Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Paul Simon

My friend George Tzougros (CEO of the Wisconsin Arts Board and an early guest on DMOU) sends me (and thousands of others) a daily e-mail with inspirational quotes, great musical finds and news of the Arts. Earlier this week, he shared this quote from Paul Simon:

“I write from instinct, from inexplicable sparkle. I don't know why I'm writing what I'm writing. Usually, I sit and I let my hands wander on my guitar. And I sing anything. I play anything. And I wait till I come across a pleasing accident."

There have been so many pleasing accidents in the over 60 years he's been making magic that it's impossible to pick just one. So, on this Music Friday, I'll go with three (and still miss a pile of his genius).

One of my first loves was "America," here exquisitely performed when Paul and Art Garfunkel rejoined for a concert in Central Park.

Then there's the title track to his pivot album entitled "Graceland," one of his most haunting lyrical explorations and backed by a South African band.

And then there is this. The song that always stops me in my tracks and conjures up the memories of time cherished with my daughters. This is "Father and Daughter."

Pleasing accidents, indeed.

Happy 80th, Paul.

The Hits Keep on Coming

Since transitioning to Discover Puerto Rico for its Destination Marketing and leadership, the island, despite natural and man-made setbacks, has made significant progress in becoming a top-of-mind travel destination.

And, they've done it again. Last week, it was announced that the 50th edition of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve will ring in its first Spanish-language countdown from San Juan's exciting new entertainment district.

Cheers to Brad Dean and his team for another transformative win.

Charlie Watts

Doesn't take a Harvard grad to know where we would take Music Friday today. While we've lost icons like John Lennon, George Harrison, Keith Moon, Prince, Tom Petty, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury...this one feels different as we bid farewell to Charlie Watts.

Maybe because he was, as Stuart Berman wrote in The Pitchfork: "the least rock’n’roll member of the World’s Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band—which automatically made him the coolest one."

Of all the tributes to the drummer that defied Rock stereotypes, I like the Pitch's Top 8 Charlie Watts moments best.

But, this moment in Martin Scorsese's epic film "Shine a Light," when the boys are out front making the crowd nuts on "Jumpin' Jack Flash," is possibly my favorite...because the song is shot from the drum kit.

Heaven just welcomed an extraordinary addition to the House Band.

The Stones will never be the same.

Dirty Words

An interesting survey surfaced yesterday on the top 10 swear-word musicians...and the bottom 10. Leading the list were DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion and Juice WRLD. On the other end, it was Harry Styles, Dan+Shay and Taylor Swift.

As we enjoy the porch, a fire and tunes on evenings at the compound, Terri has occasionally commented that my playlist has a lot of songs with naughty words. That might be a product of my previous career in Rock Radio where we had to play edited versions of songs from which the LP version had "bad" words. Freed from that environment, I may have over-compensated on my playlists. J'excuse.

But really...the rules of what is foul have never been universally applied. Radio (and the FCC) was apparently OK with Sarah McLaughlin saying "beautiful fucked up man" on "Building a Mystery." But, saying "dick magnet" is apparently verboten for Theory of a Deadman's "Bad Girlfriend."

Me...I'm just gonna camp out in the middle with a song that sounds dirty...but isn't. 

On this Music Friday, it's Kiss with "I Just Wanna."

Landing a Dream Job

I can't imagine my life not in the travel and hospitality field...and yet, that's never where I aspired to be when I was younger. I stumbled into it quite innocently and I've never let go (or, probably more truthfully, it never let go).

But why wasn't it an option? My mother instilled in me an ethos to always give back; to be in service to others. And, I can't think of an industry that is more "in service" than the service industry. So why wasn't it a viable option as I made way way into adulthood? Because, historically, we've paid shit wages and demanded impossible hours of entry-level positions? Because society and educators didn't value the work we do? Because self-absorbed asses in our midst think it's OK to demean service workers to their faces?

An interesting story in Fast Company caught my attention over the weekend. Roughly half of teens aspire to work in an artistic or investigative career. Only 2% of careers are in the arts/creative field and 8% are investigative (think scientist, detective, researcher, etc.). Why don't more dream of a job in hospitality?

Which then got me thinking about the new Amazon Prime series "Life's Rewards," where a rich playboy loses everything and is forced to live off his hotel points. As I suggested to Visit St. Pete / Clearwater's Steve Hayes on the DMOU podcast, my favorite aspect of the show was not just the character's reawakening...but the service staff around him that helped him find his way.

The answer isn't ads that extoll the virtue of a life in hospitality (did those Army ads make you want to join...or was it the TV shows and movies that glorified the cause?). We need more shows like Steve's to inspire the other half of teens that hospitality is a path worth considering.

Like That Will Have a (Positive) Impact

Not to throw shade at the head of the Hotel Association of New York City, but his recent support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's summer-long waiver of Hotel Room Taxes is perplexing, at best, and reckless, at worst.

Don't get me wrong, there are some destinations where $18 a night might influence a potential visitor to choose another city. But, honestly? This is freakin' New York City. A destination that isn't up for debate on haggling over price. It's also a City with a pandemic-induced budget hole that could use those revenues to shore up other parts of the economy or infrastructure. To forfeit an estimated $30 million of tax revenue on a feel-good gimmick that's simply not needed to jump start the hotel sector is amazingly short-sighted.

The consumer tax savings on a $300/night room is roughly $18, it's $12 on a $200/night stay and $6 on a $100/night stay. So, don't call me elitist when I say people wouldn't let $18 blur their desire. That's a drink in the hotel bar for people willing to spend $300 a night...and a hot dog for those attempting to be frugal. 

If the powers at work here really want to help, don't waive the Room Tax. Use it to subsidize a portion of theatre tickets so the theaters and their crews and companies are made whole...but that tickets are more affordable to the tight-fisted (but culturally sophisticated) consumer this summer. That will capture people's attention. Broadway on Sale for one Summer only? That will cause theatre goers that might fear an unmasked city to take a chance and return. The same with admissions to sporting events and museums. And, let's find a way to help our restaurants come back.

The Mayor deserves huge props for dedicating $30 million in recovery funding for the work of NYC & Company. But, forgiving a fee that hardly anybody notices when there are so many ways to maximize this revenue? Unforgivable.

Marvin Gaye

I know we featured Marvin Gaye just last year on the 50th Anniversary of his recording of "What's Going On." But, it was 50 years ago today that one of the most important albums of a generation was actually released. And babies, there were a lot of groundbreaking albums in 1971...but nothing like this one. Indeed, last year, Rolling Stone named it to the top spot on its Top 500 Albums of all time.

Wikipedia describes it thus: "The narrative established by the songs is told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering and injustice. Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of drug abuse, poverty and the Vietnam War. He has also been credited with promoting awareness of ecological issues before the public outcry over them had become prominent."

That the album ever happened is a miracle. Marvin was a singer of love songs. Signed to Motown a decade earlier, he had a string of hits under his belt like "Ain't That Peculiar," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and the amazing "Heard it Through the Grapevine." When he presented "What's Goin' On" to the label brass, they rejected it. It was a departure from the gravy train of crooner hits for which Martin was known. But somebody at Motown secretly arranged to have the single pressed and 100,000 discs sent to record stores and radio stations. It became the fastest selling single in Motown history. 

Motown brass, humbled by their own hubris, told Marvin he could continue down this path if he could produce a full album within 30 days, knowing full well that such a deadline was an impossibility. And, Marvin proved them wrong again with what is now considered the Number One album of all time.

On this Music Friday...while "What's Goin' On" is sadly as relevant today as it was 50 years ago (even more so, in my eyes...but I already linked it above), we're going with another gem from the album. This is "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)."

No less relevant 50 years later. If Marvin were still here with us, he'd likely just shake his head in disgust. As we all should.

The Chef as The Story

If you've yet to catch an episode of the new CNN travelogue series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, treat yourself. Beautifully shot, the series explores the variations in cuisine, traditions and preparations throughout the country.

Just as beautifully shot (and no less culinarily compelling), is a new online series we recently stumbled upon from our friends at VisitNorfolk.  City with Bite is a semi-weekly video series featuring local food and culture icon Nomarama as your host with a stated mission to try all 600 of Norfolk's independent restaurants. And, with 4 episodes already online and streaming, we're so planning our next visit to the city!

Click on the slightly irreverent trailer and I dare you not to watch all four episodes.

Congratulations to Kurt Krause and the crew at VisitNorfolk. Sensationally played!

Bunny Wailer

The last member of the ground-breaking group The Wailers has departed terra firma...but what a life Bunny Wailer led. We could only have been as blessed.

Hanging out on the streets of Nine Mile, childhood friends Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh created the Wailing Wailers and achieved international success. All three ultimately went on to sensational solo careers, with Bunny winning three Grammys in the '90s.  He was still churning out music videos in 2017 and, even after a stroke laid him low, participated in a Playing for Change video of "Soul Rebel."

We say farewell with one of my faves, "Roots, Radics, Rockers and Reggae."

Thanks for all the smiles, Bunny. For, no one could ever have the blues when listening to you.

The Day the Music Died

This week in 1959, the fledgling rock world lost three of its brightest voices when a plane carrying Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens crashed shortly after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in Cedar Lake IA. Both the Buddy Holly Story and La Bamba were fairly righteous movies for the uninitiated. If there was ever a movie about the Big Bopper, I never saw it.

Don McClean immortalized the tragedy in his hit "American Pie" in 1971. And this week, he and Home Free released this gem.

On a Music Friday in which we look back, it's an acappella version of the classic "American Pie."

Sublime.