IVANA: are we there yet?
LENNY: there, where? who, what?
IVANA: 2006
LENNY: oh 2006, i think that is gonna be a really good year
IVANA: because why?
LENNY: 1. because it will not be this year
LENNY: 2. because it will be a year that the clippers will be in the playoffs
LENNY: 3. because i plan on still being alive, which is a good thing, for me at least
IVANA: will i still have a radio format in 2006?
IVANA: will there still be a "music business?"
LENNY: yes and yes
IVANA: should i be pursuing my other passions: cooking and interpretive dance?
LENNY: i am optimistic about the future.... especially if you will NOT be cooking
IVANA: i'm worried about pomo radio
LENNY: for good reason, but when things appear darkest, there is often a dawn
IVANA: when did my boss morph into jonathan livingston seagull? what have you done with lenny "half-empty" beer?
LENNY: i figure if i am more like neil diamond, you will be more attentive
IVANA: he winked at me at the kimmel show--2006 will be the year i meet him!
LENNY: there you, you are getting in the optimistic spirit
LENNY: have you heard the yellowcard album coming out in january, it is great
IVANA: yes, it's very good. there will be tons of great music next year, as there was this year. the frustration is how to sell records and get airplay in a climate where nearly everybody we speak with (present company included) feels like armageddon is near
LENNY: look to the future..... online sites such as yahoo, aol, myspace, etc..... satellite radio, new terrestrial stations that will appear. opportunities will abound for those willing to open their eyes
IVANA: can you embellish on your last statement?
LENNY: i strongly believe that rock 'n' roll will never die, that it may even become sexy again as it moves a bit more "underground"
IVANA: but how do you get people to buy records or listen to the radio?
LENNY: perhaps they will "listen" in new ways. perhaps they will "buy" in new ways
IVANA: it's the "perhaps" that concerns me. i appreciate the need for a new model-we've certainly preached it enough, but where's the revenue?
LENNY: i also believe there will be a flashpoint, a band that captures people's imagination and starts the fire.... like when the beatles happened, or more recently with guns n roses and nirvana—something special that carves a path into pop culture. when that happens, the explosion will occur
IVANA: i just don't get the sense that music is at the focal point of pop culture
LENNY: because nothing galvanizing has come along
IVANA: kids care way more about getting an xbox 360
LENNY: agree, but something has to be on it
IVANA: what will satellite radio mean?
LENNY: it will mean SOMETHING
IVANA: i will get sirius for the holidays
LENNY: and i am serious about the new year
IVANA: did you hear that rob cross is going to sirius to program the maxim channel? good for him!
LENNY: very good, and steve kingston is going to xm
IVANA: to be the concierge
LENNY: really, can he get me good theater tix when i am in new york
IVANA: that's ross zapin's job at sirius. kingston will have you covered if you want to go to ford's theatre
LENNY: what is ford's theater?
IVANA: um, where lincoln was killed. and i saw godspell there when i was 12
LENNY: i was at carnegie-mellon university when and where godspell started
IVANA: day by day
LENNY: exactly. and speaking of new york, i need to plug the city of hope richard palmese roast, put together by steve bartels and featuring a dais of roasters including myself, irving azoff, van toffler, rob sisco and jim ryan, with clive davis as the toastmaster. you can now return to your regularly scheduled whining
IVANA: when you're in ny i'll be in atlanta, portland, columbus, la, san diego and austin
LENNY: really, who's paying?
IVANA: you can't put a price on quality face-time with radio programmers
LENNY: especially under the new compliance rulings
IVANA: good point
LENNY: can we conclude for the year now?
IVANA: not a chance. what's your favorite record this year?
IVANA: who's your industry mvp?
IVANA: what one piece of advice would you give the 2 people reading this
LENNY: favorite record.... TEGAN AND SARA
LENNY: industry mvp..... GIL ARONOW
IVANA: will anything ultimately come of the spitzer stuff?
LENNY: advice... WORK THE RECORDS YOU BELIEVE IN, HARD AND FOR A LOOOOOOONG TIME
IVANA: that's our approach with arcade fire
LENNY: spitzer will run for governor.... and there will always be ten records in the top ten
IVANA: but despite his outcries of righteous indignation, the fcc isn't going to go after the broadcasters and the status quo will remain, right?
LENNY: that is my assumption. there is NO SMOKING GUN. just promotion, which goes on in every business
IVANA: let him go after the drug companies
LENNY: or the oil companies, perhaps..... now say goodnight, gracie
IVANA: I'M NOT DONE
LENNY: what now. i have a meeting at yahoo to attend, i am off to the future
IVANA: i'll hold down the fort
LENNY: excellent... now tell us your favorite record of the year and we can be done (as if we didn't know)
IVANA: what do you think i'm going to say?
LENNY: ARCADE FIRE
IVANA: that was SO 2004
LENNY: sorry
IVANA: as was interpol
LENNY: my morning jacket?
IVANA :that's second
LENNY: i know your favorite utensil
IVANA: no, that’s your favorite utensil—can we kill that already? but your favorite utensil is my favorite of 2005
LENNY: ta-da
IVANA: spoon's gimme fiction is my fave of 2005
IVANA: and shinedown, of course
LENNY: someone kill me now. say goodnight, gracie
IVANA: goodnight, gracie
LENNY: and goodnight mrs calabash, wherever you are