Why we must close the net Why we must close the net

The Sun ^ | Sir Elton John

[dangerdoc]

POP legend Sir Elton John wants the internet CLOSED DOWN.

Never one to keep his opinions to himself, the Rocket Man has waded into cyberspace with all guns blazing.

He claims it is destroying good music, saying: “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.

[JacksonCalhoun]

Believe it or no, he had a beard wife for about 6 months or so.

[Revolting cat!]

Reg, you haven’t produced anything artistically interesting since your first two U.S. albums! Get hungry again!

[RichInOC]

No, Dame Elton. Deal with it.

[joebuck]

Elton is getting soft in the head. But then he’s had more balls on the chin than a major league baseball catcher.

[Bogtrotter52]

Oh man, you never listened to him until he became a glitter boy. Try listening to everything from Tumbleweed Connection on back. The differance in his work will astound you.

[Syncro]

This is bad.

The Queen of England wanting to shut down the net.

Oh oh...

[longtermmemmory]

“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. ...


Elton John fears COMPETITION.
By this logic he would require licenses for learning an musical instrument.

[CodeMasterPhilzar]

Let's look at some of his points...

The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff.

So I suppose all this connectivity we have now means nothing? We cannot connect via text messaging, cell phones, email, blogs, wiki's, instant messages, chat rooms, forums (eg. FR!) or the plethora of more focused online collaboration tools? Oh these silly fools, what are they doing? ;-/

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.

Yeah, heaven forbid someone with talent should actually take his/her art in their own direction... We must all conform to...what?

It’s just a means to an end.

What in the world is he talking about here?

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.

Well of course not. I'm sure mp3s, iPods, CD-Rs, etc. haven't changed a thing! ;-/ Time spent blogging is time wasted? Unless of course maybe someone is blogging about how to use some of the technology now available to just about anyone.

I mean, get out there — communicate.

And the Internet is about...what then, if not communication? An artist should go down to the local pub and talk with a handful of friends? Fine. Or use the net to connect to hundreds? Hey, why not both? You know, a balanced approach?

Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet.

And I didn't think he had a sense of humor!

Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging.

Great, run off and protest...um, what? Maybe get heard/seen by a few dozen people? Blog on the net, maybe get read by tens of thousands? If you have something meaningful to say, and are articulate and entertaining enough to hold interest. Then again, maybe you should just rant against something you obviously don't understand.

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.

Knock yourself out Elton. Or wait, go lock yourself up, see ya in 5...

There’s too much technology available.

Yeah, all that horrible stuff. I don't remember you complaining when technology made it possible for musicians to lay down tracks independently, then perform serious mixing and post-production editing... And all this technology must be bad - it has lowered the bar for entry into making music/art. Why heck, anyone with a couple hundred bucks can get started. They don't need to rent time in someone else's studio that probably costs a couple hundred bucks an hour. And all this bad technology actually lets them get their music out there to be heard, without a one in a million shot at a recording contract with a studio... Wow, this technology thing must be bad for music...

[familyop]

Have a look at news about related duplicity, and see comment #7 (good comment).

The Globalists’ Plan To Give Away U.S. Patents
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875052/posts?page=7#7

[D-fendr]

If he wants people creating and gathering to hear music, he should be also railing against CDs, and vinyl, and radio.. and MTV..

[tioga]

LOL, he wants people to get out of their chairs and live life? Isn’t he the drama queen who couldn’t get out of his limo and walk a couple of blocks to a party?

[steamroller]

most gays have a frantic screechy reaction to anything that irks them-they also have an arrogance which has been tempered a little by AIDS-we have an openly gay mayor-he is a disgusting little creature and if you could custom build someone antithetical to what made this country great you’d come up with this guy-he is a great supporter of hillary-big surprise there-elton john did make some good music-but so does mariah carey and she is mentally ill

[Kozak]

This from the source of that floater “Candle in the Wind”.

[hope]

Title :Don McLean - American Pie
This is lyrics from www.lyrics007.com
A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singin’,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

They were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die."

[ELS]

marking for later reading

[MoochPooch]

EJ’s partly correct: there is a lot of amateurish stuff on the web. However, there is good stuff, as well. IMHO, the cream rises to the top. Eventually, quality stuff gets noticed.

Re “communicate” — music can reinforce isolation patterns just as easily as a computer. Someone can stay in his room all day with the headphones. There have been nerds & loners even back in the Stone Age — before the Internet.

BTW, I liked EJ in his early days, up until MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER. Then my enjoyment tanked. He got into that campy stuff.

[Titan Magroyne]

Any adaption [record companies] have made with technology has been by far offset by pissing off a great many of their customers. The image of multi billion dollar per year record companies suing teen aged kids over a few songs being downloaded couldn't be a good thing from a PR standpoint. lol
Those aren't the only customers they torque off. In their zeal to defeat file sharing, their copywrite protection technology defeats the very customers who play the game their way and buy the CDs. I still, up to very recently, would buy the occasional CD. But it's become increasingly harder to get the dagblasted things to play on my tabletop stereos! I only want to listen to the frikkin music. I'm not burning copies. All I ask is that it work when I hit the playback button on all my sets.

My most recent CD purchases often present a challenge to get them to play. It's not a need to clean the player, as older CDs play just as they should every time. The last 3 Doors Down CD I bought took multiple replacements to find a copy that would play more than three times before becoming invisible to the track counter and refusing to play.

Bought the newest CD from bluesman Gary Moore, returned it the next day because it wouldn't play, got my money back, and downloaded the exact same songs online for free - that, BTW, I'd had access to before the record company officially released the CD. I have wasted my money and time on my last CD purchase. Instead I'm investing in music quality speakers for my PC. My budget is limited, yet it's the only way I can listen at the volume a good song demands, LOL.

[sit-rep]

Since that BS with him mocking the scouts years ago, I usually get the station changed by the 2nd or 3rd note when his tunes are played on the radio around here...

His opinions mean even less...

[Froufrou]

I’m still working on HOW Al Gore invented the internet. I don’t really get how he sells himself carbon credits, either.

Hold on! I’m onto something! Elton can just sell himself music credits! Problem solved!