In a recent MSN.com article, Bon Jovi rips Steve Jobs by claiming he is 'killing' music with iTunes.
A paragraph that stands out says
'Bon Jovi tells The Sunday Times Magazine, "Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it."'Bon Jovi and I had different experiences growing up.
At the crack of dawn one particular Saturday when I was around 14, I went to work part time at a flower shop. The owner wanted things moved out of a rickety old shed. Broken glass, sharp metal pieces that were discarded scraps from some aluminum contraption littered the floor. Didn't matter. It had to come up.
After that, it was on to the roses. And yes, every rose has it's thorns. The resulting mess of greenery and water attracted swarms of mosquitoes around our work tables outside. The owner said he forgot to mention that we should wear pants cause that happens a lot.
At the end of the day, the sun was going down and it was time to quit... and get paid. "Here ya go, son. That was a good day's work." he said handing me $15. From that point on, I learned that when anyone says "It's good work." or "A good day's work.", that usually means it's hard work.
But, I had enough to buy a CD.
Off to record store. This was around the time that stores were doing away with listening centers and all you got to listen to was whatever the store put on the player. I browsed the aisles looking for the CD that would stand out and decided on the newest release from an artist I'll choose not to mention. He had a great radio hit at the time and here it is... that CD. Yes!
I get home and put it in the CD player. I push the button for track 4 and it sounds nothing like what I heard on the radio. Maybe the song is a bonus track on the end of the CD... nope. Well maybe if I just listen to the CD, the song may be under another name... no go. The CD was terrible. The radio played the remix and never mentioned it. A trip back to the record store to return it was met with an "No Returns on CDs." sign.
What is a teenager supposed to do? I did the only thing I could think of. I threw the CD on the ground smashing it and stormed off hoping my protest was understood by someone in the store.
For that reason, I welcomed the dawn of the MP3. With websites like
Conquer Entertainment, that allow you to listen to songs before you bought them, came an era where the product I receive for my money becomes exactly what I want and not potluck.
Bon Jovi goes on to say
"God, it was a magical, magical time," he continues, "I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."What's "magical" was listening to CDs that I loved for hours. In a generation from now if my child asks "What Happened?" I'll say "You know that song you hate on the radio? Imagine finding out you hate the whole album after you spent your money on it."
*Image from MSN/AP
Jon Bon Jovi slams Steve Jobs for 'killing' music
