At what point did you give up your fandom for a band...if ever?

And what made you become a fan of the band to begin with?

Now a band needs a lead singer, a front person, usually a man but it can also be a woman. Look, Linkin Park is now fronted by a woman. And that front person must have a personality. Alice Cooper was the name of the band, not Vince Furnier, but because of his antics up front, Vince became known as Alice and continued to have a career when the rest of the band did not.

Now it's best if that front person is edgy. After all, a band is the antithesis to society. We don't need you to agree, but to point out all the inequities, all the injustices. The more you stick it to the man, the more we like you. Furthermore, we want you to live a lifestyle we cannot, because we neither have the cash nor the opportunities, never mind the road manager with a roll of hundred dollar bills to make any problem go away. We like that you elude the law. We even like it when you're drunk and out of control, proving that society's norms have no purchase on your soul.

As for big pronouncements... The Beatles bigger than Jesus? How come I'm still referencing this offhand remark by John Lennon over half a century later. He's rich, he's got fans, he can say whatever he wants, whereas those working for the man cannot...their entire lives are compromised, they've got to give to get, it's a network of obligations, most of which you don't want to fulfill, but you need to.

As for solo acts...

There's a reason acts are wary of going out sans the band's name. Kevin Cronin just experienced this. He's the front person for REO Speedwagon, but without that moniker...the populace is confused, they think they're not getting what they used to, if they're even aware of the fact that it's the same guy who sings the songs.

Starting as a solo act... You're best if there's a penumbra, more than your music. Elton John had the outfits, the outrageousness. That's fallen away today, but if you were around back then it was a key part of a fan's attachment to him.

In other words, the music is not enough. You need a personality. Hopefully with some rough edges that can hook the audience.

Which is why you can have hits but no career. What is your IMAGE? And an image is more than beauty.

Speaking of beauty... We loved that our acts went out with models and actresses. They WON! Peter Wolf with Faye Dunaway? Everybody in America was salivating over her and this scruffy guy from a band got her. Rod Stewart and his babes?

Rod Stewart's a good example... What did it take for me to turn on him?

Those execrable "American Songbook" albums he did with Clive Davis. If you're only doing it for the money... Then again, like Frank Zappa, you can poke fun at the whole thing, saying WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY!

Was this the same Rod the Mod who grew up in Gasoline Alley? Who was up on deck when she bit his neck? This guy didn't know who his audience was, and he alienated me. But I've still got a soft spot in my heart for Rod...I remember those early records.

Trump is an incredible front man. He acts like the rules don't apply to him. Does whatever he wants, damn the consequences, someone else will clean up the detritus.

He's traded one babe for another, he's married to a model now.

He's beaten the system time and again. Stiffing banks and contractors.

He's a rebel I tell you, a veritable RENEGADE!

But those battling against him point to the facts. It's like a classical music aficionado trying to convince you why Ozzy Osbourne sucks. Who cares, they don't get it!

Trump jets around and acts like a bozo with world leaders... Isn't this like Keith Moon? If you're a fan of the man you're loving it, you're not wincing, you're WINNING!

So what is it going to take for you to abandon Trump? I mean you've drunk the kool-aid, you're a fan.

Well, you could become a fan of a new band.

But the Democrats don't have any acts they're purveying other than Gavin Newsom, who they're sidelining.

Schumer? He's not even as credible and desirable as the Carpenters.

Who amongst the Democrats inspires the base, makes them fans?

I can't think of a single person. I can think of a few people who are good on paper, like Shapiro, Pritzker and Whitmer... But I wouldn't go to the show. Get in my car, travel and pay to see any of them. As for their greatest hits...what exactly are they? There's no there there.

So the Democrats keep trying to convince Trump voters that they shouldn't, be fans of Trump.

They point to cuts that will hurt the Trumpers... But the Trumpers are not listening, it's like parents trying to tell their kids about the evils of Elvis Presley, they're doubling-down.

Now in music there's been a tradition of outlaws, which has now been squandered. Do you remember the turn of the decade, from the eighties to the nineties, when Snoop started singing about gin and juice and there were these rap wars and all we heard was f*ck the police? Not only were these rappers dangerous, they were spewing truth! And isn't it funny how even today when a rapper goes to jail it doesn't hurt their career.

But that dangerous front person paradigm is hard to find in today's music. Because you just can't repeat what's been done before, you must plow new ground. So if you sing music that hearkens back to the days of yore and you're dating models...we've seen that before, how about something new?

And you're ripping us off all the while.

We don't need your stinking merch, even though you keep telling us so. Trump executed on this model before it became completely burned out, before the Kardashians perfected it, proving that you don't even have to have any talent to sell merch, that it's all a big grift. At the core of it you've got to have something...

So if your songs are written by committee...

It's harder for the audience to embrace you. We want to believe they're YOUR words, YOUR story. Which is one of the reasons music blew up back in the sixties and seventies. Now the focus is on hits. Whatever it takes to make a hit. Give the audience something palatable. Whereas it used to be about the audience coming to the act, not compromising whatsoever. Have you listened to "Are You Experienced"? There's not a hit on it. But when you first heard "Purple Haze" you wanted more of that.

Norms... Stars challenge the norms.

As for today's record labels, they're just like the consultants who convinced Biden he could win. They wanted to keep their jobs, they wanted their bonuses. But the joke was on them, because the audience knew...

Hell, look at the recent concert grosses. They're not so big if you're not a big star. As for some long in the tooth stars... How many times are you going to go back to the well and rip me off? I've seen the show, and you want how much money?

It's tough for a fan.

And we wall want to be fans. That's part of our identity, part of our well-being. And music has punted here, believing commerce triumphs artistry.

What did Trump say during his first run? I'M RICH AND I DON'T NEED YOUR MONEY! Imagine a musical act saying that today.

You can challenge the veracity of that, but musical acts have been lying from day one. The show is sold out? Yeah, right. You've sold a million copies of your independent album? I'd be stunned if you sold a hundred thousand. Or, as Jerry Heller once told me regarding N.W.A...my company, my number!

So you Democrats keep trying to poke holes in the Trump edifice. You might as well try and convince young girls not to believe in K-pop.

But it's even worse. The Democrats are abdicating all their power. They're all about old media when it's been trumped by new media...everybody gets their information online and what do the Democrats say? SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE DEVIL! And when you ask them if they're on TikTok, they say they wouldn't deign to be so...but the joke is on them.

Don't think of it as binary, us vs. them... There are more than two acts in music, and there is more than one politician. You can be successful without basing your entire ethos/marketing campaign on putting another act down. You're just rounding up all the people who don't believe in the other act, giving them something to invest their time, money and belief in. And if your act is powerful enough, some of the fans of another act will come to you.

And one thing is for sure, acts are not forever. Some have long careers on the road, but their hitmaking days are far behind them. You need new blood. Where is the new blood in the Democratic party? NONEXISTENT!

Beto O'Rourke said some good things, but he looked like a prep school kid out on a lark, not dangerous. Which was a criticism of Fetterman, that he hadn't done an honest day's work in his life, but at least he had tattoos and was wearing those damn SHORTS! And when he showed up in Congress in them and his hoodies... The old farts were offended, youngsters said they could see one of theirs in office. (However Fetterman had his stroke and his power has been to a great degree neutered.)

We're looking for leaders. And leaders also have a sense of humor about themselves.

What we're looking for is stars.

There are plenty of people with talent, but how many are stars?

Very few.

And gaining an audience is about more than talent, it's an ability to be warm, to communicate. There are variations on the theme, but talk to anybody in the music business, they know what a star is and who is one. Hell, there are stars with imperfect voices. That's why "The Voice" and other competition shows never mint stars, because it's not solely about the voice, that's just the starting point.

We want unconstrained people who can give the middle finger to the status quo. Trump fires on all cylinders. The Democrats? They can't even start their electric car.

So the next time you criticize people for being Trumpers... Ask yourself what you're offering in return. Also, know that generally speaking very little is being offered anyway, which is another reason why politics is king. Actors have been revealed to truly be two-dimensional as a result of social media and the "musicians" are all whored-out, who you gonna believe in in this topsy-turvy, difficult world?

And you've got to believe in someone.

And it's never just yourself. Unless you're John Lennon. Isn't it funny that despite his cutting personality, his poor treatment of women, that he's still revered, more than Paul McCartney? Paul NEEDS it, John didn't seem to. He wasn't begging for your attention, you were drawn to him.

Who is drawing us to them in the Democratic party?

No one.

But the Republicans, they've got TRUMP!


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