new wine in new bottles

the passing of steve jobs has given me a moment to reflect on his legacy as i loosely know it.  his contributions, in particular to the music world, have straight changed the game.

musicians are now able to do extraordinary things on the computer.  i can use my brand spankin' new macbook to compose using notational software instead of wrecking my wrist by writing it out long hand.  i can record stuff with my in-line mic and mix it and bounce it with garage band (or even better quality with protools, logic, reason, ableton).  it is common (and still cool) to see that apple glowing like the heart of iron man from coffee shops to concert halls.  our jazz band concert last night was mic-ed up to the Nth degree through a big mixing board up in the balcony.  our sound guys were then able to do live sound mixing from the front row and on stage with a wirelessly-tethered iPad.  get outta here!!!

iTunes is the predominant music organizational tool.  it also holds high status amongst the masses.  when i tell people i just finished another record, the first question they ask me is "cool man - is it up on iTunes?"  (yes it is...)  it has also opened up the market for acquiring music and shattering the control of the artist.  i can order single tracks without buying the entire album.  i can create playlists of my favorite songs and avoid the programming order that the artist conceived for the right flow of their record.  those are definitely cons, but the pros of being able to buy tracks whenever i want and immediately download them to my computer are huge in terms of exposure and distribution.  by shuffling through my iTunes library, i can also bump into stuff that i hadn't thought of listening to in quite some time.  as i write this blog, here is what's coming through my speakers:

kronos quartet - suso: tilliboyo 

john zorn & tim berne - space church 

big boi - the way you move 

ben webster & oscar peterson - bye bye blackbird

john scofield & pat metheny - no matter what 

bill evans w/ lee konitz & warne marsh - speak low 

the sugarcubes - take some petrol, darling 

dave holland trio - take the coltrane

then there's the iPod.  in terms of recording, artists have begun mixing for headphones instead of car speakers and home audio.  not many people park it in front of there speakers at home with a glass of chardonnay and take in the latest effort by esperanza spading, but a whole mess of people stick that album on their iPod and listen to it at work or on an evening stroll through the neighborhood.  i work on a college campus, where i routinely encounter girls with words on their butt and guys reeking of cologne.  the common denominator i observe is that nearly all of these coeds are plugged into an iPod of some sort.  heck - it's fashionable to have those white ear buds and the white chords accessorizing your outfit.  it's exciting to see lots of young people listening to music. maybe they're tuned in to my stuff?  hey, a boy can dream...

our loot from apple

as i'm writing this, kale is researching black ops cheat codes on his macbook.  simon is trying to memorize old school eminem lines that flow through his iPod.  sonja just finished answering some emails on her macbook pro.  jobs (and the whole apple crew) made cutting edge techy stuff sexy.  people are often resistant to change, clutching desperately to that which they are familiar and are convinced will always suffice.  jobs was able to change that social misconception worldwide.

i'm always fascinated with forward thinking innovators in our midst.  musician miles davis, chess master bobby fischer, photographer ansel adams.  add steve jobs to that list.