If this were the old days you'd know who I was talking about.

I'm reading the new Kristin Hannah book "The Women." I loved 2018's "The Great Alone," unfortunately the sequel, "The Four Winds," is not as good, but that didn't put me off reading "The Women." I'm hooked on the plot, but this is not literary fiction, this is a disappointment, despite being a huge best seller, furthermore one of the main characters, the Black nurse Barb, is not fleshed out. However, it is interesting to read a book set in the Vietnam era, Hollywood seemingly having exhausted the topic.

But I was getting lightheaded, needing sustenance, so I put it down and...

Picked up my phone. I wanted to know if there was any new news. You know, if the world had blown up. But when I checked the major outlets and saw this was not the case I devolved to Apple News+, an endless scroll of sticky headlines usually with very little nutrition once you click through, but a headline in the Sunday "Times" caught my eye. The LONDON "Times," not the NEW YORK "Times."

And here's where I contradict myself. In more ways than one. I just told you how worthless the stories on Apple News+ are but now I'm going to tell you you need to subscribe, you HAVE TO subscribe, it's only ten bucks a month and it's the best news investment you'll make. However, best to ignore the endless scroll and just read the publications you choose, which include a cornucopia of titles, from "The Washington Post" to "The Wall Street Journal," never mind "The New Yorker" and "The Atlantic." We live in the information age now more than ever before, and he or she with the most information wins. That's why your smartphone is so valuable, it's your link to information. Yes, the world runs on reading and if you don't, you're out of the loop. And sure, you can read your biased blogs, but if you don't read the more mainstream publications you don't have your finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist.

The other contradiction is that I found CMAT via publicity, hype, a newspaper story after I told you publicity was worthless. Then again, CMAT has gotten a smattering of publicity in the United States but it doesn't seem to have made a dent, unless you're an information junkie like me you wouldn't know that CMAT was nominated for International Artist of the Year at the Brits, the English music awards that have some of the gravitas the Grammys lack, if for no other reason than there are many fewer categories.

Actually, if you search the news you'll also find out that CMAT has gotten accolades and publicity in the U.K., as a matter of fact:

"It (CMAT's debut) was named the second best album of 2023 by the Observer and earned her a place on the BBC Sound of 2024 list, as well as the Brit nomination."

And:

"The two LPs have already made her a superstar in Ireland, both going to number one, with the debut winning the Choice Music Prize for Irish album of the year."

BBC: t.ly/bv16v

And she's been bullied to boot!

You'd think she'd have an impact in the U.S., but unless you work for her, you're probably clueless, like me.

But this article in the "Times" said CMAT was beloved by Elton John and Robbie Williams, the headline said:

"CMAT, the Irish country star loved by Elton John and Robbie Williams Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson talks to Blanca Schofield about grappling with trolls, acting with Paul Mescal and baring (nearly) all at the Brits"

Unfortunately, unless you pay for a subscription to the "Times," which not many U.S. citizens do, certainly not lefties, you can't read this article. But if you have a subscription to Apple News+ you can: t.ly/wezxg (And sometimes you can read articles in the feed for free, click the link, it might work for you.) Information is very expensive, if you don't pay you will end up ignorant. Sorry to insult you, but this is the truth.

But I read the article after clicking through to Spotify. Elton and Robbie Williams both like this singer, I've got to check her out.

And I was stunned. Her music was positively palatable. I immediately got it, didn't want to turn it off, let it play through.

But I'm not going to provide a link, because I don't want the hatred.

Yes, I'm on react. But the world is black and white, and people either agree with you or they don't, and they respond accordingly, especially if they don't.

I was caught completely off guard. Listening to CMAT was like listening to Elton himself, when you dropped the needle initially. You didn't have to hear the songs many times to get them, you got them upon initial play and they only grew upon you.

Not that CMAT sounds like Elton. I'd put her closer to Fleetwood Mac. Or even the sixties.

But CMAT does not sound like she's competing in the rap wars. She doesn't sound like a Disney star with a thin voice making vapid pop. She sounds like an artist. Not someone prepubescent, but 28.

And I'm going through the songs, looking for a clunker, and I can't find one. Research tells me there's a new single, "Aw, Shoot!," and that was good too. Too often you like one track, but not the rest, but that is not the case with CMAT.

I get it, we no longer live in a monoculture. Therefore you don't have to listen to anything you don't like, and there's a solid chance you won't like CMAT. But I'd posit that more people would like the music of CMAT than many of the tunes in the U.S. Spotify Top 50, her music has melody and a genuine quality oftentimes lacking in today's "hit" music. It's made for the mood, not the money.

Not that you'll hear it on radio. The terrestrial outlets in the U.S. aren't spinning it. And I didn't see it on a plethora of Spotify playlists.

So nothing is happening. Which stuns me. Here's an act that a great swath of the public would resonate with if they only heard it. But they're not.

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