Neil Young’s Lonely Quest to Save Music


yyzsantabarbara

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As Tim Cook, the head of Apple, recently told a reporter, without any evident trace of humor, “We worry that the humanity is being drained out of music.”

That is the first positive statement from Apple regarding their destruction of music quality.
@tooblue For me, streaming is great on Tidal and Qobuz. The enjoyment factor is unparalleled compared to other mediums. I am including things like sound quality, convenience, discovery, and even online community (though I miss going to record stores).

However, lo-fi streaming is nails on a blackboard. Get rid of the lo-fi and watch things improve.

BTW - I am a Silicon Valley type that was in the Valley when Apple was coming out with iTunes. I was railing against it then but no one cared. Maybe people are starting to care now. outside of the people on A’Gon.

Steve Jobs, Cook’s predecessor, was also a big music fan. “He listened to vinyl in his living room because he could hear real music,” Young told me. “ And he loved music.” When I ask if he ever spoke directly to Jobs about turning Apple’s iTunes into a platform for music that didn’t sound bad, Young nodded.

“Oh, yeah,” he answered. “He said, ‘Send us your masters and I’ll have my guys do what they can with them to make them sound great.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s impossible, your iPod won’t play anything back.’ ”

Jobs disagreed. “He said, ‘Well, our guys can make it so that your music can play back through it.’ And you know he was right,” Young said. “It does play back, and you can recognize it.” He pauses. “But it’s not my music.”

When Jobs’s biographer asked him about Young’s offer, as related in the biography “Becoming Steve Jobs,” Jobs snapped, “[Expletive] Neil Young.”


I saw Neil Young and the old members of Buffalo Springfield play at the Bridge School Benefit a few years ago. He was still married to his ex so must have been 5 years ago. I think Pearl Jam also played with Neil that day (or year before).  Anyways, Young was still an excellent performer back then.




I think there are more people creating music now than anytime in history with the advent of computer technology. Case in point is my brilliant Silicon Valley buddy who moved back to India and created a software system to create traditional India music. He wanted people without means to be able to create music.