1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:01,440 Speaker 1: Cutbooms. 2 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 2: If you thought four hours a day, twelve hundred minutes 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 2: a week was enough, think again. He's the last remnants 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 2: of the old republic, a sol fashion of fairness. He 5 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 2: treats crackheads in the ghetto gutter the same as the 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 2: rich pill poppers in the penthouse. 7 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: Wow. 8 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 2: The Clearinghouse of Hot takes break free for something special. 9 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 2: The Fifth Hour with Ben Mahler starts right now. 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: In the air everywhere, The Fifth Hour with Me, Ben 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: Mahlor and Danny G Radio. And just like Muhammad Ali 12 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: said back in the day, on this podcast, we were 13 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Because, 14 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: as you know, this is just a benign podcast, the 15 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: Fifth Hour Podcast. It is in addition for the real 16 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: p ones of the Overnight Show during the week the 17 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: Ben Mahlor Show. You come in here, you hang out 18 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: with us on the podcast. But all things, as Ernest 19 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: Hemingway said, all things truly wicked, start from the innocence 20 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,119 Speaker 1: of a weekend podcast. So you got me Ben, Danny 21 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: g is producing this podcast. He'll join me hopefully at 22 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: some point over the weekend. On this pod, We've got 23 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: growth hack, Bougie Benny and a Ring of Fire, and 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 1: these are never before told stories. You're only gonna hear 25 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: this content right here in the Fifth Hour. It is 26 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: a global exclusive. All the other broadcast companies want this content. 27 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: It's only available here for you. The competitive edge of 28 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: the Fifth Hour podcast right here. So we will not 29 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: waste any time and we will skid daddle into the 30 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: storytelling mode. So there was a point, and we're talking 31 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: about the media business, So there was a point in time, 32 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: long long ago when success. I'm gonna focus in on music. 33 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: Now you know, I'm not a music guy. I listened 34 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: to music, but I'm not music guy. Started out as 35 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: a DJ. I was a bad DJ. I have friends 36 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: that are very into music. But the point of the 37 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: story is when there was there was a period of 38 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: time when success in the media business was measured by 39 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: something tangible, meaning ticket sales or screaming fans, or maybe 40 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: some gold records on the wall, stuff like that. Now 41 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: here we are in twenty twenty five, and success comes 42 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: from a bunch of bots in a basement somewhere in 43 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: Moldova clicking repeat on a fake Drake song for twenty 44 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: three hours a day. Now I bring this up because 45 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: it's not show business. It's show fraud, is what that is. 46 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: According to a new lawsuit filed recently by rapper RBX, 47 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: as I understand it, the same RBX from the death 48 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: Row Records days. I had to look that up. So 49 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: get to the point, please, So Spotify, the mass CIV 50 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: media company Spotify, which is so popular or are they 51 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: their entire empire, according to this lawsuit, is built not 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: on rhythm, not on the melody of the music or art, 53 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: but on algorithms, phantom users, and artificially inflated stream counts. 54 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: It's not the music industry anymore. It's the metric industry. 55 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,959 Speaker 1: You see now Spotify again, this is going to a lawsuit. 56 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: Spotify is letting fake streams flood their platform by the 57 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: billions with a B like ben billions billions each month. 58 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: Now why would they do that? I mean, no reason 59 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: would there unless there's a financial gain. Ding ding ding 60 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: ding ding ding ding. Yes, because it turns out the 61 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: fake plays are really sexy for the people on Wall 62 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: Street man, those people that do finances when they actually 63 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: deal with media companies, they don't seem to understand how 64 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: any of this works, which is somewhat troubling considering they 65 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: control the wealth of the United States. So because fake 66 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: people are listening to real music and it's fake plays, 67 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: they look good again for Wall Street and to advertisers 68 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: as well. The more streams that they can tout, the 69 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,160 Speaker 1: higher rates they can charge for advertising. The shinier the 70 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: IPO is, the bigger the bonuses. It's the trickle down 71 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 1: economics from the bot. It's the oldest trick in the media. 72 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: Grift playbook, cook the books and then sell the sizzle. 73 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: Now your reminder, just so we don't get sued. You 74 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: can sue almost anyone for almost anything, and Spotify is 75 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: in a court case now defending themselves. The real question 76 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: isn't if you can sue, it's whether or not you 77 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: have a viable, winnable case. So turning the page on that. 78 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: If this lawsuit sounds familiar, caught my attention enough to 79 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: share it with you here on the podcast. If it 80 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: sounds familiar, it should. We have seen the same hustle. 81 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about motown hustle. We've seen the same 82 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: hustle before. I've ranted here on these microphones in the 83 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: Fifth Hour Studio Fifth Hour Podcast Studio, That podcast downloads 84 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: are tremendous bullshit, you know, and now listen, we do 85 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: pretty well. I've not invested in that form, but once 86 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: you see what happens in a lot of these podcasts, 87 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: it's like, oh my god, oh my god, podcast downloads 88 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: that never existed. YouTube views inflated by bots. I've learned 89 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: that as I've gotten involved in YouTube, how bogus YouTube 90 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: is a lot of it. You've got TikTok stars. This 91 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: is my personal favorite tale, and we talked about this 92 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: in a previous episode of the Fifth Hour podcast. I 93 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: know Lucky Tony knows exactly what day we talked about it. 94 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: But TikTok stars, who are so popular, have millions of 95 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: people following them on TikTok and the people love their music. 96 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: Except they could not sell out a coffee shop if 97 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: they were giving away free coffee. Couldn't do it. Couldn't 98 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: do it. Now, real fans buy concert tickets. Bots do not. Okay, 99 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: real fans buy the concert tickets. The bots do not. 100 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: But these fake streams, if you believe this lawsuit, and 101 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: I'm leaning that way, help Spotify keep its stock price 102 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: inflated again Wall Street. They don't do the digging on that, 103 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: so the stock price is inflated and its artist payout 104 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: numbers conveniently are obscure, right, they're kind of hidding. The 105 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: company claims to pay musicians based on the share of 106 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: total streams. But if total streams, if those numbers are 107 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: people futzing around, If there's stuff with robotic repeats, I 108 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: don't know of Drake or any other top shelf act 109 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: that is part of the mainstream. The little guys get 110 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: pennies while the big dogs are raking monopoly money, and 111 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: everyone smiles and nods like this is the progress of 112 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: the music world and all that stuff. It's kind of like, 113 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: do you use a sports analogy, because plausibly, I don't 114 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: think the fifth Hours of Sports podcast, but the radio 115 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: show mostly is. So it's like baseball juicing the stats. 116 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: So everyone in twenty twenty six is going to a 117 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: bat four hundred, until you realize in order to get there, 118 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: in order to get to everyone batting four hundred, the 119 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: balls are made of cork, the fences are moved in 120 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty feet shorter, and all of a sudden, 121 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: everyone's hitting four hundred. Now, make no mistake, this is 122 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: the greatest con ever pulled in media, and that includes 123 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: in the past, we've had some Nielsen box futzing around 124 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: radio spins popular back in the day, those fake number 125 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: one on iTunes charts that exist for about eleven minutes. Now, 126 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: Spotify's entire ecosystem thrives on illusion. Right. They sell artists 127 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: on exposure, they sell advertisers on engagement, and they sell 128 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: investors on growth, all things that are very important in 129 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: the world of engagement. But in reality, if you read 130 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: this lawsuit, in reality, they're selling all of us a 131 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: ghost story. Oh spooky. Think of it like a musical 132 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: seance where the spirits are synthetic and the applause is 133 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: pre programmed. You'd think that this would absolutely outrage a 134 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: lot of people, specifically the people that are tasked to 135 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: regulate this kind of stuff, But it turns out that 136 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: is not the case. Silicon Valley long ago. The people 137 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: that run the tech world master the art of self 138 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,319 Speaker 1: policing much like the government does, which is to say, 139 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: not policing at all. Every bot farm is treated like 140 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: a growth hack, every fake stream a data point in 141 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: user retention. They're not fixing it because it's not a bug. 142 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: It's the business model that they're going for. The lawsuit 143 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: calls out again, this is based on just what I 144 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: read the other day. The lawsuit calls out billions of 145 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: fraudulent streams. Again. I keep going back to that number. 146 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: It's amazing. I just trying to wrap my head around 147 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: a billion and billions and billions of fraudulent streams. However, 148 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 1: that number does not even capture the cultural decay, the 149 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: rot that this leads to. Right, you push, you push 150 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: this out in the world that we're in, and when 151 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: you cannot tell here's my point, When you cannot tell 152 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: what real anymore, When every chart, every ranking, every viral 153 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: hit is just a hologram, aren't you living in a 154 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: simulation at that point? And this is my argument about 155 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: the matrix and the Internet and all that stuff like 156 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: and who knows what's gonna happen with us? Lawsuit was Spotify. 157 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: They're not alone, Right, they're alone. It's just the latest 158 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: stop in the long digital funhouse. And up is down, 159 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: and right is left and black is white and bought 160 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,560 Speaker 1: his fan And that's the way it is. You're not 161 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: listening to the music of the future, right, And this 162 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: is certainly not the future of music. You're listening to 163 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: a spreadsheet, humming to itself is what you're doing now. 164 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 1: Years ago, we used to mock. There was a group 165 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: called Milli Vanilli. You know, mock Milli Vanilli for lip syncing. 166 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: I told the story before that one of the members 167 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: of Milli Vanilli was a DJ at Kiss FM when 168 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: I got my start, one of my early jobs in radio, 169 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: and so I saw him doing a midday show, very 170 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: short show was before the day of voice tracking, so 171 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: we actually came in. Now the entire industry is lipsticking 172 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: to its own numbers. The bots have replaced the fan, 173 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: the data dashboards replace the DJ, and the accountants replaced 174 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: the artist. And just like that, Oof goes to magic 175 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: drag and authenticity has left the building. It's taken the 176 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: shortcut out of the building. Now, if this lawsuit gets traction, maybe, maybe, 177 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: just maybe we'll see someone holds some people accountable. Don't 178 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 1: hold your breath. When there's this much fake money swirling around, 179 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: No one wants to turn off the tap. If you 180 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, right, Why would anyone mess with this? 181 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: Everyone's making money, money, money, money, money, money. Bottom line 182 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: though the music industry, and I know I do sports 183 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: and spoken words. But the music industry didn't just sell 184 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: its soul to the algorithm. It rented it out by 185 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: the stream. And the only ones dancing are the bots. 186 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: And there are billions of heart stopping bots that are 187 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:16,160 Speaker 1: dancing and having a great thing and just wonderful, and 188 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: all the rest of us thunderheads over here like what 189 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: are we doing? Some serious god zukeri are turning the page. 190 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: So the maloromobile, I know you love stories about the malomobile. 191 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: You're nodding your head, Yes, I know. So the malomobile 192 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: is not just a mythical vehicle like the Batmobile or 193 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: the Scooby Van. No, no, no, the dream Machine van. 194 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: It is a companion in many ways. It is a 195 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: confessional booth. It's a war buddy, the radio wars. It 196 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: has been with me through more dead of the night 197 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: freeway drives than most people have seen sunrises, just has. 198 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: And while other people upgrade, and I live in a 199 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: place where you upgrade all the time. Other people up 200 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,199 Speaker 1: grid their rides like phone models. Now you got to 201 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: get the new iPhone and all that we've stuck with 202 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: the old friend, battered, scarred, and more reliable than the 203 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: Dodger Bullpen in the regular season in July. This isn't 204 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: the showroom Queen, the Malamobile. It is a working class 205 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: vehicle that knows the exact on ramp rhythm of the 206 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: one oh one at three point forty three in the morning, 207 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: when the freeway's hum like a sleeping beast. The Malormobile 208 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: has seen a thing or two, so it knows a 209 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: thing or two. In many ways, it is a museum piece. 210 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 1: Not the fancy wing of the museum where the whispers 211 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: are there about impressionist art and all that stuff. The 212 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 1: other wing, the one where they show you the relics 213 00:13:55,320 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: from ordinary lives. The rotary phone, the transistor, AMF radio, 214 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: the baseball mint, that type of stuff, the lawnmower that 215 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: smells like summer. It's seen the Malomobile Los Angeles at 216 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: its emptiest and the rarest form of the city when 217 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: it feels like a ghost town. It's seen me shuffled in, 218 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: bleary eyed, armed with a bottle of caffeine pills and 219 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: a bunch of opinions about the type of pancakes Bill 220 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: Belichick likes to eat when he's in Chapel Hill hanging 221 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: out with Spacoli. Now it's it's waited patiently. The Malomobile 222 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: sits there, waiting for me in the parking garage at 223 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: the iHeartMedia Building, the Premiere Network Studios, home of Fox 224 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: Sports Radio. It is there like a loyal dog, engine 225 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: cooling its cracked leather, quietly testifying to the many years 226 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: of service. Unfortunately, as you know, nothing lasts forever. Time 227 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: is undefeated. Recently experienced the awkwardness of getting into the 228 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: Melamobile and sitting on the driver's seat. And this has 229 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: been my throne. This has been my throne for some time. Unfortunately, 230 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: the throne started cracking. The driver's seat. The leather on 231 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: the driver's seat started cracking. And I'm not talking about 232 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: a small little crack, no, no, no, This was the 233 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: kind of fissure that makes you say out loud, well 234 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: that is not good. That I'm telling you that is 235 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: not good. And then you start debating with yourself, like, 236 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: maybe it wasn't that bad. I'm just imagining it being 237 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: that bad. It probably wasn't that bad. But you say, well, 238 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: it's not good, you say it out loud, just talk 239 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: to yourself, no one in particular. And this was not 240 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: just a tear in leather. In many ways, it was 241 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: a wrinkle in time right. It was the first whisper 242 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: that this car, which had been a loyal foot soldier 243 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: for the radio show, the first whisper that the Maladmobile 244 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: was moving into the well loved classic chapter of its life. 245 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: And now now back in the dark ages when I 246 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: learned to drive and was enjoying my CD. Actually, when 247 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: I learned to drive, it was like cassette tapes, so 248 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: we had CD easy as well. But when I was 249 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,760 Speaker 1: growing up, I would see cars that had seat covers. 250 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: Seat covers were a joke. They looked like something you 251 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: won from a claw machine at a carnival. They were ugly, 252 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 1: they were saggy. It was just a sad disguise to 253 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: cover up and paper over the cracks for a really 254 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: sad seat. And if if your car had seat covers 255 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: when I was a kid, it meant you were like 256 00:16:55,440 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: one car wash away from giving up entirely. However, to oh, no, 257 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: seat covers have become bougie. Yeah, so you can call 258 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:13,199 Speaker 1: me bougie Benny. They really have the hug the seat 259 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: gets from the cover. They hug those things like their 260 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: tailored suits, and you can't even tell they're there, which 261 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: blows me away. And I don't know when that happened. 262 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: I wasn't paying attention. It may have happened years ago. 263 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: These are the boats of the automotive world. Subtle, their sly, 264 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: and they just speak to you. I've still got this. 265 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 1: I got some more life in me, these old bones, 266 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: this old warhorse has more more time. So we made 267 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: the leap, and we did it. We pulled the trigger. 268 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,439 Speaker 1: A major upgrade to the Malemobile forced because of a 269 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: rip in the leather. New seat covers, not wheel not 270 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,560 Speaker 1: new wheels. We didn't get new tires, not a new 271 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: sound system. We didn't spend seventy eighty ninety one hundred 272 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: thousand dollars on a status symbol. We didn't do that. 273 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: We didn't get massage seats, and we didn't get a 274 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: bigger display. It didn't go down to Best Buy and 275 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: buy a bunch of bells and whistles. No, what we 276 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,879 Speaker 1: bought was just a simple seat cover, a simple act 277 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: of trying to preserve what we have, the kind of 278 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 1: thing you do when your car is not a disposable product, 279 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,679 Speaker 1: but it's more of a relationship. So you see the 280 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: Malamobile has earned every scar. It's been in multiple accidents, 281 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: every freeway chip, every dog here from Moxie and the 282 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: late Great Bella embedded deep in the carpet and the 283 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 1: seats and all that. Every dent that comes out has 284 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,959 Speaker 1: a story. You know, at the time, I was leaving 285 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: the Fox Sports Radio parking lot and I swung a 286 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: little too wide. Ding ding, Yeah, a little bit too 287 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: much there the time. You thought you could parallel park 288 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: like a champ, but you were a little tired, and 289 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: needless to say, it didn't go so well. A new 290 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: car would erase all of that. I'm not a historian. 291 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: I am not a historian, but a new car would 292 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 1: erase all of that history, all of it. And these 293 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: seat covers in many ways honor it. This is how 294 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 1: people who actually live a real life. And I'm assuming 295 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: you're like me as well. I do overnight radio. I'm 296 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: not getting rich, I'm not making Colin Coward money, so 297 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: I got to preserve what I have, and so this 298 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: is how we do it. You know. It's like, hey, 299 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: not just driving the car. You're not doing that. You 300 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: treat the ride the way it needs to be treated, 301 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: and you do a little patch over here, a little 302 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: spackle over there, and you keep the thing going. It's 303 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: a little malor meatball surgery on four wheels and the malomobile. 304 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: We're not replacing the malamobile. We're not. It's just being refreshed, revived, 305 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: that kind of thing, right. And so this is how 306 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: people who again are partaking in this, you know, late 307 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,720 Speaker 1: night radio thing. Every late night radio shift begins and 308 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: ends on that driver's seat. It's the malormobile that warms 309 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: up while the rest of LA cools down or in 310 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: some ways burns more in that a minute. But it's 311 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: the malormobile, the iconic malomobile, that gets gets you to 312 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: the studio through those graveyard hours and some sometimes during 313 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 1: the day. We don't like to talk about that. Sometimes 314 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 1: have to go out during the day and get your 315 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: home though, before the world wakes up, and the seat 316 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 1: covers are more than full leather. They are. They're a statement. 317 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: They're a middle finger to the depreciation value of automobiles, 318 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: a quiet rebellion, if you will, against the very idea 319 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: that everything must be replaced the minute it shows any 320 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:02,719 Speaker 1: kind of where the world sports stadiums the worst is 321 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: sports stadiums and I've not been to Europe. I'm gonna 322 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: get there at some point. And some of these stadiums 323 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: on the pitch are from the eighteen hundreds. I think 324 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: there's one that's even older than that, believe it or not. 325 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 1: But they've been around, been around a long time, and 326 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: they don't get rid of them. They don't here we 327 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: get rid of stuff. And so yes, the math Andmobile 328 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: has seen better days, better days, but it has also 329 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: seen a lot of days, and that does matter. We're 330 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: not just driving to work. Spent a lot of time 331 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,679 Speaker 1: in the Malamobile from the north Woods. We're driving a timeline. Now. 332 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: Some of you guys I know, like JT the Wingman. 333 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: Some of you guys are in your car all the time, 334 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: Truck or Joe. All you guys a rolling archive, moving 335 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,719 Speaker 1: man Matt in Boston, a museum piece that still punches 336 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 1: the clock. And now now it's become because of the 337 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: improvements of technology, a bougie seat cover. It looks just 338 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: a little more dignified doing it. And the truth is 339 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: a new car might ride smoother, would get better gas mileage. 340 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: It would also cost one hundred thousand dollars or whatever. 341 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 1: These cars are insane and in fact, I'm not gonna 342 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: get any more new cars. I think I've told that 343 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: story before. I'm going used, pre owned, whatever you want 344 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: to say. Certified, pre owned is the way to go 345 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: on that. If I do get a new car, the 346 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: car I got to teach the car. It wouldn't know 347 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: the rhythm of the overnight, it wouldn't understand me. So 348 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: the maloromobile rolls on. It's still scrappy, it's still scarred. 349 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: Just got a nice new suit covering it up. One 350 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: other thing I wanted to mention, and the naked city burns. 351 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: So again a story about me coming and going to work. 352 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: So driving back to the north Woods in the aforementioned 353 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: malomobile is like slipping through a portal, a dimension, a 354 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: parallel dimension. Overnight commute to Bizarrow and I just like 355 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: to share these crazy stories that happen when I'm driving home, 356 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: because it's there's no one with me, everyone's sleeping, it's 357 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,719 Speaker 1: just me and the road. And there's something about Los 358 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,400 Speaker 1: Angeles at night that just hits different. It just does 359 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: the daytime version. If you, I know most of you 360 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: aren't in LA, but if you've ever been to La, 361 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: the daytime version is this manic dreamscape of Tesla's and 362 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 1: juice bars and tofu salads and kale fueled optimism and 363 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: all that. And then after midnight, after midnight, the mass 364 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,880 Speaker 1: goes away. And when you go further and further into 365 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: the night, the city of Angels, which is really the 366 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: city of Dodgers, becomes a mood piece. It's smoky, it's cinematic, 367 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: it's slightly surreal. So I do this drive often. I 368 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 1: talk a lot about my commute, winding from the Sherman 369 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: Oaks Studios just down the hill from bel Air, through 370 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:07,360 Speaker 1: the labyrinth of freeways, the maze that that is always 371 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: the same mission. Avoid two things I try to avoid. 372 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 1: I try to avoid Coltrans, which is freeway work and 373 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:19,640 Speaker 1: drunk drivers. Both will ruin your night, one slowly and 374 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,239 Speaker 1: one suddenly. But the endgame is not good. So the 375 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 1: one on one freeway again, another one on one freeway story, 376 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:31,719 Speaker 1: my companion. This is a pretzel, a ribbon of asphalt 377 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: that doubles as a I've talked about a water park. 378 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: When it rains, it fills up with water and floods 379 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:41,200 Speaker 1: because the people at Caltrans don't believe in clearing out 380 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 1: the drains that the freeway has until it rains. So 381 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:50,440 Speaker 1: you really haven't lived until you've hydroplane passed the Koanga Pass. 382 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: You just have it right wondering whether your tires are 383 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: auditioning for Finding Nemo, the new version of Finding Nemo 384 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: or not. Now the other the highway that I was 385 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: on turned into a James Taylor song, the one to 386 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: one Freeway, fire and rain with a touch more arson 387 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: than melody. So somewhere near the Fourth Street Bridge, coming 388 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: to the East LA interchange, four Street bridge, the cinematic 389 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 1: overpass that you've seen in every car commercial, every low 390 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,680 Speaker 1: budget crime movie since the nineteen seventies, there's this one 391 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: stretch in LA. They film all the car commercials there. 392 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: It's wild. It's been in every kind of car commercial anyway. 393 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: So I rolled straight into a ring of fire, not 394 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: realizing it was a ring of fire. I'm not talking 395 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: about some kind of made up fire. This is not 396 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: This is not some bogus nonsense, not Johnny Cash poetic fire, 397 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,679 Speaker 1: actual fire, burn, baby burn. So I'm driving, I'm mining 398 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: my own business, and this I see up ahead, like 399 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 1: that's a little orange. What's that? That doesn't look good? 400 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,400 Speaker 1: And it was a blaze that was flickering just off 401 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,560 Speaker 1: to the right, just off to the shoulder, and it 402 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: was licking up into the end of the night air 403 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:16,960 Speaker 1: and it was so bright it was painting the concrete walls. 404 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 1: There was this orange glow from the fire. And it 405 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: was crazy because behind it, I'm just trying to paint 406 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,920 Speaker 1: the picture if you're blind. So behind it, the skyline 407 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: is glistening. You know, it's got a pretty good skyline. 408 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: It's not as good as like Vancouver's got a better silene, 409 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: but it's it's a nice skyline. And so it's it's 410 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: glistening there the glass towers of downtown Los Angeles reflecting, 411 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: and it was it was just crazy. You got this 412 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: cathedral of mirrors and here I am out in the 413 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: distance and moonlight in the air, and moonlight doesn't care 414 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: about this. All of a sudden it became this dystopian, 415 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,800 Speaker 1: oddly beautiful situation where it's like watching civilization rehearse its 416 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 1: own funeral. Uh, that could be too dramatic. But you 417 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: could feel the heat from the car. You could smell. 418 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: I wasn't sure. I thought it might have been plastic. 419 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: I'm not sure exactly what it was burning and I 420 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: see the heat, and I'm not going that fast. I'm 421 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: kind of cruising trying to save truth be told, I 422 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,719 Speaker 1: try to cruise down the one on one save some 423 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 1: money on gas. But because I'm cheap like that, I 424 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: am cheap like that. So I see the heat shimmer, 425 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: you know, dancing above the flames and all that stuff, 426 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: and no sirens, no flashing lights, just me and just 427 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: casually driving up ahead. I see the city ablaze. So 428 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 1: I did what any responsible grown up would do. I 429 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:45,399 Speaker 1: grabbed my phone and punched in three numbers and I said, okay, 430 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 1: let me help them out. Now, my wife works in 431 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,640 Speaker 1: the business of chaos. She's one of the calm voices 432 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 1: that answer when your life falls apart. So I called 433 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: her employer nine one one, what's your emergency? I calmly 434 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: told them that I was just a motorist. I was 435 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,720 Speaker 1: not an arsonist. I was a motorist and I just 436 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: happened to see the fire. And I said, well, we 437 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: didn't start the fire. I said, half of Billy Joel, 438 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 1: half civic duty, and probably just another meth head, somebody 439 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: leaning in too much doing fentanyl. And then the match 440 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: is lit in the middle of the night. See. That's 441 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,360 Speaker 1: the part though, That is the part the outsiders never 442 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: quite understand. When you visit southern California, Los Angeles does 443 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: not sleep. I see it because I'm there. It burns. 444 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: And this is not some kind of apology. I'm trying 445 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: to think of the word here, like a apocalyptic like 446 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: the San Andreas Fault, the fire season kind of thing. 447 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: It burns in spirit, this strange again glow, this a 448 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: bit of desperation. Some loser arsonists lit this thing on fire. 449 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: But at three in the morning, the city is it's 450 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: like half of it's an art film with the buildings 451 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,959 Speaker 1: in downtown. Half is a fever dream. And there is 452 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: this I'm telling you this when everyone's sleeping, but not 453 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: everyone's sleeping. It's like there's a there's somewhere out there 454 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: as somebody who drives a prius in Silver Lake who's 455 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: going to make the next big movie, but we don't 456 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 1: know their name yet. Right, there's that person. Then there's 457 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:43,200 Speaker 1: some actress who's crying outside a Melrose apartment, and a 458 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: guy named Vinnie or possibly Steve torching a mattress under 459 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: the four Street bridge, and each one living a different 460 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: version of the same story. Right, trying to stay warm. 461 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: And you know this is a place where they sell sunshine. 462 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: By you can buy a lot of sunshine. So I 463 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: rolled down the window. I watched the flames dance. I 464 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: then looked in the rear view mirror. No cops, no firefighters, 465 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: just another unsupervised, uncontrolled blaze in the naked city, a 466 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: live action metaphor for La itself. Dazzling, obviously a little 467 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: bit dangerous. There the fire and one spark away from 468 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: absolute cast. Now I kept driving north, and I was 469 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: heading to the north Woods, past the flickering lights, past 470 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: the echo of sirens in which finally arrived, and that skyline. 471 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: I love skylines. I'm a big skyline guy. Love beautiful skylines. Man, 472 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: is that great? It's just wonderful man made art. And 473 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: so it was all kind of a mirage. At that point, 474 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: somewhere between Studio City and the north Woods, I realized that, listen, 475 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: this is kind of crazy. This is wild and nuts 476 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: and all that stuff. And so even though Los Angeles 477 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: has many issues politically, taxation, all that stuff, it's not dying. 478 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: It's rehearsing. Some would say, it's always been on fire, 479 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: always been on fire. Right, Sometimes literally sometimes spiritually on fire. 480 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: I know, every couple of months we need reasons to 481 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: burn stuff. And the Dodgers won the World Series, So 482 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: what are you gonna do? People are flummoxed. They go 483 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: out there and they destroy the thing of a jig 484 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: and the watch mccullett and all that stuff, and then 485 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: they're good for another couple of months until something else happens. 486 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: And so I will tell you this. The people that 487 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: live here find new ways to burn and destroy stuff. 488 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: And a lot of these people don't seem very political, 489 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,920 Speaker 1: but they find ways to burn stuff anyway. That's the secret. 490 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: One of the secrets here about La does not fade 491 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 1: quietly into the night. It glows until the morning and 492 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,959 Speaker 1: when the sun comes up tomorrow, tomorrow is another day. 493 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 1: Just it's like artistic. It's very artistic, is what it is. 494 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: All right, Well, leave you on that, have a great 495 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: rest of your Friday. We may have an ask Ben 496 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 1: if you listen to this on Friday on the X machine, 497 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: so keep an eye on that or possibly the YouTube page. 498 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,160 Speaker 1: Benny versus the Penny is up. Check out week ten 499 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: the full edition of Benny Versus the Penny. I Love you, 500 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: I thank you, for listening. Danny G thanks you. I 501 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,000 Speaker 1: don't know if he loves you, but we thank you together, 502 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: and we'll have a new podcasts all weekend later. Skater 503 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: Asta Pasta now a Rivada, Jay got a murder. I 504 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:34,480 Speaker 1: gotta go.