It’s an outdated business model. Pirates stole a Netflix show and the majordomos shrugged and said all episodes were available online, no biggie.

And it wasn’t.

You don’t fight pirates.

You fight their business model!

Which is why you never hear about P2P in the age of streaming. Scour the internet for files that take minutes to download? Never mind worry about viruses? When you can hear what you want instantly, on demand? Never forget convenience wins. Worried about people stealing your wares? Make it easier to buy them. Works every time. Remember when insiders said no one would pay for music anymore? Then yesterday Spotify announces it’s got 60 million subscribers. Wait long enough and people figure it out.

But the fascinating thing is no one wants to steal and leak music anymore. Go back to the earlier part of this century, and that was a big crisis. In the era when the first week meant everything. Now the first week is a joke. Where is Katy Perry’s album today? It’s all about the longevity. Leaving the starting block fast grants you no advantage. The biggest hits of the year were not instant successes, they took time to develop, like “Despacito” and “Redbone.”

But there’s something more sinister afoot. Turns out people are just not that interested. When we had a cohesive business, one in which you knew all the players and all the records, when music was akin to MLB or the NFL, there was an excitement in a release. Now people are inundated with music and they believe they can wait for great to ultimately surface, and they’re only interested in great.

But music does not drive the culture.

Who do we blame? No one? Or the labels that are enabling these niches. The acts playing to sponsors. Adele and Ed Sheeran dominate the landscape, yet no one follows in their footsteps, they may laud the songstress but they denigrate the troubadour, as if creating songs with melody you can sing along with is a crime.

But at least people have an opinion on Adele and Sheeran. The rest of the pile? Most don’t care.

So the acts leak their own records. On Soundcloud, via mixtapes. They’re satiating their fans with a constant stream of product, knowing that recording revenue is not the only one, if you can bond someone to you, you’ve got them possibly for life.

So Drake and the rappers are doing something right.

And the media is completely missing the boat. Thank god Bewkes is selling HBO, because its business model is flawed. Dripping out shows for water cooler discussion. It’s funny, the Netflix shows start slower and last longer, they work their way through the culture, and today you don’t want headlines, but hearts and minds. As soon as someone starts quoting statistics, ignore them. In an era of big data what we want most is that which touches us, that which we embrace. When we binge on Netflix or Amazon we feel we’re on an individual quest and we can’t wait to tell everybody about it. Whereas “Game Of Thrones” airs, an episode is talked about for forty eight hours, and then it’s over.

So what we’ve learned is we’re looking for mania, that which we can all pay attention to and have an opinion on. Isn’t that what the web epitomizes? Everybody weighing in with their opinion? You want to enable this, you want to see it as paramount, you want to interact with your fans, not keep them at arm’s length, you want to come down off your throne and be an Average Joe.

Well, not really. But in an era where everyone feels powerful online, if you puff yourself up you’re a target.

So ignore the headlines, not because they’re fake news, but because they just can’t get it right. They report the stories in an old way. Focusing first on numbers, and headlines that are meaningless. Who knows what was number one on SoundScan last week, does SoundScan even matter? I can go on Spotify and find the true number one, and it’s updated DAILY!

So know that we are in charge. We are the customer. And the customer rules.

We make hits. We spread the word. And eventually the business model comes to us.

And that business model is on demand.

We want it all.

And we want it NOW!

Choices have consequences.

I love dark. And depressing too. But mostly “Ozark” is just dark. Why is it so satisfying?

Because in a life of phoniness we want reality played back to us. We want to feel honest emotions.

And we love story.

That’s what the short attention span theatre people don’t get, those who keep going on about people having no ability to focus, making everything more brief, distilling it down to the hook, we want to go deep, we want to grab hold and go for the ride. We want to see how it all turns out. Because life is a long complicated journey with unforeseen twists and turns that will take you places you heretofore couldn’t contemplate. Some of them good, most of them bad.

That’s the truth. Life is about loss. If you’re lucky, you emerge from the womb intact. And from there it’s downhill. Your parents don’t give you enough attention. You’re not good at school. You fall down and get hurt. You get dumped. The key is to pick yourself up and keep going because life is about hope, and when you lose that you’re finished.

And ironically, watching these extended series gives you hope.

“Game of Thrones” will take you away. And escape can be good, but I’m eager for a touch of reality, with a twist, like on “Ozark.”

Now here comes the spoiler alert. If you’re gonna watch this Netflix series, stop here. Because art is best when you’ve got no idea what is coming. Which is why modern reviews suck and I don’t get seeing a flick over and over again. I want a fresh experience, just like life. You wake up and walk out the front door and you’ve got no idea what will happen.

And you’ve got no idea what will happen in the first ten minutes of “Ozark,” you have no idea what it’s about.

And then you do.

Let’s just say that Marty Byrde made a bad choice.

And he’s living with the consequences of that.

That’s the problem with life. What seems inconsequential today has devastating effects tomorrow. You slack in high school and then you find you can’t get into a good college. You’re too anxious to stop and put on a condom and now she’s pregnant. And the truth is we’ve all experienced these situations, this private angst. How do we get out of it?

Some people run. Those without character.

Character is everything in this life. Far superior to money. There are plenty of lying, stealing rich people who have money but little else. They trust nobody but themselves and believe accumulation and power are everything. But that’s untrue, relationships are key, you’ve got to do the right thing or be wary of your choice changing the rest of your life.

Now we’re all tempted a bit.

And we need to be broken from our cocoons.

But the irony is those ruling today, the Silicon Valleyites, did the hard work we were unwilling to do. Or didn’t see on the horizon. All that studying, being labeled a nerd. Life is long. You don’t want to top out in high school.

So Marty Byrde does not have the luxury of saying no. Not whatsoever. His back is up against a wall, he can neither pussyfoot nor waste time. He has to make one decision after another, it’s literally life or death.

Now few situations are like this. But what would you do when pressed against the wall. Cry for mommy? Pray to God? They don’t work. You’ll fall or get shot anyway.

And crisis supersedes petty disagreements, even major disagreements. You’ve got to come together to conquer, and people rise to the occasion.

Or they don’t.

The criticism is right. “Ozark” gets the vibe right, but the plot not so much. And unlike the best of “House of Cards,” there are few life lessons, few nuggets.

But the emotions…

You think your fancy degree will triumph against the nincompoop hillbillies you degrade? As if your education and breeding are a trump card?

Irrationality rules. You might think two steps ahead, but someone else might be running on emotion.

So the world can be split into two types of people. Those who believe in instant gratification, running on their emotions, and those who navigate on the highway and never hit the guard rails. To win, you’ve got to walk the wire in between. You’ve got to have your wits about you.

I thought about all this while watching “Ozark.”

You should watch it too.

Ozark

 

Exclusive: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

We believe in people.

We love our technology, our devices, but what thrills us most is the individuals who spearhead their development. And although occasionally it’s a pair, like Larry and Sergey, it’s usually just one. The faceless team doesn’t excite us. The same way we wait for the slugger to take the plate at cleanup. We want to see the naked feats of the soaring soul.

And it’s not only men, it’s women too. Madonna was the star of the eighties. Because she kept pushing heretofore unseen boundaries. She flipped the script. Calling herself the “Material Girl” when the boomers had been trying to disown that concept. Which drew fans to her. And haters too. We argued about Madonna.

We rarely argue about pop stars anymore.

They don’t have that impact, that ubiquity. And their goal is to play it safe and go for the money, otherwise why would every act utilize the same writers and producers, and mixers too! They want to buy insurance. Whereas our heroes fly without a net.

Elon Musk has haters. Especially on the right. Especially in the “Wall Street Journal.” They can’t stop talking about subsidies, about economics, but that doesn’t matter to me, those are the people cleaning up after the elephants in the now lost and forgotten circus. I’m interested in people on the bleeding edge, who not only can see the possibilities, but EXECUTE!

I just read the above-linked review of the Model 3 on Twitter.

That’s another thing the wankers don’t get. They think a company is supposed to be more, more, MORE! Gaining more adherents, making more money. If Wall Street ran Columbia Records Bob Dylan would have been dropped for not generating a greater return on each record. And “Sgt. Pepper” would have been scrapped for having no singles. I’m not saying critics are not important. I’m not saying the public should not have a voice. I’m just saying our priorities are screwed up. Twitter is the best place to be plugged in, to get the news interesting to you. If I didn’t follow Elon Musk, I’d have never seen that “Motor Trend” article.

And when I read it, I started to smile.

Do you know how hard it is to build a car? To start a company from scratch?

First and foremost, the Model 3 looks cool. And it also goes from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, which is less than half the time it takes a Prius. And it handles better not only than a Bolt, but the Alfa Romeo the writer drove to the site. And all you can do is sit at home and wonder…HOW DID THEY DO THIS?

That’s what it was like in the golden era of classic rock. We broke the shrinkwrap, dropped the needle and wondered…HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF!

And to tell you the truth, we had a similar feeling in the heyday of MTV. Sure, “Sledgehammer” is a great song, but it was even a better video. But now every track features a TR-808 when that sound was passe in the 80s.

There’s commerce and revolution.

The Model 3 is a revolution.

Sure, you can put it in context, ask about the penetration of electric cars, note that England is outlawing gasoline engines by 2040. But I’m still stunned that they came up with it.

Kinda like my original Mac with LaserWriter. It could print circles without jaggies. WYSIWYG. I don’t think anybody under forty knows what that means, but it was jaw-dropping thirty years ago.

So we buy Teslas to show our devotion, like we used to wear rock t-shirts, as a badge of honor, illustrating not only our faith in the artist, but that we went to the show. Now you can buy the same shirt, pre-aged, at the mall. Who wants one of those? That’s fashion, I’m talking BELIEF!

I need more to believe in. I love my iPhone 7, but I don’t believe in it.

When I listen to “It’s Alright Ma” I’m flummoxed, how did Dylan come up with this stuff?

Our leaders are not in D.C. And they’re not on Wall Street either. They’re people deep in their niche who will hear no naysaying on their way to putting a dent in the universe. It’s not about the money, that’s not what drives them. It’s about making what they see in their head come to fruition. It’s about the achievement. It’s about the bettering of society.

And it titillates us all.

@TeslaMotors: Watch a Tesla Model 3 vs. Volvo S60 side-pole impact test

 

We don’t like team players.

That’s the American Way. We’re one of a kind mavericks who believe we can go our own way. Maybe that’s how we got into this mess. All this millennial hogwash about getting along, being a member of the group, staying silent rather than throwing a monkey wrench into the discussion.

Meanwhile, we laud the leaders, the entrepreneurs, those who are different.

That’s how Trump got elected in the first place.

Hillary, and I can’t believe they’re still talking about her, after all they won, was the best prepared and the best educated but she was so busy triangulating that she ended up inauthentic. And what we Americans crave most is authenticity.

We can debate all day long whether McCain’s reputation is deserved, whether he truly is a maverick, we can go through his history and find fault but one thing’s for sure, he gave the Republican Party the middle finger tonight.

Now this was not foreseeable. He flew back from surgery to put this process in action, to enable this vote. But it turned out that was just the first inning, the first round, it was a head fake.

And maybe it’s about being near death. When you just don’t give a fuck.

That’s what the young don’t understand about the old. They’ve seen the movie, they know it’s b.s., at some point they’re gonna do what they want as opposed to what they’re told to do.

And why is it Republicans recant on their death beds, remember Lee Atwater?, but the Democrats don’t. At this point both parties are beholden to corporations but when the grim reaper comes knocking at your door, no corporation is gonna save you, no big daddy, you’re on your own, you can kiss your ass goodbye.

That’s what America has turned into. Paying fealty. Giving to get back. Even though very few can win. And we’ve all become disillusioned, we don’t think great things can happen. Hell, that’s what Trump ran on, making America Great Again. Well, I’ve lived a few decades at this point and I don’t want to go back to the past whatsoever. I decry income inequality, I’ve got complaints, but it’s better than it’s ever been. Technology has made all of our lives better. Even though it’s hard to pay the rent for so many.

But the solution is not to jet back to the past.
And there’s no jetting back in health care.

Turns out people want to be taken care of. They want a level playing field. Just like everybody’s got a gay uncle or sister or cousin, everybody knows someone who’s gone bankrupt from health bills, or has fought the system unsuccessfully, or has been presented with a bill they cannot afford. Through no fault of their own! They’re just minding their own business and they get cancer, diseases they’ve never heard of before. They’re on the precipice of death.

And some don’t care.

But that’s not what they say.

They obfuscate. They say you should have taken responsibility. That everyone can get health care in the emergency room. That we’ve got to protect jobs, we’ve got to protect the corporations. They talk about small businesses, but that’s fallacious, the man, the company, is the big kahuna here, in terms of revenue and employment.

Slice and dice it however you want, I don’t care. I don’t even care what side you’re on.

All I know is we’ve got entertainers more sold out and more duplicitous than politicians. You might bop your head to the sound, but they live for sponsorship. They don’t stand for anything but money. And then tonight, just when we think we know who McCain is, that he cannot do the right thing…

He does.

That’s an American. That’s the American Way.

Doing the right thing as opposed to the expedient.

Not worrying about the team, but the game.

And the game is we’re a nation of individuals. We have to get along. We have to look after each other. Or else the whole thing fails.

Countries are fragile. Just look at Venezuela. Hell, the globe is different from the one I used to have in my childhood bedroom.

Who do we tell our kids to look up to? Who are their heroes? Who speaks the truth?

Tonight McCain did the right thing, damn the team, he was worried about the consequences.

Are you gonna follow in his footsteps?

We need people to point the way, otherwise we get lost.

Tonight we were found.

Amen.