Listening to a podcast this weekend, I heard a mention of Wire by U2 featured in a first-season episode of Miami Vice scoring a nighttime car chase, and the host said that it was the most 1985 thing he’d ever heard or seen. I would agree. I have long loved this song, my favorite off an album full of fantastic tracks, and it appears on every driving playlist I’ve ever assembled—at the risk of inspiring a speeding ticket. Now I’m binging the first season of the series (available on Tubi) and it is totally taking me back to middle school.
Apparently they don’t play it much live, which is a crime; this is a clip from a 1985 performance during the Unforgettable Fire tour.
“Broadcast is an ice cube that is melting, OK?” Mr. Bilton said, saying the show had to adapt. “Bari loves this institution,” he added. “She loves ’60 Minutes.’”
At that, Mr. Pelley interrupted.
“She is murdering ‘60 Minutes,’” the correspondent said. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she’s been doing exactly that.”
Bari Weiss, the controversial new head of CBS News, who was hired with no previous broadcast journalism experience, hired a controversial new producer for 60 Minutes: Nick Bilton, a writer with no previous broadcast journalism experience. In an all-hands meeting with 60 Minutes staff (directly after firing the previous executive producer and two longtime correspondents) he was challenged by Scott Pelley, longtime senior correspondent, who challenged him to explain why these changes were made. Thankfully, he didn’t pull any punches. For 6 years, senior officials facing challenges by MAGA or DOGE have quietly resigned in “protest” without doing or saying anything else, as if just leaving is going to make a difference. Bullies do not like when there is pushback. It’s about time someone actually pushed the fuck back.
Bravo, Mr. Pelley. Thank you for showing us the way.
Update: Predictably, the stooges fired him.
Update to the Update: Dan Rather weighs in:
Going forward, every interview, every story, every shot should come with an asterisk superimposed on the screen right next to the CBS eye: *“This story was approved by Donald Trump.”
In the scathing post, there is also a brief glimmer of hope:
The “60 Minutes” formula is replicable, with the right people, enough money, and a platform willing to air it. We have heard from a former “60 Minutes” insider that such discussions are in the works. Fingers crossed. Until then, we are left with a sanitized “60” that will play well for an audience of one.
Inferno was released on Friday, and I really like it. It’s definitely an evolution of the BoC sound, but still works within the soundscape they pioneered 2+ decades ago. This album features drums on select tracks in a way their previous albums didn’t—tracks like Blood in the Labyrinth, All Reason Departs, and Arena Americanada put them much further forward than I remember. The sound of this album is much more….upbeat? than Tomorrow’s Harvest, their last album. I’ve currently been streaming it, but once I’m past the first-of-the-month bills, an out-of-network cancer checkup bill, and prep for IH Nationals, I’m going to buy the CD (remember those?)
The weather here has been absolutely perfect since the rain broke last week, and I spent as much time as possible outside not sweating and not freezing. I can see why people visited California and never left. The tomatoes in the greenhouse continue to thrive, which makes me stupidly happy. I took advantage of the weather to rent a tow dolly and swap the Scout 800 for the CR-V at Brian’s garage, and I’m happy I didn’t have to sweat my ass off to get it done.