Sometimes you’re too young to get it. Sometimes you haven’t lived long enough to understand art. You see the surface, but not the essence. Like me with the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin.”

This was the height of the British Invasion. It was all Beatles all the time and we LIKED IT! Kinda like that Beatles channel on Sirius, today I heard “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and I couldn’t understand why all the cognoscenti crap on the LP and prefer “Abbey Road” and “The White Album.” When “Sgt. Pepper” emerged there was nothing like it, it was a giant leap forward, a moon-landing two years before Neil and Buzz walked on the surface of that satellite. You dropped the needle on “Sgt. Pepper” and were taken into a new world we only get in tech today. Did you see that Tesla began production of the Model 3? That’s very exciting. All cars will be electric in your lifetime, unless you get blown up by fireworks on July 4th, if you stick around for a while the future’s gonna come, and it’s so bright you’ve got to wear shades.

But not in music, not yet.

In music we’ve got Jay Z trying to prop up his moribund streaming service Tidal by making his new album exclusive, not realizing today the fight is not for money but for attention, all the reviews are in the paper and most people have not heard it. And rumor is the collection is going behind a paywall on Apple Music next, which is truly head-scratching now that Taylor Swift is on Spotify, is this a repeat of his Samsung exclusive where he got paid and the music went straight into the dumper? And the story so far is his feud with Kanye, the man who can’t get paid by Tidal, and is this how far we’ve sunk, where the rap wars have returned, only now they’ve infected pop and no one gets shot and the President plays when those with a brain, like Elon Musk, are truly leading?

So, after hearing “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” I was pushing the buttons on 60s on 6 and that’s when I heard “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and if this was February of ’65 I would have reached over and pushed the button to get it off the car radio as quickly as possible, assuming my mother was driving, if my dad was behind the wheel we either got beautiful music or the news. I HATED “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”! It was so RETRO! And this was long before Spotify, when you were a prisoner of the airwaves, the AM airwaves, the FM revolution was still a few years off.

And the funny thing was in the ensuing Bar Mitzvah season the bands sang the Zombies and Beatles hits, but never “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” because you couldn’t REPRODUCE IT! Phil Spector’s legend was cemented with the cognoscenti, an older crowd who were making records, like the Beatles, but we youngsters were enthralled with George Martin and Mickie Most…

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips

I was eleven. I’d kissed a girl. I’d had my first girlfriend, Betsy Kimball at Camp Laurelwood. Then again, did we actually kiss? I think so but I’m not sure, but what I do remember is her being so into me, which made me feel warm all over, I’m not sure I’ve felt that comfortable with a woman since. Hell, the next year, my relationship at camp with Jill Philipson was much more intense, but she ended up somewhat reluctant, and you can feel that.

So, as far as eyes being closed or open, I had no idea.

But I do now. Like when I reconnected with my ex and we were deeply into it and she noticed the bathroom I was waiting for was now unoccupied, her eyes were open.

And there’s no tenderness like before in your fingertips

Did you read that story in yesterday’s “Times” about people’s anxieties about being with the opposite sex alone? Just touching someone makes you tingle. But most especially when it’s reciprocal.

Jill lost that lovin’ feelin’, she went back to her ex.

Now I’m not sure that one ever loses that lovin’ feelin’, it waxes and wanes, you hear from everybody you were ever involved with on the internet and you wonder, but if you’re smart you keep your distance, because Don Henley was right, you can never go back, but you can in your mind, via song.

I think of the Concord Hotel. We only went once, that winter of ’65, my parents were sick of driving to Vermont only for skiing to be rained out. And this was the song on the radio, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” which disgusted me. And did I ever tell you the talent at the Concord that week was Neil Sedaka? My father kept calling him Neil SOBAKA, which he said meant “dog” in Russian, I never checked it, but my dad was never hip, this was back when there was a clear dividing line between parents and children, before the entire family listened to the Beatles, we’d play show tunes at best, and the way you clapped at the Concord was to bang these knockers on the table and I remember Neil singing “Calendar Girl” but I wish I could relive that concert now, now that I know his material so well, I was too young the first time around.

Just like I’m reliving how great “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” is right now.

There’s nothing worse than someone saying no after they said yes. It’s a private pain, assuming you reveal it at all. Guys will denigrate you, girls will tell you it’s not your fault, that it’s their loss, but deep down inside, you HURT!

And all you want is…

TO BRING BACK THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’!

Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
Whoa, that lovin’ feelin’
Bring back that lovin’ feelin’
‘Cause it’s gone, gone, gone
And I can’t go on…

But you do. And you can because there’s someone else who feels the same way you do. This is when art is best, when it evidences the human condition, when it’s sans boasting and reveals only truth.

That’s the funny thing about oldies, the songs that sustain, they have a core of truth that cannot be denied.

Like “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”

I’m listening to Taylor Swift.

I know, I know, she hates me, with her you’re either in or you’re out, we were friends and then I called her out and she wrote that song about me and people still tweet hate to me about it but “Tell Me Why” came up on random as I was walking through the neighborhood and it put a smile on my face, brightened my mood and made me feel good to be alive.

Remember going to the amusement park? Waiting in line for the ride? And then you get on, especially the roller coaster, and they pull the lever and the car starts to move and you’ve got no control and all you can do is go along for the ride? That’s what listening to “Tell Me Why” is like. It hooks you right from the start, with no tricks, just changes, hooks and despite it being Taylor Swift most of the lyrics are secondary to the track, but the ones that shine through…

I took a chance
I took a shot

All the ski racers listen to music before they leave the starting gate, and if you were faced with the first drop of the Hahnenkamm you’d psyche yourself up too. Watch the women, as they close their eyes and weave their hands down the memorized slope, they’re in a trance, they’re taken away, they’re empowered by the sound.

And you might think I’m bulletproof
But I’m not

It takes a lot to take a risk. And the funny thing is those who take the biggest are prone to embarrassment. Like Howard Stern at the 1992 VMAs. You take a chance and you can win, or you can fall on your face, but few take the risk. But if you do not play you do not win. And you can never return to ignorance, you wish you didn’t know what you know now, that you could start over, without inhibitions, when you were still hungry and fighting for attention.

But you can’t.

“Tell Me Why” is a minor masterpiece. It’s got the bridge the Beatles made famous that everybody in pop seems to have forgotten, but it’s on her second LP, so I decided to go back to the first, to her breakthrough hit “Tim McGraw.”

This was back before she was famous, before Scott Borchetta was the king of Nashville, when it was still a lark, it looks easy after the fact, but at the beginning it’s an uphill battle.

And “Tim McGraw” is part of the country genre. But there’s a sincerity and a movie is created in the listener’s mind and as I was listening I realized there’s nothing like it, and like Taylor Swift.

Not today’s Taylor. Now she’s spent. Because she’s been living in the spotlight for too long. Well, maybe this year off has given her perspective, but I wonder after pulling that stunt with Katy Perry on Spotify, you punch up, not down, and Perry is not in Swift’s league, but Swift needs to be the biggest, needs to be loved, she doesn’t know yet that we’re all replaced, that no one really cares and your money doesn’t keep you warm at night.

And now she buys insurance from Max. Everything’s in place, like her hair, there’s an artificiality that was absent previously. If only she released an LP about her travails of the past few years, how she truly feels, but that’d be really brave, almost impossible for a teenager living in a woman’s body.

But when she was still a teen…

That initial LP also had that other smash, “Teardrops On My Guitar,” no one else would release a cut like this, which sounds like a teen on amateur night, with her weak voice, but that’s what makes it work. She’s so SINCERE! You can’t help but fall in love with her, which is why her aw shucks moments were real before they became a cliche, how do you go from geek to glamorous? Taylor Swift did it, at least she didn’t commit suicide, like so many of her predecessors, hell, it was very brave to reveal her truth, even if she had help from Liz Rose.

We live in fake world where no one is vulnerable, except for the social media wannabes looking for attention. But the bar in popular music is higher, especially if you want success.

But even so, that first LP is still a bit generic. But on the second, the aptly titled “Fearless,” Taylor Swift stretches out. Not like Miley or Katy telling us she’s got a new identity, that she wants to leave the past behind, but that she wants to go DEEPER!

I already talked about “Tell Me Why,” but what about “Fifteen,” which has even better lyrics and an almost as good track. This isn’t the fake high school of the Beach Boys or Jan and Dean, this is honesty from a girl’s perspective, which is such a relief in a world where too often the female sings but the male writes the words. Only Taylor Swift could tell this tale…

And that’s what makes her an original.

It’s less about practice than experience, a point of view. A way of seeing, articulating the truth we all feel but never speak.

Then there’s “White Horse,” which is wise beyond its years, we’re all looking for perfection, and one of the great disappointments of life is waking up and looking back and realizing you never reached the brass ring, making peace with a path that only you chose that cannot be changed that left you here. Whew! But when you’re young you get hurt but you recover, the future is bright, at least in your mind.

We all want to be in love.

We never give up on this dream. It’s what keeps us going. More than achievement, more than money, we want to be understood, accepted, embraced.

And in “Love Story” she somehow makes “Romeo & Juliet,” the bane of high school English, modern and interesting.

And at this point she was functioning with a bit of attention, but still she delivered. And maybe I have to give her credit for doing the same thing with pop, it’s just that now the music sounds just like everybody else’s and the lyrics became more simple and stupid but Alanis could only cut one hit album, Taylor Swift has far exceeded her.

But Alanis blew up instantly because of her originality. The authenticity of her lyrics has not been eclipsed since, the naked, raw emotion.

And whatever Dave Grohl is doing pales in comparison to what his old bandmate Kurt Cobain achieved. Grohl is a cheerleader, the captain of the team, Cobain was never picked and never wanted to be and then he blew up bigger than he could ever conceive and couldn’t cope.

And every day there are tracks on the hit parade. Every day something is popular.

But then there’s stuff that’s almost subliminal, that’s in the air, and spreads without a push, it’s just that good.

The men don’t know, but the little girls understand.

And when I went to Staples with the little girls, when there was almost no mainstream press, I sang along and thrust my arms in the air just like them, that’s the power of music, it brings out our best selves, makes us feel young again, with hope.

That’s what the originals do.

They burn hot and we transcend everyday life.

They’re in short supply.

But we’re always looking for more.

Taylor Swift – Spotify

It’s not about talent, it’s about branding. That’s why Coachella can sell out before announcing acts and Glastonbury’s such an institution, they’re rites of passage in a world based on experiences, acquisition is the baby boomers’ drug of choice, whereas their progeny are satisfied with photographs, get the latest mobile handset and post to Instagram, that’s a rewarding experience, as long as your homies were in attendance and you met some new people and you had a good time.

Squeezed together with bad facilities, overloaded porta-potties and undercooked hot dogs? That won’t do, first and foremost you have to respect the audience, make everybody feel like an individual. And sure, you can sell VIP, just as long as the VIPs don’t mix with the hoi polloi. Then again, put enough perks on the benefits list and even the denizen seen as poor will pony up. That’s another thing the wankers don’t understand, people have unlimited money for what they desire, and you should ignore those bitching, because they want to get in for face value and sit in the front row and unless you provide this they’ll beat you up on social media. But you need to ignore them. Remember in the sixties when these same people wanted all music to be free? Nothing is free, just don’t overcharge unless the experience is worth it.

So the modern festival experience was built in the California desert nearly two decades ago, and Coachella was such a financial disaster that Goldenvoice was ultimately acquired by AEG. Proving you need deep pockets to survive. You’ve got to lose before you make it.

Before that there were traveling festivals, but they’re now passe. We want to go to a location and be able to brag about it. And if your festival ain’t brag-worthy, it’s gonna fail. Like I said, it’s not about the talent so much as the experience and the impact.

If you’re not making people feel left out by not attending, the dreaded FOMO, shut your doors now, close up shop, you’re not gonna make it. All the acts today are uber-accessible. All over the internet. Seeing them at the festival is oftentimes worse than watching YouTube. It’s the grit, the rubbing elbows that people are into. Just a couple of years ago you could get away with having the same headliners at multiple festivals, that won’t work anymore, except at the biggies.

And what are the biggies?

Coachella and its country sidekick Stagecoach.

And you go up north and you’ve got Outside Lands.

And you move across the country and you’ve got Jazzfest, ACL and Lollapalooza, and then the war for the title in NYC and a few coastal properties in the east and south and then we’re done. We don’t NEED any more festivals, because the public doesn’t WANT THEM!

As proven by Pemberton. I don’t want to hear any complaints that it was a fraud. Maybe so, but did any of the agents say no, they wouldn’t cash the check? Of course they said yes, their greed intact, but now after the sudden failure of Karoondinha they might say no in the future, because unless you’re AEG or Live Nation, chances are it ain’t gonna make it.

Yup, Live Nation purchased Insomniac with its Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas, where you can die and get away with it. Then again, there’s that new lawsuit… Used to be people sued over hit songs, now they sue over festival missteps. Kinda like Fyre. But that guy had it right, it’s about the hang, not the music, and now he’s got criminal penalties to face. What kind of bizarre world do we live in where you can rip off people on Wall Street and skate but if you have an aborted music festival you go to jail? I’m not saying Billy McFarland shouldn’t pay for his sins, I’m just saying if you’re truly rich you can get away with breaking the law.

And music used to be the playground of entrepreneurs, with more vision than cash. You find a deep pocket and you launch. But no longer, it’s big business. Like I said, you’ve got to be willing to lose before you make, seven figures, and now everybody’s gun-shy re the wannabes.

So what have we learned?

We don’t need any more festivals. If you want to start one go niche and worry whether you can get the word out.

And it’s not about headliners, but the experience. It’s not about the music, unless it’s the electronic stuff in the tent outside of the mainstream. Then again, you want to be able to say you SAW the headliner, so you can boast and discuss, but go to one of these shows, the people in the back dribble off.

So we’re at a turning point. If you’ve got tons of cash and can tie in sponsors that will deliver unique experiences, you can launch.

And if you’re already in the business and relying solely on headliners, good luck! This is what happened to Bonnaroo. The experience in the heat is just not that good, not in June in Tennessee. You’d rather be in Chicago or Austin where you can retire to your hotel room and recharge in the a/c, begging the question whether new festivals should be city based.

Then again, there’s the weather problem. Outdoors is always a crapshoot, even in California. But the promoters can make so much money, they don’t want to say no.

But this is the new world we live in. Where who’s on stage is not as important as who’s off stage. Where attendance must be a badge of honor or you won’t go. And despite the whole world going niche, in festivals you want to be able to gain a nationwide audience, be part of the discussion by going, or else you won’t, go that is.

It’s a far cry from the Fillmore East and a far cry from Woodstock.

But as Sly Stone once sang, everybody is a star. The mystery of the performers is history. And now it’s all about lifestyle.

What a long strange trip it’s been.

P.S. There is money in niche, as long as you fly below the radar. Just look at Peter Shapiro and Dave Frey’s Lockn’ festival, where they recreated “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” and are set to perform “Terrapin Station” this year. Attendance doesn’t compete with the biggies, but going is a badge of honor those in the know respect. You’ve got one time performances evidencing creativity. But all innovation comes from indies, which is why they deserve a chance, but can they get one in today’s corporate world?

I was sitting in a darkened airplane reading the Business section of the “New York Times.” What kind of bizarre world do we live in where there’s more analysis and facts in the NYT than the supposed business paper of record, the “Wall Street Journal”? One in which the President denigrates the press, the liberals decry fake news and those outlets that survive triumph. Even though newspapers have been negatively impacted by the internet, even though word of mouth has never been more powerful, he or she who has eyeballs controls the narrative, which is why the Murdochs’ proposed control of Sky is so serious and scary, without Fox News, the right wing revolution would have happened more slowly, if it happened at all.

And I came across this story on Yoplait. I eat a ton of yogurt, but I hate Yoplait. Secondly, why is the top of the container narrower than the bottom, you can barely get a spoon in. And firstly, yogurt is only beneficial when the cultures are active, and they’re dead in Yoplait, which is what I read way back when and the point is it’s all about the story, the narrative, that’s how Yoplait plans to triumph in Greek yogurt, where it’s failed previously.

You see the data steered them wrong. Data told them a less pronounceable, less obvious name, was a mistake. So they called their new product “Yoplait Light,” and it tanked. Meanwhile, data told them that people didn’t like Greek yogurt anyway, Yoplait was late to the market because they thought it was a fad. And it is true, that at first people dislike Greek yogurt, but they keep trying it until they do like it. Sound familiar? THAT’S THE ESSENCE OF NEW SOUNDS! That’s why radio research is flawed. Turns out people don’t like the new and different until they do, after they hear the authentic story again and again.

Authenticity. It used to be the bedrock of music, now it’s an afterthought. To the degree it exists it’s still in hip-hop, which is why that genre triumphed. Turns out people want to believe in your genuineness, and all we’re selling is artificiality.

People loved the story of Chobani. An immigrant renegade releasing a more healthful product. Kinda like getting into Jimi Hendrix, or even Metallica. At first listen you hate it, but all your friends are telling you how cool it is. So you keep listening till you like it, then the band gets lucky with a hit and they become superstars. This is the artist development of yore. Today artist development is considered to be marketing, which is why we have the flawed concept that breaking an act on its first album is artist development. No, this is not true. It’s when an artist finds its way musically, and on stage, when the act evolves, gaining fans along the way, that you’ve got development. And the reason metal sustains is its adherents believe in its genuineness. Hell, why can the Insane Clown Posse survive when it hasn’t had a hit in eons, its audience BELIEVES IN THEM!

Now I’m not talking about the prepubescent puppy love of the child stars. Yes, there’s a role for that. Good-looking kids singing vapid tunes. If that’s your lane, fine. But once people begin to think for themselves, separate the wheat from the chaff, discern what’s good or bad, they need more.

But the music business stays in the same place using the same songwriters and producers to make the same sound. And there is a market for that, but it used to be that every few years the whole industry would be turned upside down by a new sound, you couldn’t even sell the old one anymore, even though it was a hit only six months or a year before.

So Yoplait went back to the drawing board once again. Named its new product “Oui,” which some recalled as a porn magazine of yore, which is true! And the more negative feedback the company got, the more they knew they were on the right track. Data will tell you where you’ve been, but not where you’re going.

And Yoplait decided to buck the trend, by making its yogurt in individual glass jars, recalling the authenticity of creation in the old country of France. That’s right, Yoplait created a STORY! And it may be fabricated, but this is what used to bond our artists to us, before they were all young uneducated nitwits. They had rough edges, identities, being a fan was a badge of honor. Which is why all those outlaw country and Americana acts survive. Because their fans BELIEVE! It’s just that too many don’t have the chops to cross over. They’ve got the story, but not the music, you need it all. Hell, Yoplait experimented with yogurts that tasted like beers and peppers and nobody liked them, because after all the yogurt itself has to appeal to people.

So what we’ve learned here is the MBAs, the spreadsheet people, can not deal with change. They can run what once was, but they cannot innovate, because the data doesn’t support them. Which is why music blew up so big in the past. It was run by renegades on both sides of the desk, the executives and the acts. The executives had their own money at risk, they had to be nimble. And the acts were not corporations with ten year plans, but people on a lark, looking for an experience, just like millennials today.

Forget selling new music to baby boomers. Only a small coterie are open to new sounds, are not set in their ways. But millennials… They and the even younger generations love to experiment, are into new products, will take a chance.

But the best way to sell to them is via authenticity, genuineness and a story.

But what we’re selling in music are overhyped, two-dimensional singers propped up by old men. Sure, there’s a business there, just like people still want to buy the old, sugary Yoplait, which is still profitable, but has lost $100 million in sales in this decade and a third of its market share.

We’re selling sugar when the audience wants Greek.

THINK OF THE UPSIDE!

“Yoplait Learns to Manufacture Authenticity to Go With Its Yogurt”