{"id":634,"date":"2006-12-22T10:12:31","date_gmt":"2006-12-22T18:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2006\/12\/22\/this-weeks-sales-8\/"},"modified":"2006-12-22T10:15:18","modified_gmt":"2006-12-22T18:15:18","slug":"this-weeks-sales-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2006\/12\/22\/this-weeks-sales-8\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week’s Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Young Jeezy "Inspiration: Thug Motivation"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 352,392
Debut<\/p>\n

These rap albums, they come and they go.\u00c2\u00a0 One used to feel ignorant and out of it not knowing the rap stars, now one just sees them as a sideshow, part of the Top Forty\/MTV circus.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the single, "I Luv It", is number 15 on the digital tracks chart.\u00c2\u00a0 Implying that even though he debuted at number one, Young Jeezy is not as hot as he seems.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just that he’s got a debut, and there’s pent-up demand.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, it appears this album will slide quickly down the chart, like every other rap album this year.<\/p>\n

2. Taylor Hicks "Taylor Hicks"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 298,199
Debut<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t quite call this a phenomenon.\u00c2\u00a0 ‘N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, THEY were phenomena.<\/p>\n

If you’re all over TV’s hottest show and you only sell 298,199…\u00c2\u00a0 Then you just must not be in that big demand.<\/p>\n

It’s not his age.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not his type of music (although hit singles ALWAYS help).\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just that the mania of "American Idol" has worn off.\u00c2\u00a0 It was ALWAYS a television show.\u00c2\u00a0 It was always about DRAMA!\u00c2\u00a0 (And comedy, with Simon and Paula.)\u00c2\u00a0 It was NEVER about music.\u00c2\u00a0 But the supernova of the show created a mania that drove people into the stores.\u00c2\u00a0 People no longer need to own the album to be part of a clique\/movement.<\/p>\n

And there’s confusion in the marketplace, what with SO many Idols having albums out.<\/p>\n

I’d like to say that if an Idol were credible, wrote his own material and was good, it would make a difference.\u00c2\u00a0 But I don’t think so.\u00c2\u00a0 Real music has to come up from the streets to survive.<\/p>\n

3. "Hannah Montana"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 273,865
Cume: 1,560,403<\/p>\n

How come kids’ music has melody, hooky changes, you can sing along, and all these elements are absent from mainstream adult music?<\/p>\n

I always thought when the boy bands’ audience grew up, they’d want melodious material, sung by people with good voices.\u00c2\u00a0 But the business believed they wanted beats.\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t that like saying if you like hamburgers today, you’ll like grits tomorrow?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe you want MORE hamburgers, maybe with a slice of red onion, or a better bun.<\/p>\n

There’s ALWAYS room for a hit SONG!\u00c2\u00a0 A hit song can be sung by ANYBODY!\u00c2\u00a0 A hit record…that’s a time capsule.\u00c2\u00a0 Now more than ever, a time stamp of an era.\u00c2\u00a0 Listen to "The Eminem Show" today.\u00c2\u00a0 Reminds you of when you were younger and stupider, it’s the past.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas those Beatle tracks, they don’t creep you out, sure they remind you of the old days, but they exist in the present just fine.<\/p>\n

5. Josh Groban "Awake"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 222,176
Cume: 1,006,672<\/p>\n

He seems like a nice enough chap, I sat next to him at a party, but "awake" is not what I’d be listening to one of his albums.<\/p>\n

But this is a juggernaut.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to take this number in context.<\/p>\n

Josh’s album "Closer" is number 13 on the catalogue chart.\u00c2\u00a0 With 5,123,975 sold!<\/p>\n

But it doesn’t stop there…\u00c2\u00a0 His self-titled LP has done 4,699,760!<\/p>\n

Josh has a career.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about this week’s number as much as the ongoing CUME!<\/p>\n

The guy is not only moving units THIS week, he can go on the road, he can sell merch, he can sing on TV…\u00c2\u00a0 It may be cheesy to you, but Josh Groban is a lot closer to the classic rock acts of yore than what dominates Top Forty radio.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about the track, not about the song, but the SINGER!<\/p>\n

8. The Beatles "Love"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 177,898
Cume: 748,048<\/p>\n

A stunt.<\/p>\n

Expect more Beatle stunts as the years go by.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what labels do, comb their catalogues and find ways to make money.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, that’s where the real money IS today.\u00c2\u00a0 That new stuff, you’re never ever going to be able to sell almost ALL of it in the future, so you’d better get your money out NOW!<\/p>\n

Forget the hype, this is a meaningless record.\u00c2\u00a0 As important as a David Blaine stunt.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, not at all.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s something you pay attention to for a moment, and then forget.<\/p>\n

10. Il Divo "Siempre"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 167,002
Cume: 513,857<\/p>\n

This is the opposite of the Top Forty game.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about running a track up the chart (the act doesn’t even have a song ON the digital tracks chart), but being in the marketplace, picking up fans every day, making new ones at the show (they opened for Barbra Streisand).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the act’s Christmas collection is number ONE on the catalogue chart, selling 85,334 this week with a 906,548 cume.\u00c2\u00a0 As for those Fox talking heads saying Christmas is dead, that it’s being repressed, let me tell you that the first NINE places on the catalogue chart are Christmas records.<\/p>\n

But could it be that Christmas records are the new soundtrack albums?\u00c2\u00a0 Overdone to the point that the public tunes out?<\/p>\n

Interesting question.\u00c2\u00a0 I believe there is an issue of saturation.\u00c2\u00a0 As to whether there will be a backlash…\u00c2\u00a0 Well, there hasn’t been a backlash against CHRISTMAS yet!<\/p>\n

I’d recommend EVERY act prepare a Christmas single for iTunes next year.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t save up for an album, sure there’s money in a Christmas album, but by selling Christmas music, it keeps you in the MARKETPLACE, people THINK about you.\u00c2\u00a0 And if you cut a good enough track, it’ll last forever.\u00c2\u00a0 Like the Eagles’ "Please Come Home For Christmas", which was a single release only.\u00c2\u00a0 (Although it’s not one of MY favorite Christmas songs…\u00c2\u00a0 My favorite is the Waitresses’ "Christmas Wrapping"!)<\/p>\n

12. Tony Bennett "Duets: American Classic"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 154,345
Cume: 1,120,536<\/p>\n

Ever think that it’s the SONGS that are classics instead of Mr. Bennett himself?<\/p>\n

Songs not records, that’s the mantra of this week’s analysis.<\/p>\n

13. "Eminem Presents: The Re-Up"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 150,829
Cume: 460,989<\/p>\n

What the fuck is the "Re-Up"?<\/p>\n

That’s how out of touch Marshall is.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t know that he’s caused confusion in the marketplace, that a few diehards will buy anything with his name on it, but most of us remember D12, or just don’t care.<\/p>\n

Come on, give us a Marshall record.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, most people wouldn’t care.<\/p>\n

Maybe Marshall should wait a few decades and then put out a sequel a la Stallone, at least it’d have TRAIN-WRECK value!<\/p>\n

14. Gwen Stefani "Sweet Escape"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 148,787
Cume: 392,198<\/p>\n

This is a dud.\u00c2\u00a0 What did you expect, when she repeated the formula?<\/p>\n

Last year the novelty of "Fiddler On The Roof", this time "The Sound Of Music".<\/p>\n

This is the crassest cash-in of the year.\u00c2\u00a0 Credible artist goes totally formula, BLECCH!<\/p>\n

It’s not like she had that much talent to begin with.\u00c2\u00a0 The whole thing has been propped up with smoke and mirrors.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a Hollywood circle jerk.\u00c2\u00a0 We dress her up and put her all over the media and at the core there’s…NOTHING?<\/p>\n

Never underestimate the power of Jimmy Iovine to run a single up the chart, just to keep HIS name in the game, but this number is horrible for a perceived superstar this late in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

15. Rascal Flatts "Me and My Gang"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 142,719
Cume: 3,204,431<\/p>\n

Owners of the only non-Christmas album in the catalogue chart Top Ten, "Feels Like Today" with 4,604,993.\u00c2\u00a0 And, their album "Melt" may only be at number 118 on said chart, but it has sold 2,877,912 copies!\u00c2\u00a0 Ahead of Bon Jovi’s greatest hits "Cross Road" at number 119 (which has done 4,105,427).<\/p>\n

17. Fergie "Dutchess"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 140,591
Cume: 945,567<\/p>\n

So I’m driving up 20th Street yesterday, on the way to the shrink, and "Fergalicious" comes up on XM’s 20 On 20.\u00c2\u00a0 I became incensed, I felt like the Nazi in "The Producers", THIS IS NOT MUSIC!<\/p>\n

Sure, there was evanescent crap forever.\u00c2\u00a0 But in the heyday of classic rock, Top Forty didn’t MATTER!\u00c2\u00a0 Top Forty was a sideshow, for those not clued in.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, the business is not looking to the fringe, but to the lowest common denominator.\u00c2\u00a0 Major labels have given up on anything that doesn’t have a decent chance of going gold on the initial go-round, and this will ultimately be the death of them.<\/p>\n

It’s not only the music business, it’s movies, and TV, and newspapers and magazines, all mainstream media has become number obsessed.\u00c2\u00a0 In an era where there’s ever more choice, where the niche is king, those in power focus on the bland, the edge-less, the FAUX dangerous, in a dash for cash.<\/p>\n

Content is not king, distribution is.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, the public has access to distribution.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s going to be the death of the old timers.\u00c2\u00a0 THIS is the story.\u00c2\u00a0 Not crap user generated content, but GREAT STUFF, that touches people’s SOULS!\u00c2\u00a0 Entrepreneurs are going to work this stuff from the ground up, and one day the old wave is gonna wake up and realize Top Forty and trash like this is the sideshow once again.<\/p>\n

I mean really…\u00c2\u00a0 "Yummy Yummy Yummy" is not only better than "Fergalicious", it has more STAYING POWER!<\/p>\n

Used to be the acts were artists, testing the limits.\u00c2\u00a0 Fergie is a two-dimensional vessel manipulated by old fucks at her record label.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh how far we’ve sunk.<\/p>\n

29. Sugarland "Enjoy The Ride"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 90,592
Cume: 598,138<\/p>\n

Now insiders say this record is a comedown.\u00c2\u00a0 Because there’s a mainstream producer and a key member left the act.<\/p>\n

But that’s all for insiders, and I’m not an insider.<\/p>\n

Now if you grew up in the seventies, those Charlie Daniels songs were real, same deal with the Five Man Electrical Band’s "Signs".\u00c2\u00a0 If you had long hair, if you were Jewish, you didn’t belong in the south.\u00c2\u00a0 Country music was the home of ignorance.<\/p>\n

But what kind of fucked up world do we live in where ancient Willie Nelson is hipper than any act in the Top Forty.\u00c2\u00a0 Come on, who do you believe in more, Snoop or Willie?\u00c2\u00a0 They both smoke dope, but Willie’s got INTEGRITY!<\/p>\n

Now if you’re a shitkicker, today’s country music just ain’t got the same soul.\u00c2\u00a0 The twang is mostly gone.\u00c2\u00a0 Where’s the WESTERN?\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re a baby boomer and you wonder where all the melody went, how come you can’t understand the mainstream hit music, you’ve got to come over to the Nashville sound.\u00c2\u00a0 There are verifiable SONGS, sung by people with good voices, ABOUT something!<\/p>\n

Sugarland’s previous album did 2,207,366.\u00c2\u00a0 A number Jay-Z would DIE for.<\/p>\n

We need a cultural realignment.\u00c2\u00a0 Bring back true Top Forty, the best of the best, or know that what passes for hit radio today is IRRELEVANT!<\/p>\n

32. Jay-Z "Kingdom Come"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 86,730
Cume: 1,009,888<\/p>\n

Not on the catalogue chart.\u00c2\u00a0 Not in any incarnation.<\/p>\n

So you’ve got to ask yourself, were people REALLY waiting for the comeback?<\/p>\n

Obviously not.<\/p>\n

33. Evanescence "Open Door"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 80,463
Cume: 1,240,674<\/p>\n

So I’m sitting with a buddy in the St. Regis bar, we’re discussing where he should sign his band.\u00c2\u00a0 The household name major, or Wind-Up.<\/p>\n

The more he talked, the more I felt Wind-Up was the right place.
_____ ______ wants to fuck with the songs, he doesn’t want the album released until HE’S happy.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, he’s had a ton of success, but who’s the artist, the musician or the exec?<\/p>\n

And the head of the other label…\u00c2\u00a0 She lets too much slip through her fingers.<\/p>\n

But Wind-Up, they don’t want to fuck with your music.\u00c2\u00a0 If they sign you, they believe in you.\u00c2\u00a0 And they won’t give up if the first single doesn’t take off.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll work you for a YEAR!<\/p>\n

If they don’t go out of business…\u00c2\u00a0 Ahmet dies, Atlantic continues.\u00c2\u00a0 The owner of Wind-Up bites the dust, and you’re probably FINISHED!<\/p>\n

It’s so much easier when only one company wants your act, you’ve got no choice.\u00c2\u00a0 But when there IS choice!!!<\/p>\n

And the VARIABLES!\u00c2\u00a0 Look at Neil Diamond, whose record was killed by the rootkit debacle.\u00c2\u00a0 Look at all the acts that were priorities until their champions got ousted.<\/p>\n

If I’m an act, I don’t want a company that’s gonna image me, gonna massage my tunes, just one that’s gonna SELL MY MUSIC!<\/p>\n

That’s what Wind-Up does, and they’re doing it very well.<\/p>\n

On another label, Evanescence’s album would already be done.\u00c2\u00a0 Call it the Gin Blossoms syndrome.\u00c2\u00a0 Key songwriter leaves the band, and no one cares again.<\/p>\n

Then again, look at the BASE!\u00c2\u00a0 Evanescence’s previous album sold 6,671,935 copies.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s MARIAH terrain.\u00c2\u00a0 Except Amy Lee isn’t a bumbling airhead like Ms. Carey.\u00c2\u00a0 She doesn’t trumpet her success.\u00c2\u00a0 She doesn’t NEED the publicity.\u00c2\u00a0 Amy Lee is the ultimate rock chick and her fans BELIEVE IN HER!<\/p>\n

And they said rock music was dead…\u00c2\u00a0 Bah humbug.<\/p>\n

34. U2 "U218 Singles"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 80,387
Cume: 342,254<\/p>\n

What a joke.<\/p>\n

The band was at a creative AND commercial peak at the time of "Achtung Baby" and the Zoo TV tour.\u00c2\u00a0 Now they’re elder statesmen playing it safe.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean where’s the EDGE??<\/p>\n

Was the market demanding another greatest hits album?\u00c2\u00a0 Was this package really NECESSARY?<\/p>\n

Bono…\u00c2\u00a0 Throw off the bogus glasses.\u00c2\u00a0 Stop saving the world.\u00c2\u00a0 And make some dark, gritty music.\u00c2\u00a0 Enough of the "Beautiful Day" crap.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re not everyman, so stop acting like one.\u00c2\u00a0 Be the Irishman with the huge desire to get off the island, to leave his mark.\u00c2\u00a0 I want to hear the HUNGER!\u00c2\u00a0 I want to hear the PAIN!\u00c2\u00a0 The last two U2 records were akin to "Rocky" sequels, by the book.\u00c2\u00a0 Break the fucking mold, would you?\u00c2\u00a0 Make it about the MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 Test our LIMITS!\u00c2\u00a0 Bring us to YOU, stop saying please let us in!\u00c2\u00a0 You’re not OLIVER, you’re a fucking ROCK STAR!\u00c2\u00a0 Either act like one, or HANG IT UP!<\/p>\n

42. J.J. Cale\/Eric Clapton "Road To Escondido"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 62,765
Cume: 250,141<\/p>\n

I’ll wager most of the potential audience for this album isn’t even aware it’s out.<\/p>\n

This cries out for some innovative marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 I think the label should GIVE the album away, for a week, on Eric’s Website!<\/p>\n

Heresy you say.<\/p>\n

No, listen.<\/p>\n

It’s about the STORY, stupid!\u00c2\u00a0 You know it’s going to be all over the print media, where you REACH the adult consumer.\u00c2\u00a0 Awareness will be created.\u00c2\u00a0 Will they even know how to download the fucking record?\u00c2\u00a0 PROBABLY NOT!\u00c2\u00a0 But put a link on the homepage to buy it for under $10, and you’ll probably sell plenty.<\/p>\n

And how about an innovative contest.\u00c2\u00a0 Eric and J.J. come and play acoustic at your domicile, yes, do a HOUSE CONCERT!\u00c2\u00a0 Not for Mr. Goldman Sachs, this is not a private, this is a REWARD, for FANS!\u00c2\u00a0 Just one show, that will be broadcast live on the Web, yup, partner with AT&T for that.<\/p>\n

I mean I could blame Eric for being so out of it, not knowing how to sell his own record, but after all, he’s a musician.\u00c2\u00a0 He depends on his LABEL to do the selling.\u00c2\u00a0 And they’re letting him down here.<\/p>\n

44. My Chemical Romance "The Black Parade"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 59,174
Cume: 608,404<\/p>\n

My Chem does not have a traditional deal, not according to Diarmuid Quinn, number two at Warner Brothers.\u00c2\u00a0 The label shares in merchandising, maybe some other revenue streams.<\/p>\n

That’s what was so fascinating in Aspen, to hear the MAJOR players state that content is now free!<\/p>\n

How fucked up is our world where those in power have not figured out how to charge for music acquisition.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re throwing up our hands in defeat??<\/p>\n

Monetize the stealing.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, that would require the old farts to come to grips with the fact that they’re living in a changed world.<\/p>\n

Music IS free, and if you’re paying for it, you’re a chump.\u00c2\u00a0 Because only when sales drop DRAMATICALLY will those with their heads up their asses make a serious move.<\/p>\n

You’re either with us, or against us.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, don’t tell me about the plight of the musician, he’s not getting paid royalties ANYWAY!\u00c2\u00a0 This is about the music itself.\u00c2\u00a0 A soul-fulfilling force.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody should own music and listen, just like everybody has a cell phone.\u00c2\u00a0 This should be a GOAL!\u00c2\u00a0 It pays dividends for EVERYBODY!\u00c2\u00a0 The label, the concert promoter, certainly the act, and obviously the fan.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ve got to stop holding the music back.<\/p>\n

License P2P.\u00c2\u00a0 Then we’ll have what we’ve got with YouTube.\u00c2\u00a0 EXCITEMENT!<\/p>\n

Go to: SNL – Digital Short – A Special Christmas Box *Uncensored Version<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Check out the VIEWS!\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, over THREE MILLION!\u00c2\u00a0 THAT’S what’s important.\u00c2\u00a0 YouTube has single-handedly rebuilt the credibility of SNL.\u00c2\u00a0 Legalized P2P won’t only bolster old bands, it will build up new ones.\u00c2\u00a0 With everybody partaking, everybody excited.<\/p>\n

This is what is coming, it’s just a matter of when.<\/p>\n

47. Incubus "Light Grenades"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 55,578
Cume: 277,926<\/p>\n

And it entered the chart at number one, who gives a shit!<\/p>\n

Did it deserve all that attention?\u00c2\u00a0 No!<\/p>\n

This may not even go gold.<\/p>\n

76. Tupac "Pac’s Life"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 33,037
Cume: 279,900<\/p>\n

Ten years gone.\u00c2\u00a0 And the public is finally burning out on the "new" albums.<\/p>\n

85. Kenny Chesney "Live Those Songs Again"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 27,983
Cume: 356,479<\/p>\n

A live album is something you buy at the gig, something you download, it’s NOT something you buy at a store, that’s a communal experience.<\/p>\n

A live album is a SOUVENIR!\u00c2\u00a0 Sell it like that.<\/p>\n

The days of "Frampton Comes Alive" are done.\u00c2\u00a0 A live album is an artifact, not a cultural rallying post.
Dumb management.\u00c2\u00a0 This guy’s losing momentum.<\/p>\n

93. Yusuf "An Other Cup"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 25,072
Cume: 98,343<\/p>\n

The guy basically self-immolated, but he’d have a fighting chance if only he’d used his FAMOUS NAME!<\/p>\n

I mean this guy had his hits thirty years ago, to sell to his old audience call it CAT STEVENS!<\/p>\n

97. KT Tunstall "Eye To The Telescope"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 24,514
Cume: 834,241<\/p>\n

She needs a new album.<\/p>\n

But that’s not the world we live in, where radio can play the same track for a YEAR!<\/p>\n

Quicker cycles, of both airplay and release.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s how you keep career momentum.\u00c2\u00a0 Satisfy the CORE, don’t constantly try to add casual fans on the penumbra.\u00c2\u00a0 Are you an artist, or a SALES MACHINE!<\/p>\n

114. Little Big Town "Road To Here"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales this week: 21,284
Cume: 855,365<\/p>\n

The problem is we don’t listen anymore.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you listen, if you make wise purchases, you FALL IN LOVE!<\/p>\n

I’m not gonna sell you this record, not tell you it’s one of my favorites of the year.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, I AM!<\/p>\n

Every night in Vancouver I walked around town listening to this on my iPod, and the album REVEALED ITSELF TO ME!<\/p>\n

Yes, there’s the hit "Boondocks", and the Fleetwood Mac rip-off "Bones".\u00c2\u00a0 But my favorite is "A Little More You".\u00c2\u00a0 I e-mailed it to Felice, telling her that’s what I wanted.<\/p>\n

"A Little More You" is an ALBUM TRACK!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not an in-your-face single, rather it’s something just for you, to be discovered deep in the disc, back when there USED TO BE A DISC!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s got harmonies, it swings!<\/p>\n

And walking in the snow, I started to resonate with "Live With Lonesome", with its fiddle.\u00c2\u00a0 It spoke to my heart, and what’s on Top Forty doesn’t.<\/p>\n

"Welcome To The Family" is a throwaway, but it GROWS ON YOU!<\/p>\n

And you’ll dig "Mean Streak".\u00c2\u00a0 It’s got that pathos country is famous for, without beating you on top of the head.<\/p>\n

You’ll play this album and wonder what the fuck I’m thinking.\u00c2\u00a0 But if we were at a house in the country, and I played it through a few times in the background, I’d swear you’d buy it when you got back to the city.<\/p>\n

You see this record’s got life.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s somebody INSIDE!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s HUMAN, and that’s what the beat-driven music lacks, HUMANITY!<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I had the same experience with Little Big Town’s svengali Wayne Kirkpatrick’s "Maple Room", which I kept playing in my car CD player until it revealed itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, you’ll get the opener, "It’s Me Again" IMMEDIATELY!\u00c2\u00a0 But it took me about three plays until I got "Kiss The Cheek Of The Moon".\u00c2\u00a0 This is the kind of stuff we discovered when we purchased albums based on reviews, not needing to hear them on the radio to either be motivated to buy or believe.<\/p>\n

I like being irreverent, I like displaying attitude.\u00c2\u00a0 But neither works after midnight, neither works when I’m alone.\u00c2\u00a0 When I’m alone I yearn for a companion, this music is my companion, it fits the bill.<\/p>\n

If albums survive, they must be that, albums, of a piece, all good.\u00c2\u00a0 And they must be under forty minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 They must be DIGESTIBLE!<\/p>\n

And listening must come back as a sport.\u00c2\u00a0 Music must be more than the special sauce, it must be the whole thing, the bun, the burger and the condiments, a FULL MEAL!<\/p>\n

Music should be SO good that it speaks to your head and heart.\u00c2\u00a0 Not just a lubricant helping you move your body.<\/p>\n

Okay, maybe I’m not as strong as I pretend to be
Okay, maybe I’m just as insecure as everybody else<\/em><\/p>\n

We live in a culture of posing.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re supposed to LOOK together, so everybody ACTS together.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m here to tell you I’M not together.\u00c2\u00a0 I go to the shrink three times a week, searching for answers.\u00c2\u00a0 I wince at things I do all the time.\u00c2\u00a0 Does everybody else feel so untogether?\u00c2\u00a0 Does everybody else have so many questions?\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t they want answers?\u00c2\u00a0 Or are they just too afraid to look?<\/p>\n

But I tell myself, maybe
I can work it out alone
And no one else will ever know<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my favorite lyrics ever comes from James Taylor’s "Shower The People":<\/p>\n

Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s all about community.\u00c2\u00a0 The young ‘uns have it figured out, that’s why they’re all on the Net.\u00c2\u00a0 CONNECTING!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s only the baby boomers who are stoics.\u00c2\u00a0 We need to reveal our foibles, that’s the only way we can intertwine.\u00c2\u00a0 In a nation based on perfection, everybody’s afraid to reveal their flaws, but we’ve all got them, they’re what make us lovable.<\/p>\n

You there
Watching and waiting with the patience of a saint
While I wallow in self-indulgent, paranoid philosophies
But I’m no Socrates, baby
and in the end it’s like a marathon
I’m running straight to you<\/em><\/p>\n

"The Maple Room" is a Christian record.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t understand religious mania.\u00c2\u00a0 Like George Carlin says, let me get this straight, there’s a little man in the sky, and he knows everything, if you’ve been naughty or nice, and…<\/p>\n

Utter bullshit.<\/p>\n

But leave the religion out, and you can see the above lyrics are about love.<\/p>\n

I don’t understand those people who leave their spouses when they’re down, when they get sick, when they lose their jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 Like life is a competition, and now you’re saddled with a loser, like you’ve got to throw off the weight so you can continue on to the finishing line.\u00c2\u00a0 No, life is about being in it together.\u00c2\u00a0 Love is about being ACCEPTED!\u00c2\u00a0 Knowing that if you’re dedicated to the connection, dividends will be paid that can never be tabulated in tabloid appearances.\u00c2\u00a0 The people on TV do it because they need to be famous, they’re empty on the inside.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas you, you know what’s important, being a member of the group.<\/p>\n

I can’t seem to take this ride with ease
I can’t see the forest for the trees
I’m coming undone
Hello, it’s me again
It’s me again<\/em><\/p>\n

We want someone who can accept our collapses, our foibles, our disappointments.\u00c2\u00a0 Who encourages us to be better.<\/p>\n

Then again, you’ve got to COMMIT to getting better.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s SO TOUGH!<\/p>\n

Tonight while all the world is sleeping
I will roam the halls
Consumed with the obsessions of a terminal insomniac
Under attack
Save me
From the poets and the poltergeists
Playing in my head<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s always worse at night.\u00c2\u00a0 When the demons penetrate your brain, when you don’t think you’re gonna make it.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m sure even President Bush doesn’t sleep calmly.\u00c2\u00a0 Life is scary, to bully and josh is to deny human nature.<\/p>\n

So you tell me not to worry
But I’m a frightened little child
With a strong imagination
That can always be found
running free and wild<\/em><\/p>\n

Never lose your imagination, never lose your childlike qualities.\u00c2\u00a0 Marvel at the wonders of the world.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t die on the inside, try to stay alive.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t slide towards home, stand up and run FREE!<\/p>\n

I’ve got to pack.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m going to Colorado tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I may be in a different a location, but I bring myself with me.\u00c2\u00a0 My joys, my pains and my sorrows.\u00c2\u00a0 What keeps me centered is my tunes.\u00c2\u00a0 Now completely portable via my iPod.\u00c2\u00a0 When I’m not feeling so good, when I need to be rooted, I’ll fire up Wayne Kirkpatrick’s "It’s Me Again".\u00c2\u00a0 And when it comes up serendipitously on shuffle, I’ll smile, remembering all the good times listening in my car.<\/p>\n

This is my track.\u00c2\u00a0 It doesn’t need to be yours.<\/p>\n

But find yours.\u00c2\u00a0 The one that speaks to you.\u00c2\u00a0 That rides shotgun.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about airplay, sales, money, it’s just about you, in this lonely world.\u00c2\u00a0 You need help getting through, you might not admit it, but it’s true.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what music does, get you through.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what Ahmet knew, and that’s what today’s indies know.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about how the tunes make you FEEL, not whether they’re radio-friendly.<\/p>\n

So find some personal favorites.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t care if they’re sappy or loud.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re yours.\u00c2\u00a0 Just play them.\u00c2\u00a0 And hopefully the act that made them has more, to enrapture you.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Young Jeezy "Inspiration: Thug Motivation" Sales this week: 352,392Debut These rap albums, they come and they go.\u00c2\u00a0 One used to feel ignorant and out of it not knowing the rap stars, now one just sees them as a sideshow, part of the Top Forty\/MTV circus. Interestingly, the single, "I Luv It", is number 15 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-ae","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}