There are few who impact humanity in such a way that the world is literally changed by their contributions. Einstein, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford — they all pale in comparison to the impact that Steve Jobs has had on society, world wide.
Jobs and Apple have certainly been a game changer and will continue to shape the way we live and learn well into this new millenium. But, Jobs’ contribution was not just iTunes, iPods, iPhones and iPads; he also exemplified the entreprenurial spirit and showed that vision coupled with determination brings innovation — and you don’t need a PhD to achieve it.
His commencement address to Stanford leaves a wonderful message for all of us…
Find what you love and DO IT! No matter how crazy, unconventional, out of the norm, or against other’s wishes…do what you love, love what you do.
Funny, but it seems that the apple is the one fruit that has a dramatic effect on the world…
* Eve’s bite of the first
* Newton’s noggin’ with the second
* Birth of The Beatles with the third
* and, the wonderful world of Steve Jobs with the fourth
Well, whaddaya know….ole Johnny Boy himself has “discovered” Ray LaMontagne. And I quote:
Ray LaMontagne is as brilliant as any artist that has ever lived.
And he’s getting better; tighter, more focused, more self-assured.
That’s pretty high praise coming from the Music Messiah. Actually, Ray opened for him at The Fillmorein 2005, so John has known of Ray for a while now. But just recently, John decided to blog about Ray L.recently and tried to explain Ray’s “essence” by creating an iTune’s iMix to showcase Ray’s obvious talent and compel others to get “caught up” on Ray. With baited breath, I clicked into iTunes to check out what Ray song’s that JOHN MAYER thought captured Ray.
When you click here, you will see that John lists three songs (although he mentions six in the narrative) that he feels define who Ray LaMontagne is, musicwise. If you’re too lazy to click, here they are:
Trouble
Jolene
Shelter
Wow, JM, you really dug deep for those. Aren’t these all ones that have been on TV or in the movies? While I give John props for the iMix thing, I don’t think those three songs capture the multi-facetedness of Ray LaMontagne. While I think that visuals like YouTube vids give a better glimpse of the complexities of RL, I am intrigued by the whole iMix thing and thought that it would be fun to create a Ray LaMontagne MusicMaven iMix that I think better captures the essence, range and profound talent of this prolific artist.
Problem with iTunes, however, is that it’s not definitive. YouTube is much more broad in terms of available performances. Like, how can you explain the essence of Ray without these:
Crazy
To Love Somebody (with Damien Rice)
Crazy Dreamers
And, there are so many more…
I do agree with John, however, that Ray is really starting to come into his own. His latest CD, Gossip in the Grain, is markedly more upbeat than Trouble, and ‘Til the Sun Turns Black. However, in Ray’s initial, self-produced CD, One Lonesome Saddle, includes some really good stuff, with a spectacular old-time religion track of Shuckin’ the Corn, he shows that even when he first started out, he had diversity in his music and passion in his heart.
IvoryHut had a good piece on Gossip in the Graina while back that includes the entire track listing, etc. I have to say that my favorite track from the new CD is You Are the Best Thing:
Absolutely marvelous. Movin’, groovin’, and definitely NOT Country, Ivory. Ray’s music covers so many genres, that he’s hard to “label”. However, give it a shot. Give me a genre label for Ray’s music…like “Diversified Soul” or “Angst Funk”.
A little over a year ago, I published a post entitled, Catalyst of Change, regarding the newly introduced iPhone and the anticipated impact the exclusive AT&T/Apple would have on the wireless market and technology, as a whole.
Stephenson is pictured with Apple’s new iPhone 3G and the article by Leslie Cauley explains that the affordable $199 pricetag on the new sensation is his brainchild. Now, consider this…analysts estimate that AT&T is paying about $300 per device, so they are basically taking a $100 loss on each “unit” sold. However, the “Unlimited” plan, which most subscribers sign up for goes for $129.99 per month, so AT&T recovers their “loss” in the first month, with an upside of nearly $3,000 per user over the 24 month contract. AT&T has estimated that it has doubled it’s 3G users in the past year (from 8% to 18%, with substantial potential), so there has been tremendous movement to higher priced plans that are more than paying for infrastructure and any subsidies on equipment.
While I still think that the iPhone has forever changed the landscape of the cellular phone industry despite no previous experience in that arena, the initial hype has not proved to deliver the goods. AT&T indicates that is has sold more than 2 million original iPhones in the last year. While this figure makes the iPhone the best-selling by a country mile, it’s far short of the Goldman Sach’s prediction of 14 million sold by the end of 2008 through the exclusive AT&T channel. Also, 1.4 million (or 70%) of those were sold in the first 90 days of release. That means that while AT&T averaged over 450,000 units per month for the first 90 days, that number drops dramatically to an average per month of 65,000 for the remaining 9 months.
Now, perhaps many consumers were waiting on the next generation of iPhone as it has been reported that first weekend sales of the iPhone 3G doubled the initial launch (estimated 500,000, compared to an estimated 270,000 for the original iPhone). I personally know four people who stood in line. No doubt, the $199 vs. the $599 price tag helped. However, Apple has once again created a “must have” in the marketplace. Stephenson was astute enough to realize that if he drops the price point for a time and provides more “evangelists” out there, demand may actually increase instead of falling off as the original device did. Either way, Apple needs to keep the innovations coming.
Stephenson also announced that Apple and AT&T have extended their “exclusivity” agreement through the year 2010, replacing the deal originally struck between AT&T and Apple that gave Apple a cut of the iPhone service revenue. Not only does this exclusivity hurt other wireless providers in the present tense, it forces them to spend development dollars on 3G and 4G capabilities when they can’t even provide the premier Smart Phone product, on their network. Sure, there are/will be other 3G and 4G handsets, but let’s face it…Apple has set the standard, particularly at the low $199 price point set by AT&T. That’s comparable to the cost of my BlackBerry, that has tons less functionality. And, just think if Apple and AT&T agree to extend the exclusivity past 2010?
AT&T self-proclaims that it is “all about wireless”. I take this to mean that traditional land-line telephones will continue to be replaced by Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and wireless technologies. I can envision the day when each person will have one universal phone number that can be accessed via computer, Smart Phone and even, TV. And, speaking of those innovations….it appears that Steve Jobs and Apple have that well in hand….
This weekend begins our summer vacation in beautiful L.A. (Lower Alabama). We’ll be at the beach for 7 lovely days. A time to relax, have some fun and take stock of our lives. Given this objective, I need some music. Can you guys help me to construct a killer playlist for the beach? I hope so.
Simply contemplate this image….
then, give me your best. No limit on the number of songs, particular genres, or artists. Only restriction is time. I need the list by Friday night to add the music to my beach playlist. Here’s a start….
Music Maven 