What's the matter, Sir Elton John?

I found it very interesting that Elton John recently complained about the state of music and the internet…and well, people who blog. Some of his comments follow:

“The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff…“Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision…“It’s just a means to an end…“We’re talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that’s not going to happen with people blogging on the internet…“I mean, get out there — communicate…“Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet…“Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging…“I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span…“There’s too much technology available…“I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today.”

Ok, given his statements and the discussion we have been having here on the notes blog, I’d like to respond to some of his grenades.

1) The internet
I agree that the internet has a tendency to isolate people from each other and know that sitting in front of a computer, game station, etc., can be a detriment. I also know he has been very against illegal downloads of music and I agree that is a problem. It is frustrating when you hear, “Oh, man! Loved your stuff…especially such and such track…and if it wasn’t for our good friend Tom, who bought it at a concert…the rest of our social hodgepodge of 152 people would have neeeeevvvvver heard of it!” …alright, so it was 2 instead of 152. However, for me his argument falls apart when he tries to make a link between blogging, sitting in front of a computer, too much technology, not communicating, not getting out there in the streets, not creating stuff, not changing the world…AND musical artistic vision.

2) The Music
Elton sounds like someone holding on to the very ship going down. The music industry is suffering because the formula that at one time worked, has become stale. It is suffering from a disease every business, organization, and even personal individuals suffer from when they reach a certain point of success. “They” start coasting. The internet has spawned MORE individual creativity, not LESS, as the ability to bypass major labels and put out competitive music has increased. The “next movement” Elton is talking about, the one he is wishing would come along, is the very one he is complaining about! The next movement in music is not going to tear down the internet. The “next movement” is presently tearing down the music industry.

To make things even more ironic, Elton played a concert for his 60th birthday to a 20,000-strong crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden that was streamed live over the internet. He also plans to put his back catalogue of albums on the digital download market. These two examples seem to suggest Elton’s problem is not technology and music, as much as it is “Control.”

Given what he is doing vs. what he is saying, intimates he is confused…………………………………………….................................about the current musical milieu.