Try Trakin instead of Lefsetz

If you’re infuriated by Bob Lefsetz, you’re not alone. When this industry insider and now writer moons about his favorite classic rock albums, he can be pretty moving. But when he does his all-caps rants, I just wonder why I’m wasting my time reading his childish, ill-informed B.S.. If you want to hear an ol’ guy rant ‘the music industry is dead’ 100’s of times and then show how little he knows about rap, country, metal or several other non-rock genres, then he’s your man.

If you’re a little saner and you’d rather hear someone more thoughtful and intelligence try to dissect the latest music biz news and shenanigans, then you’d be much better off with Roy Trakin. A nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn (he was once half of the jokey Yid-rap duo M.O.T.) who’s called the other coast home for a while now, he’s senior editor at trade magazine Hits (going back to the mid-80’s). His weekly ‘Trakin Care of Business’ column comes out on Thursday nights/Friday mornings and is definitely worth reading as he delves not only into new releases but also industry issues, TV, films and other pop culture tidbits. You may not always agree with him (I don’t) but unlike Bobby L, you never feel like you’ve wasted your time reading him- he obviously puts a lot of time and effort into his columns and always has at least a few interesting insights into his subjects.

Please do yourself a favor and check out his work at Hits. You can also get his ‘daily dose of Boomerangst’ at Sonic Boomers.