Music, power, politics, and the stories behind the stories.
Directly from Miles
Miles on the Record
This is the main personal section: what I think now, what I remember, what I got right, what I got wrong, and what everyone else has conveniently forgotten. It is written, dictated, supplied, or approved by me—not a generic “voice of” approximation.
Expect music-business war stories, political arguments, historical corrections, useful provocations, and the occasional sentence that makes an old enemy sit up much straighter.
Editorial Collections
8 entries
The Music Business
How artists, labels, managers, publishers, promoters, and money actually behave.
0 entries
The Police & Sting
The strategy, risks, personalities, touring, and decisions behind a global breakthrough.
3 entries
Punk, New Wave & Breaking Rules
When having no respectable option became a competitive advantage.
0 entries
Arab Music & Global Sound
Crossing markets, languages, and cultural assumptions without flattening the music.
97 entries
Entertainment, Film & Media
Records were only the beginning; attention itself became a business.
181 entries
Politics, Power & the Middle East
Independent commentary from someone who distrusts slogans, tribes, and simple answers.
22 entries
Intelligence & the Copeland Files
OSS, SOE, the early CIA, espionage culture, propaganda, and family stories from inside the mythology.
52 entries
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Success, failure, reinvention, and the education hidden inside an expensive mistake.
All Miles on the Record
205
Aug 26, 2024
Why on Earth
Why on Earth would a guy like Trump welcome an endorsement from persons who have so much on tape that contradicts exactly what he has beensaying? RFK…
Apr 23, 2024
If one is an Atheist
The biggest problem of the One God idea as opposed to the many gods of old is that if there is only one then opposing views must be wrong.
Apr 16, 2024
Heads in the sand
We can blame Iran for its "unfortunate" positions and hope the regime will change or fall. But we cannot just assume that Israel is blameless.
Apr 15, 2024
John Bolton's view
I wonder what John Bolton would say if Mexicans in Texas decided to rejoin Mexico
Apr 14, 2024
Iran-Israel
Interesting to hear Senator Marco Rubio on CNN discuss the Iran-Israel news of yesterday. He refers to Israel as the "Jewish State". By definition he…
Apr 13, 2024
Iran vs Israel and Trump
It is amazing and a great lesson in marketing that if one is prepared to outright lie it is a great advantage and nearly impossible to counter. In…
Apr 13, 2024
Surprise!
Israelis must be scratching their heads in disbelief these days. Most governments and Westerners generally have been too afraid to criticize Israeli…
Apr 12, 2024
Inconvenient truths and learning from history.
The US Constitution was written before the realities of today were known. Checks and balances is a great idea BUT there are no checks and balances…
Apr 9, 2024
Israel & Hamas
Sat April 6 What is the difference between Hamas and Israel? Each side points fingers at the other and both miss the point, 1. Israel is a state…
Feb 22, 2023
Antioch
Antakya? Never heard of it before the recent earthquake that devastated SW turkey and NW Syria. Oh you mean Antioch? Heard of that. Dates back over…
Feb 20, 2023
How soon we forget
This evening I had the misfortune of flipping across my TV channels and came across an interview between Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson on FOX…
Feb 20, 2023
Moldova
The Russian play book is at work now in Moldova. Russian operatives are stirring up descent and pro Russian propaganda against the current government…
Feb 20, 2023
A relief!
For those of us that were thinking that the Fox "News" hosts could not really be believing all the nonsense from the Trump camp about stolen…
Feb 10, 2023
Roger Waters and Ukraine
Like Ukraine, Russia needs to look to the future and Putin is not it.
Feb 8, 2023
Turkey
For all the complaints about the "over reach" of government as it relates to regulations, when we see the devastation in Turkey we should realize all…
Feb 5, 2023
The friends you keep
For all the talk by Putin and his spokesmen that Russia is going to win the war in Ukraine, the penny has still not dropped that the West cannot…
Jan 30, 2023
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine of the NY band Television died last week at the age of 73. I had not seen Tom for many years but remember well when I organized the…
Jan 4, 2023
Goo Goo Muck!
Better Late Than Never. Glad to see The Cramps song Goo Goo Muck is getting the attention it deserves. Ivy does the guitar so hopefully she has heard…
Dec 26, 2022
End Game
US TV shows give a lot of coverage to Ukraine even as the disclosures of the June 6th committee keep coming. Some commentators mention the idea of an…
Dec 24, 2022
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is alive and well in the 3 one god religions. How many Christians do you know that support the idea of "Turn the other cheek"? How many…
Dec 22, 2022
FOX
I have never been a fan of Tucker Carlson. Never trusted his practiced sincerity. He tells lies so well with a straight face that one can see why he…
Dec 16, 2022
Dec 16, 2022
The unfortunate truth of the war in Ukraine is that it is beginning to dawn on everyone that the only way to end it is the assassination of Putin…
Dec 14, 2022
December 2022
Well its Christmas time again and the world is still deep in trouble. Burying one's head in the sand is alive and well it seems, 1. At least there is…
May 5, 2022
The Chamberlain dream.
Tulsi Gabbord was just on Fox once again showing she is another Nevil Chamberlain. Nevil did in fact deliver "Peace in our time" - only problem was…
Admirers, skeptics, former allies, competitors, critics, and lifelong enemies are all welcome. An audience that agrees with everything is either not listening or trying to get a deal.
Read the stories, check the facts, challenge the conclusions, and argue intelligently. History becomes much tidier after the people who made it have stopped talking. I have not.