify Top 50 might flip, to career artists who are individuals who have something to say.

Also, live, bands rule. On recordings… It’s easier to focus on a single person, and no one wants to share the wealth, and managers don’t want to have to deal with four or five people or more.

All this focus on streams is skewing perception. The media constantly publicizes the record charts, but ticket sales and grosses might as well be locked up in a black box. Then again, everybody lies about ticket sales on the way up, it’s part of the hype.

It’s amorphous as opposed to clear-cut.

This is why the label groups are in trouble. They’re in the wrong business. The focus now is on live. There’s a much broader audience for live. Talk to people…it seems that everybody is going to multiple shows, acts don’t only play the metropolis anymore, people are hungry for live music.

Provide it.