I thought I’d top off my tank at Costco.

Now what you’ve got to know about gasoline is you must buy Top Tier, which Costco gas is. Gas is gas is gas, only it’s not. You may be saving pennies at your off-brand locale, but there’s a good chance you’ll pay for it in the long run. You can do the research, but not only is Top Tier gas guaranteed to meet the octane rating, it  has many more detergent additives, which give you a cleaner engine, preventing harm not only to your mill, but your exhaust system, never mind eliminating performance issues like rough idling and acceleration hesitation that are caused by deposits on intake valves and fuel injectors. 

You can find out if your local station sells Top Tier fuel here: https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

Scared yet?

Probably not. Because price is king in America.

Only this has been proven untrue in the airline space, which is one of the reasons Spirit tanked, twice. Turns out people want more than just a guaranteed seat, they want to be able to pick where they sit and not have to be nickel and dimed for everything from beverages to carry-on luggage. Just like the U.S. has seen a huge uplift in the quality of its food, just look at the offerings at the stadium or the arena, people are willing to pay for a modicum of comfort. Then again, the traditional airlines ate Spirit’s lunch by offering these same basic fares, that sometimes don’t even come with mileage awards. However, now buying an airline ticket is akin to running a gauntlet. There can be five flavors of economy. Yet, I am truly irked by the rise in baggage fees. The end result is people will drag everything on the plane to avoid paying a few extra dollars. Sure, you don’t have to wait to claim your bag at the carousel, but isn’t the airline experience chaotic enough?

Not that people don’t like to save money. I do too. But I’ve got to tell you, I no longer know the value of a dollar, there’s been that much inflation. A hamburger with the trimmings can cost twenty bucks at a fast food outlet. I just walk around with my wallet open and allow companies to pick what they want.

Actually, I never pay cash. I’ve got the same hundred dollar bills in my wallet that have been there since 2024. Even valet parking now takes cards. Then again, I went to buy bagels at Western Bagel, right by the factory, I had to walk around a tanker to get in the front door, what exactly was in it was unclear, but they need this stuff to make their bagels which are absolutely substandard. And they only took cash. Everybody’s looking to avoid paying taxes. Just if this is the path you take, you’ve got to know not to leave a paper trail, absolutely do not put the money in the bank.

Now I’m not looking to save money at the gas pump. I don’t want to get ripped-off, but I’m willing to pay extra for convenience. Then again, my tank is not that big. How many gallons do I buy at a time? Usually ten. And that’s premium, my car requires it. And to tell you the truth, it gets terrible mileage, but it’s paid for… And another advantage of having an old car is all the attendant costs are lower, like registration and insurance.

Generally speaking, I buy gas by location, where I am. It makes no sense to drive ten miles to save a dime because not only is your time eaten up, but so is the gas.

As for the price of gas…

Yes, it’s higher in California than in any other state in the continental U.S. Mostly it’s got to do with the formulation, to avoid pollution. Which was drastic back in the fifties and sixties. The L.A. “Times” just did a series on how bad it was, but no one I know gets the paper anymore, so it’s like it doesn’t even exist. The paper also said how many months of your life you were sacrificing as a result of air pollution. If you live east of L.A., out by San Bernardino way, it might make you want to move.

Then again, we keep hearing it’s a myth. But the pollution in L.A. can be seen. I couldn’t see the Hollywood hills from the 10 freeway back in the seventies, that’s a rare event today.

And did you see that King Charles talked about the melting ice caps?

In a world where electric wind companies are being paid not to build and the Chinese are about to eat our lunch in the automotive sphere…

But I’m not going to get into it with you. I’ve started to detach. Political reporting is now akin to sports. Everybody’s got their team and when it comes to the standings, the elections…

We’ve got gerrymandering, voter suppression.

And I live in the hellhole known as California.

That’s another thing the L.A. “Times” reported on, residents’ dissatisfaction with the state. But the truth is people were not downbeat until the political/press campaign to point out California’s flaws. Believe what you want, but there’s nowhere I’d rather live. You may have a lower tax bill if you live in Florida, or Texas, but you’ve got to live there to get the benefit, and that’ s not for me. Imagine heat without humidity. That’s California. Never mind the outside lifestyle without the focus on where you went to college and who your parents are…

So I was never going to buy Costco gas, if for no other reason than I refused to wait for it. But my local Costco revamped its entire filling station, added numerous pumps, and when I went to the outlet back in January, there was NO LINE!

Now one thing you’ve got to know is Costco only takes Visa. But I’ve been unable to get their credit card, despite having a credit score of over 800. You can’t beat the algorithm, the formula that determines whether you’re worthy of a card.

But I do have a Visa ATM car, but I sacrifice the rebate, which is actually 5% on gas. I didn’t know it was that high. But what is your time worth?

So I’m coming from an eye appointment, figuring I’ll buy some gallons while I’m there, and what I see is a bumper to bumper parking lot akin to one at a rock concert. I truly believed that the gasoline pumps were closed. Because there were lineups of endless cars in each lane, and none of these lanes were moving.

I’m not going to wait to save six bucks.

Oh yeah… If you want to buy Top Tier premium gas in Los Angeles, you’re paying over six bucks, closer to seven.

And when I was through shopping, I went over to look at the pump, that’s the only place you can find the price. And a gallon of premium was $5.99.

Okay, I just paid $6.59 at the Mobil station on Sepulveda. I’ve actually paid $6.79 further down Sepulveda, on the other side of the hill.

But one thing I will tell you, the more you pay, the better the squeegee, and the towels (which they don’t even have at Costco). Cheaper stations’ squeegees are better at creating streaks as opposed to cleaning. And if they have paper at all… It ain’t too absorbent.

So, I bought the aforementioned ten gallons.

Now if I’d filled up at Costco, I would have saved six bucks.

Now if you asked me just a year or two ago, I’d say six bucks was a lot. But now you may throw food away that costs more. I still have trouble with this, but saving pennies is a full time job.

And for some it’s sport. You’d be surprised how many wealthy people will blow time to save a minimal number of bucks.

Now it’s one thing to be extravagant, but it’s quite another to nickel and dime. Actually, when you nickel and dime you don’t know how bad you look. Split the bill evenly, even if they had alcohol and you did not, it all comes out in the wash, and no one likes a cheapskate.

Then again, there are people without enough money. I’ve been there, I have sympathy. And even I’m astounded at the prices at the grocery store.

But it’s the same Costco with the same number of pumps there were in January when there was no line. What is going on?

The war in Iran, the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices are stratospheric.

Now I lived through the gas shortages of ’73 and ’79. Each time there was a rush to smaller, more fuel efficient automobiles. But people have short memories. So they buy these SUVs and trucks that get poor mileage and then literally pay the price in a gas crisis like this. It’s not easy to have sympathy for these people. Do you really need such a large vehicle? And did you really believe that gas prices are not volatile?

But no one in America plans for the future. Of course that’s an overstatement, but we constantly read how most people have almost no savings.

So who are they going to turn to?

Well, at first themselves. They need to make better choices.

But if they’re looking for the government to save them… It’s the flip side of what Reagan campaigned on. The public wants the government to help. Needless to say, Trump caused this problem. But his acolytes have drunk the kool-aid, they just parrot what he says. As for the other side, they’re worthless. And the media tells us to wait for the elections… Yeah, right. If you believe there’s going to be a free and fair election for president in 2026…

I’m tuning out. The press has been going on for days about Saturday night’s gunman. But no one died, security worked. But wouldn’t this engender a discussion of gun control? Not in America! Where  mass shootings are de rigueur, they might get coverage the day they occur, but then everybody moves on, if they paid attention in the first place.

There’s so much b.s. going on, a lot of it irrelevant, a lot of it not. It’s a full time job keeping up, but you ultimately realize this isn’t about informing you, but making money. Bloviators on cable news, never mind the slanting of mass communication as a result of consolidation and Trump. If Comey, who is an idiot for his sea shell statement, can be prosecuted, what are the odds you’re going to cross the line, even come close to it?

You’re just trying to pay your bills. Hoping you don’t lose your job to AI, even though that’s just a cover for downsizing.

Which is why so many are lining up for gas at Costco.

I guess.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

You cannot compete with TikTok and Instagram when it comes to social media. And you cannot compete with Apple and Android when it comes to smartphones. However, you can compete with the three major labels very easily. The tools of production and the avenues of distribution are in the hands of the proletariat. It costs nearly nothing to play, however that does not mean you’ll win.

Separating the wheat from the chaff is the question facing recorded music today, and so far no one has come up with a solution. Radio has diminished power, even DSP playlisting cannot push a record over the top. So what we wait for is spontaneous combustion, someone outside the conventional framework, an independent who surfaces via an unpredictable amalgamation of social media and word of mouth and…who knows what else.

But despite their front line, new music business being encroached upon by independent acts, no independent label can truly compete with the majors because they lack a catalog, guaranteed income at almost no cost that keeps the lights on.

Used to be the majors had a lock on distribution, that was their power. An independent might be able to get a record in the store, but good luck getting paid. Only those with a continuous flow of product could count on their accounts ponying up, at least until the outlets went bankrupt.

But now the majors don’t have a big stick, they can’t insist you go through them to succeed. However, as a result of their catalogs, the majors write the rules, i.e. what DSPs pay, never mind licensing all over the internet.

And the truth is licensing income keeps increasing. Seemingly every new platform needs music to run, and ultimately they make a deal with the rights holders. Which is why when Wall Street talks about a potential slowdown in the growth of Spotify, et al, it’s being myopic. Music has never had more uses, all of which pay, they keep on inventing new ones. (Which is another argument against selling your publishing rights/royalty streams.)

Now the death of the major labels has been predicted since the advent of Napster, and it has never arrived. But consolidation happened. In a world where there are unlimited new assets. When there’s consolidation in conventional spheres, there are a limited number of assets to be purchased, but not in music.

And that’s just new music. When it comes to old…

Classic rock acts are reaching the end of their lives and they want to cash in and are selling to…

Well, the majors could have bought everything. Let’s be clear, the majors have woken up to the power of independent acts, and have tried to gobble up this sphere of distribution, i.e. Universal’s purchase of Downtown, but what is the value of publishing rights? And how much do you pay? Yes, Universal might have kicked off the furor with its purchase of Bob Dylan’s catalog, but the truth is most sales have been to new indies. And two giants have emerged, Primary Wave and Concord. They both have assembled cream of the crop publishing rights. They paid a high price, but the value will keep going up.

So, the majors let the indies in on publishing. But the majors also ensured that when it comes to streaming, publishers got screwed, their piece of the pie is small.

So…

Now we’ve got a fourth major, based primarily on the acquisition of rights, all those songs and recordings that Concord bought. Concord slowly built up a monolith, in plain sight. As for new music… It has been eclipsed by the nascent, nimble BMG. So you put them together and…

Voila! You’ve got a fourth major. A fourth seat at the table when it comes to setting prices. A fourth place a new act can go to sell its wares.

But the dirty little secret is new music is a crapshoot. No one can break an act. What we’re really looking for is quality new music production, a wider variety of acts getting an investment and a push, not having to do it all by their lonesome.

But all the money is in catalog.

So…

It’s good to have a fourth major. It adds competition.

But the problem of new music remains. Is the chaos of today going to continue?

Well, the era of universal hits known by everybody looks like it will never return.

And the public is overwhelmed with choice, to the point many don’t pay attention at all.

Then again, do you like the offerings? For all the BTS mania, you can get tickets very cheaply for their shows now. Demand is limited.

Demand is limited for all, but never has what is considered major been so minor, never has the major stuff been unpalatable to so many.

The film companies have addressed this by making films in ever fewer genres and the end result is that Netflix has eaten their lunch. Netflix bought distribution rights in plain sight, just like Primary Wave and Concord bought rights in plain sight. But Netflix ultimately invested a ton of money in new production, and with first mover advantage won the subscriber wars. Netflix with a lot of new stuff wins, the also-rans with little lose.

But we have no big kahuna in music with a plethora of new music gaining our attention. This isn’t like the heyday of Asylum Records, when you could buy an LP based on the label. And Netflix is a different business model, it’s a walled garden of distribution, whereas in music everything is available on the DSPs.

But the real story is no indie can survive long term because it has no catalog to continue to generate high margin revenue.

But the new BMG/Concord does have a catalog.

But will it invest in new music, break the logjam of endless mediocrity?

That is what we want.

We will wait to see if this new entity delivers.

1

He’s dead.

The media has been positively shocked that a film with uniformly negative reviews is doing so well at the box office. After all, isn’t Michael Jackson a child molester in a zero tolerance era?

Look at Cesar Chavez, he was scrubbed from modern life within a week. Whereas with Michael Jackson new molestation cases continue to surface over fifteen years since his death.

But Cesar Chavez never made music.

And music touches people in a way that conventional work and politics do not. That’s the power of art.

Michael Jackson is the new Marilyn Monroe. However with far superior talent and creative track record. Marilyn was never taken seriously as an actress until “The Misfits.” Sure, her scene in “The Seven Year Itch” became iconic in a prudish era, but it didn’t require much in the way of acting.

But Monroe was troubled. With multiple marriages that did not seem to square, like with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley and his dermatologist’s assistant, Debbie Rowe.

And both employed plastic surgery to alter their appearance.

And both were notoriously exotic and troubled, people that were human, but that we couldn’t quite relate to, they were iconic.

I mean Marilyn Monroe was a presence, but she didn’t become a legend until she passed prematurely, of an overdose, before the drug scourge hit the middle class suburbs. Jackson died too soon too, and his death was so bizarre…getting propofol to sleep?

So what exactly was the story with these two people.

It’s not exactly clear.

And since they’re gone, we can’t talk to them, we can’t excavate the truth, we’re left with questions.

Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe are both heroes and enigmas. Troubled icons. Illustrations of the perils of fame. They had everything we thought we wanted, but it wasn’t enough, it didn’t work out for them.

But somehow the press completely missed all this. Journalists just can’t understand how the public can be flocking to see this film.

But people want to get closer, they want to invest their own hopes and dreams in Michael Jackson. Most weren’t even born when “I Want You Back” penetrated the airwaves. And those who were were laughing when he sang an ode to a rat, the title song of the film “Ben.” And no one expected him to make a major musical statement with “Off the Wall.”

And “Off the Wall” was just the set-up, for the victory lap, i.e. “Thriller.” With “Off the Wall” Jackson had something to prove, he wanted to be taken seriously. With “Thriller,” he needed to cement his spot at the apex of the popular music world. And the rest of his life was about trying to stay at this level, continue to have hits, be the “King of Pop,” when no one has continued to have this level of success over decades, everybody’s career flattens out, fades.

And the bizarre personal life, with a kid he hung over a hotel balcony who ultimately was referred to as “Blanket.” It wasn’t that Jackson was sticking his finger into the eye of protocol like the outrageous performers who preceded him, rather he appeared completely out of touch, like he didn’t know what the rules were. And with his changing personal appearance, he was perceived to be a freak.

And then he died.

And you’re telling me people shouldn’t be interested in his life?

2

There’s nobody close to Michael Jackson today, no one with worldwide appeal whose work is known by seemingly everybody. That paradigm is dead.

“Thriller” on MTV was an event, and today what is billed as an event evaporates within twenty four hours, if it had any traction at all.

How did this all happen?

And can it be replicated?

So you’ve got fans who want to revel in the music, leave this chaotic world behind. And then there are attendees who want to know more of the story… Oldster journalists may know every detail, but the average person does not. And then there are those who go to be inspired…maybe they can pick up some tips on how to make it themselves.

Kind of like Freddie Mercury, he was dead too when the Queen biopic triumphed. A guy who was out in a world that couldn’t fathom it, after all, the band was named “Queen.” And then he died of AIDS. And he composed “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which broke all the rules. Michael Jackson had a number of those tracks.

Hollywood misread the success of the film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” they saw it as a new lane, believed the public was hungry for musical biopics, the stories of legends.

But the Elton biopic did only a fraction of Queen’s.

And Springsteen’s was a veritable stiff.

But they’re both here, alive. And neither embodies the controversy, the weirdness of Michael Jackson, or even Freddie Mercury.

3

So what we’ve got here is a guy who was the front person for a number of hit records in a number of eras. His music evolved, even if it was questionable whether he himself did.

Of course there’s the domineering father, the pill addiction after the Pepsi fire.

But… Have you ever listened to “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”? Unlike today’s music, it isn’t built to hook you right away, so you don’t switch to another track. Sure, the bass is inviting. And then fifteen seconds in, there’s swirling strings more akin to “The Wizard of Oz” than popular music. But then comes an ethereal vocal…

“Keep on, with the force, don’t stop

Don’t stop ’til you get enough”

When done right music is a release, it sets your mind, and in this case your body, free. It detaches you from everyday life, your troubles, your disappointments, it inspires you. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” was released in an era where rock was competing with disco yet it somehow seemed to transcend both of these genres and appeal to everyone. And it still does!

And the 1983 Motown special… He invented his own dance step, people were mesmerized by the moonwalk, it was akin to a magic trick.

And “Off the Wall” was not followed up by a formulaic repeat. The ethereal “Billie Jean” lifted the listener into the land of fantasy, hopes and dreams. And the “Thriller” video was a mini-movie, on a whole ‘nother level from what came before.

And then Jackson lost the plot. He kept descending for a number of years, becoming a caricature of himself, trying desperately to hold on to his fame, to the point where he ultimately no longer made new music or performed live, he became a feature in the tabloids as opposed to the music magazines.

Who wouldn’t be interested all that?

3

Michael Jackson the myth has eclipsed Michael Jackson the man. The public owns his image now, society is in control of the music and the legend. People know about the bad behavior, but they don’t care! Because they’re employing selective vision. They’re not writing an obituary, rather they focus on the arc they want. And it’s going to go on forever. Come on, come up with another star with even one third of the same bizarre lifelong arc? Michael is sui generis, and there will never be another one of him, people need to get closer.

4

But if the press is wrong about this, what else is it wrong about?

It couldn’t see Trump’s victory in 2016, never mind 2024.

It keeps excoriating Morgan Wallen but he is the biggest streaming act in the nation, far in excess of everybody else. But didn’t he use the “N-word”? Absolutely, at the end of a drunken night, as a term of endearment to his buddy. And if you don’t think rap/Black culture has penetrated even the most remote hamlets, you’re unaware of the fact that cable TV and the internet are everywhere. To the point where we ended up getting white rappers. Doesn’t mean that Wallen should have employed the epithet, but his fans… They’re not racist, they’re just don’t employ a zero tolerance framework when it comes to their icons, their stars. Especially when their stardom is based on music.

But this is the country we now live in. Oldsters still trying to hang on to their power, believing they still have power, they try to get the public to see the landscape through their lens, when in truth, the public isn’t even paying attention to what they say.

Cable TV news? The audience is so small and aged as to be laughable.

Comey and 86-47. It’s today’s Melania/Kimmel… A headline that is supposed to fan the flames of outrage, when we’ve seen this movie every day for years, and today’s story might not even be remembered tomorrow.

But “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” is not stopping. We still haven’t gotten enough, and it came out 47 years ago!

Even the music business itself doesn’t know what the public wants anymore. Most people don’t know and don’t care about the Spotify Top 50, which is everything to the major labels.

And live performance has eclipsed recordings anyway. And Michael Jackson is considered one of the best, if not the best performer of the  modern era.

And no one has challenged, even come close to Michael Jackson’s ionic music. We never got a new Beatles and we haven’t gotten a new Michael Jackson either.

But we’ve got bozos opining on a world they do not know. Forgetting when done right, music hits you intellectually last. It’s emotional, unlike so much dry reporting. That was the appeal of Trump to begin with, he was outrageous, he did not play by the rules. The press kept waiting for him to falter, but the public overlooked or overcame his faux pas, just like they’re now doing with Michael Jackson’s.

Jackson paid for his sins with his life. What are you doing by trying to continue to punish him. Tarnish his legacy? The public knows he’s weird, many people believe he abused young boys, and to them it makes no difference.

Or, I could say that the public is once again wiser than the gatekeepers, who have less power than ever. Sometimes the public knows it’s simple. In this case, a guy with a bizarre life who created legendary music. It’s perfectly clear.

This goes off the rails in the last two episodes.

We were watching three series at once, “Beef,” “Drops of God” and “Mudtown.” I occasionally do this with books, when nothing grabs me, I read a chapter of each in rotation and then wait to find a book I want to continue to read.

Same thing happened with my TV watching, I got hooked on “Mudtown” and finished that.

And that’s where you should start.

“Mudtown” is one of those series that was shot in Wales in both English and Welsh. Like “Keeping Faith.” You haven’t watched that one? You should, because Eve Myles gives a performance that would have made her a star in the U.S.

Now “Mudtown” takes two episodes to get going, but then you’re completely hooked. And there’s a star in the show too… Actually, more than one. You might recognize Erin Richards, who plays magistrate Claire. Her teenage daughter is out of control and she must tighten the screws, her husband, Matthew Gravelle as Alun, is passive…then again, he’s facing his own trouble.

The other first class performance comes from Tom Cullen as dope dealer/mobster Saint Pete. Who is a variation on the Tony Soprano paradigm. As in he’s got a rough side he can turn on when he needs to, but otherwise he’s appealing, almost suave. Saint Pete is more negative and intense than calm, but Cullen radiates an intelligence, a knowledge of his game, that makes him magnetic.

And the reason I’m mentioning the superior “Mudtown” in a discussion of the second season of “Beef” is because of its look and feel.

These British shows have a darkness, that was in the hit music of the Isle from the late sixties and seventies. American shows are fresh-scrubbed, in your face, and inherently less believable, but it’s that which draws us in and gets us involved that intrigues us, not that which we watch from afar. This is my problem with comic book movies…they might even be intense, but I can never relate. I can relate to “Mudtown,” because of the humanity. Life is not always roses, not always upbeat, beautiful people romping, as a matter of fact, most life is positively mundane, you’re trying to overcome the hurdles in front of you and it’s a slog.

“Beef”‘s second season starts off in a country club. But pretty soon we’re introduced to Cailee Spaney’s Ashley. Whom I recognized, but couldn’t remember where from. I looked her up and… Maybe it’s from “Mare of Eastown,” but that was back in 2021.

Anyway, Spaeny is one of these actresses who looks younger than her age. She appears a teenager, but in real life she’s actually 27. And here she plays a child of divorce that is on a fast train to nowhere. Without a high school degree, her future is hampered.

But she is engaged to Austin, a good-hearted trainer who appears to have taken too many hits playing football. He’s not exactly dumb… But what you’ve got here is a couple surviving on almost nothing trying to live the dream.

They’re not the only ones struggling…

Oscar Isaac’s Josh and Carey Mulllgan’s Lindsay… Let’s just say, this is not the life Lindsay signed up for.

Now I can’t say I’ve ever cottoned to Carey Mulligan. And at times she plays too sophisticated for this role, but her acting is definitely a cut above and a joy to watch. And deep into the series she’s got a soliloquy in pain while Ashley sits by looking on and… It’s fascinating, because the older Carey/Lindsay’s intelligence and personality make her more attractive than the younger cutie Cailee/Ashley, with her perfect skin, in that… If you think looks are enough, once you see the radiation of intelligence, you’ll change your mind.

And the glossy surface of “Beef”‘s second season translates to the story, you do not become immediately involved. But then you do get mildly hooked. The story is at times serious and at times ridiculous, but seeing the power games play out keeps you interested.

Because this is life. Everybody is not only trying to make ends meet, but they’re trying to get ahead. They want more. How are they going to get it? You think you’re special when growing up and then you find out you’re not, you’re just like everybody else, which is scary. You thought you were destined for more.

Then again, all Cailee wants is to get married and have a baby.

All these life issues underpin the action and…

I forgot to mention William Fichtner as Troy. You’ve seen this guy before, he’s been in a lot of things, and you almost always hate him. He’s dark and slimy… Here he evidences more light, and he’s less hatable, this is the best performance I’ve ever seen him give.

Yes, a lot of the acting is superior to the story.

But Netflix’s second season of “Beef” isn’t even in the same league as BritBox’s “Mudtown.” The characters in the latter are much more three-dimensional, the story much more gripping, you’re drawn in, you’re invested, whereas you feel like you’re on a lark, a veritable ride in the second season of “Beef.” As for Apple’s “Drops of God”…all image, with a flat story. Unless you loved, loved LOVED the first season, avoid the second. It’s not that it moves slowly, it’s just not fleshed out, it’s just images and plot points and this is not the TV I signed up for.

But “Mudtown” is.

I guess some people like TV to be their escape. But the truth is so much of today’s life is escape, or totally unbelievable. The posturing and lying online, the focus on image…and a government that makes you throw up your arms in disgust… I’m looking for that dark human feeling, the believability in the records of yore. Which might have been bombastic, but the people making them were not dependent upon physical attractiveness to succeed, their music was definitely human. As “Mudtown” is.

I’ll put it this way, if you want to go to an adult Disneyland, the second season of “Beef” is the way to go.

But if you want to get right down to the real nitty-gritty, if you’re looking for fare that grips you and makes you think, “Mudtown” delivers. In a world where so much does not. I guess that’s the problem with so much of today’s music, it’s a glossy product, made by committee to sell, the person on stage is a presenter, relatively hollow. They’re fads little different from Beanie Babies. Here for a while, and then pure nostalgia at best.

But there are artists who get under your skin, whose music you listen to even if it’s not successful commercially.

That’s “Mudtown.”

Make your choice.