iPad 2
"It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. That it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing."Steve Jobs
iPad 2 demo
3/2/11
I went to a liberal arts college. There was no business department, no preparation for life itself other than the study of life itself, via Art, English, Political Science and Sociology classes. Because if you want to be truly human, if you want to live life to the fullest, money is a necessary evil, but it’s not an end unto itself.
We revere the rich. The talented are pushed aside. Say a musical star sucks and there’s always some prick who’s the agent pointing to the gross, as if the money made equals the quality of the experience.
We all know great. It’s about more than money. It’s about shooting for the stars. Providing what the public does not even know it wants.
That’s the original iPad. Apple invented the category.
And the iPad 2 is an improvement. There are two cameras, an accelerometer, it’s faster and thinner. But it’s not something to be admired from a distance. It’s what you do with your iPad that matters.
And those who attend music business college will be able to do a lot less than those with a liberal arts education. What did Randy Newman say? That the bank of the music business has already been robbed? I’ve gotten e-mail from self-satisfied music business students who referenced working for the college record label. Huh? They have such a thing? Make me laugh.
If you want to prepare for the music business get a liberal arts degree. Then you’ll be able to not only tell what music makes your heart sing, but be fully able to articulate why.
The Mac survived because of desktop publishing. Where did Steve Jobs learn about calligraphy, about fonts? At Reed, the liberal arts college in Oregon.
And Jobs has no business degree. An MBA program will teach you how to shuffle numbers, but it won’t teach you how to create a soulful product that resonates with customers.
I mean what is the goal of life. We see Bon Jovi had the top grossing tour. But he’s playing twenty five year old songs. Nothing wrong with that, but there’s nothing cutting edge involved. If you want to explore the limits you’re better off listening to Lykke Li.
Too many of those playing music just want to get rich. That’s what’s wrong with the music industry today. The acts have all seen "Cribs" and the executives want a NetJet share. Nothing wrong with a nice house and lifestyle in the abstract, but they only fulfill as a result of meaningful work. And constructing another me-too song, painting by numbers, is not meaningful, that’s sheer commerce.
I’m never gonna use GarageBand on the iPad, but watching that guy demonstrate it had my heart singing. Who came up with this shit? You mean the harder you tap the glass, the louder the piano plays? That’s unbelievably cool!
Music used to specialize in cool. Had a hold on it. Movies were two years behind, TV twelve months. But now it’s all about set-up, to maximize revenue. You’ve got to have a business plan. And the number one e-mail I get is HOW DO I GET PAID!
Maybe you don’t. Maybe life is an adventure with an indeterminate end.
Now you don’t have to go to college at all. It’s not a requirement.
But if you want to be successful in the arts you’re better off staying home reading a novel than studying "Billboard". You’ve got to have a foundation.
Otherwise, you’re just an empty suit.
Somehow this country forgot that it’s all about making people’s hearts sing. If Barack Obama would just get up and speak his inner truth, we might follow him. Instead all his positions are focus-grouped, researched for the theoretical best effect.
And Sarah Palin is all about the money.
And we used to look to the musicians for truth.
But now we look to technologists.
Today’s iPad 2 presentation was more eagerly anticipated than any musical release this year. Kanye’s lauded "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" pales in comparison. GaGa copied Madonna, Apple broke new ground.
The public believes music is disposable crap that plays in the background while you’re shopping or partying. The average person does not see it as soul-fulfilling.
And for that I blame the so-called artists and the execs.
Your move.
