Bucks

I've been hitting Starbucks every Wednesday since I got a card for a free cup of coffee that's only good on Wednesday.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of their coffee, which tastes burnt to me, but the free-brew deal is for a new blend that tastes like good, strong, non-burnt coffee.

About a year and a half ago, I reviewed a book about the Starbucks brand which, at the time, was growing to encompass a lot of non-coffee stuff. I didn't quite get it and neither did the public, as the company's founding CEO is back in the saddle and his new agenda is to focus on... coffee. What a concept!

The relentless Bob Lefsetz applied Starbucks' experience to the music biz... which Starbucks had tried to get into, releasing a lame album by Paul McCartney (which he just gave away in copies of a Sunday newspaper).

I'm all for extending your reach, but jeez; Starbucks took a cup of coffee and turned it into an expensive, trendy, money-making business. Sometimes, just doing one thing — or one set of things — is enough. More than enough, in fact.

My free coffee card expires next week, incidentally. After that, we'll see.

Prophet?

Actual prophets are rare. The ones depicted in the bible come across as madmen. And if you think about it, they disrupt the staus quo with provocative and wild-sounding statements. They know the truth and aren't afraid to proclaim it, even if reality (or the status quo) contradicts them. They're probably wrong a lot, too. It's always easy to try to discredit someone by claiming they're crazy or "mad." It doesn't always work, but it's worth a shot. Ask Howard Dean. Or Al Gore. Or anyone who thinks JFK may not have been killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.

I've never met Bob Lefsetz, though I've exchanged e-mail with him over the years, and sent him a few books and CDs, as well. He writes about music, the music biz, popular culture, sex, love, commerce and more. He's a non-practicing attorney and I have no idea how he makes a living, but I'll have to ask him sometime.

He sends his Lefsetz Letter by e-mail several times a week. You can subscribe here.

I don't agree with everything he says, to be sure. But I don't agree with everything I've ever said, either. I've called Lefsetz a prophet on a number of occasions. He may not be plugged into any supernatural truth, but on this plane, right or wrong, he seems to be pretty locked-in. At the very worst, his ideas are well worth considering.

Marketing that's unattached to emotion is pretty lame.