Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

How Often do you Change Out Your Jeans?

I'm a Lee Jeans guy...have been since High School. They just fit my butt better than Levis, Wranglers and the others. I had a brief fling with Calvin Klein...but Lees were always my go-to.

Today, shopping for jeans is tedious. Realizing that it was time for an upgrade, I ventured out to a couple stores...which present buyers with messy stacks of product with a dizzying array of styles and cuts (and few in my size).

So, I went online and ended up buying some upgraded jeans for those I bought a decade ago. So now, they got me.

Three months later, I get the e-mail that it's time to "restock."

Really...I need to upgrade my jeans every quarter?

The Band

An embarrassing confession to my friends who are among the "music elite" on this Music Friday.

I never got The Band when I was in college. Oh, I appreciated the hits...but, the rest of their body of work was lost on me. And I have no idea why.

I loved Three Dog Night's version of Chest Fever. 

I just never understood until I followed MY rabbit hole after searching on Levon Helm after watching him in Shooter years ago. Then, watching video after video, I was reborn.

You want a rabbit hole of covers (oddly missing the Three Dog Night cover), it's here.

And here's the REAL version of "Chest Fever."

Have fun.

Thanks, Jim

The things you see when you are "back of the house."

This is a shot (click to enlarge) of the underside of a conference table. Jim noted (with a Sharpie) that he repaired it in April of 1995. And again in June of 1995. And then in April of 1996.

And here it sits today, in 2023, still in service and leaning against a wall in a hotel, held together by duct tape.

So...did future repairs go unrecorded? Or did Jim's June '95 fix do the trick?

And...regardless...amazing that this table is still in service almost 30 years later.

The Weather Channel

Let's be honest...The Weather Channel has turned into Reality TV. Not really sure when it happened (maybe it was this moment when Jim Cantore lost his shit with Thundersnow), but I used to rely on The Weather Channel for.....ummm, weather.

Clearly with the Winter Storm Event called Olive, there will be travel delays. I'd kinda like to know how the ice storm is impacting DTW tonight. How double digit snow totals will snarl MSP tomorrow. And, which interstates are closed to me.

Instead, I've just endured an hour of correspondents marveling at how the wind is creating snowdrifts in Green Bay and Minneapolis.

I know I live where that happens every winter...but can I get some news I can use?

Or, is it time for the Weather Travel Channel?

Jim Dandy to the Rescue

Not sure why I can't get the Black Oak Arkansas classic out of my head...but isn't that what Destination Leadership Organizations have become in the past three years? Coming to the rescue of local businesses that need a helping hand in times of crisis?

That's exactly what the Pinehurst, Southern Pines & Aberdeen CVB did when their power grid was attacked by vandals as their communities entered the all too crucial holiday shopping season. Within hours, Phil Werz and his staff hatched a plan to support their area merchants in a time of acute need.

You can hear about "Moore Miracles" and much more about how that DLO is rockin' their destination on the latest episode of the DMOU podcast.

Cool stuff.

Burt

My initial thought for this Music Friday was to bypass the passing of one of the most impressive composers of the "schmaltz era" of pop culture because Burt Bacharach wasn't at all like those we traditionally feature. He was just someone with a gift for penning non-obtrusive pop hits for others.

But, my friend George Tzougros of the Wisconsin Arts Board (and a past guest on DMOU) steered me to a higher appreciation of the man and his art. That creating these airy pop hits was indeed a much more nuanced artistry than I had ever imagined.

And there is no better rabbit hole than this compilation from Variety.

Or, this far more intriguing rabbit hole of Bacharach songs covered by alternative artists (I stand so corrected).

Enjoy...and godspeed, Burt

 

Don't Go

So, the United States has (a year into Russia's attack on Ukraine) issued a warning that Americans should avoid travel to Russia.

Russia shot back that its citizens should avoid travel to Canada because of racism, street gangs and "a rather harsh climate."

Harsher than Russia?

The Unseen Win in Hosting a Super Bowl

Collectively, the ads were among the worst in memory (what a waste of money). The Halftime show was over-produced (please...just let her sing). And the game was genuinely enjoyable for its drama and thrilling come-from-behind win (that is, if you aren't an Eagles fan).

But, all the conspicuous consumption that surrounds such a spectacle is not inconsequential. An estimated 2,000 tons of food waste was expected to be produced. Not good for the planet.

However, working with Denali, the City of Phoenix will capture that organic waste and produce compost that can be applied to the dry Arizona soil and help the City achieve its goal of making the Super Bowl and its ancillary events zero waste.

Very cool. And, just maybe, that will help with all those turf issues in future games.

Just a thought.

The Unknown Blues Singer

The beauty and the curse of the news media is that it is generally populated with talent in their 20s. Sure, the on air talking heads are in their 40s and above, but the masses of content generators are young...generally because media outlets pay shit wages. And, most of those of us that started our post-college careers in media said, "screw it," and moved on to make a more livable level of scratch.

Now, the beauty side is that they bring a fresh perspective to stuff to which Xers and Boomers have become numb. The downside is that they have no idea of what went down before the turn of the century. And, this was never more evident than Sunday night, when media coverage of the Grammys produced one of the stupidest comments ever from the Daily Mail when they called Bonnie Raitt an "unknown blues singer."

14 Grammys and last year's Lifetime Achievement Award? Unknown? That's the WTF.

Not that the author of that insipid line will see this blog...but, let's luxuriate in the beauty this "unknown talent" has brought into our world (yeah...this might take a while):

David Crosby's Favorite Singer in the World

The Most Heartbreaking Break-Up Song Ever

The Starting Up with Someone New Song

Channeling Randy Newman

Channeling Del Shannon

And Channelling John Prine

And, possibly my favorite, from an early album called Streetlights. I heard it first after a college friend had died in a car crash. We were DJ's at the campus radio station and a fellow DJ eulogized Tom with this song. And, I think of him every time I hear it.

Bonnie's voice can always touch your heart in ways you'd never expect. Especially if you think she's an unknown blues singer.

That's Not How it Works

Coming back from the inaugural Board Leadership for Destinations Symposium last week, I was seated next to a gaggle of Gen Zs at DFW. One was holding court, railing upon how his generation was getting screwed over by the government with the Ponzi scheme we call Social Security. His audience appeared to be hearing this existential truth for the first time.

Dude had his facts straight, the estimates of the longevity of the program absolutely on track...I was duly impressed as I listened to his impassioned call to action to his friends.

And then, he said, "my advise to you is to stop putting your money into Social Security and invest in a 401k."

Err...that's not how it works.

But, maybe it should.