Comments on: Elton John shakes fist, yells; “Hey you kids! Get the hell off my driveway!”

By: Stevo

Stevo — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:23:53 +0000

Perhaps a foray into the digital realm might help Sir Elton as his latest efforts have been almost nauseating. After the Candle in the Wind re-write he lost any credibility. He’s done nothing of consequence since.

By: Dante

Dante — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:32:21 +0000

Hey now, I Feel Like a Bullet in the Gun of Robert Ford is one if his greatest songs ever. Seriously. That single song atones for the rest of of the not-so-great stuff on Rock of the Westies.

By: george.w

george.w — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 03:05:34 +0000

“...hide in a cyberworld…”

Hoo boy, have I got a post for you! Will put it up tomorrow morning sometime.

I see the ‘net as an extension to my physical world, which is in some ways a bit limiting. I work all the time, can’t easily travel, but I get to talk to these amazing people all over the world. Digital technology has restored my interest in writing, in photography, vastly opened my sources in learning about science and the natural world.

By: WeeDram

WeeDram — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 02:55:11 +0000

I dunno about “soft rock” (whatever the hell that is), but there is a helluva lot of good music from 60s and 70s that is played A LOT these days and I still like it. And I liked Candle in the Wind.

Yes, the net brings a lot of people together. I have new friends in the world of photography that are unbelievably good folk. That just happens to be my avocation, so the internet has helped expand my world and increase my pleasure. There are multiple facets to any technology evolution; what one makes of it is what’s important. For those that hide in a cyberworld, I feel sorry for them.

By: breakerslion

breakerslion — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:03:33 +0000

One more thing: “Crocodile Rockin’” never happened, and thanks to Elton John, Maurice Williams got “dissed” twice for one song.

By: breakerslion

breakerslion — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:18:02 +0000

I’ve said this before, and this won’t be the last time, either. When I listen to the “oldies” stations, and the “soft rock” stations, I have to admit: if I knew then that I would still be listening to this stuff 20, 30, 40 years later, I wouldn’t have liked it so much the first time I heard it.

Sir Elton John is the Ed McMahon of the music world. He lost all credibility when he re-wrote “Goodbye Norma Jean” for Princess Diana. The “Candle in the Wind” line was not even a stretch. It made no more f-ing sense than the Donald Duck costume that old Queen wore in Central Park. Without Bernie Taupin, he is just a composer and a showman, not a song writer.

Things change, and technology changes things. The biggest threat to creativity is those who would try to keep things as they were, instead of letting them develop into what they are, or will become.

By: Paul Sunstone

Paul Sunstone — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 04:40:17 +0000

On the upside, the net brings together people who otherwise would never have a chance to meet. I would think that has to have some positive benefit for creativity.

By: george.w

george.w — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 03:59:22 +0000

That’s all right, WD; you spelled all the important words correctly. And your meaning was clear enough.

By: WeeDram

WeeDram — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:48:17 +0000

Sorry for the grammatical and punctuation errors above. I am so ashamed.

By: WeeDram

WeeDram — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:46:58 +0000

Well, first of all I don’t believe for a second that Sir Elton really wants the net shut down. I do believe, old bean, that he sometimes uses hyperbole ... have you seen some of the glasses he wears ... not to mention other articles of fashion?

Second, DOF seems at times a tich sensitive to those who call out technology gone wild long for “the good ole days”... well, mostly kidding, but you get my jist. After all, DOF, you do rightly call out crappy interfaces, stupid design decisions, bloatware, etc.

So, I think Elton’s real message is valuable. That is, the side effects of super-heated technology growth are often counter to other valuable social objectives, and to core creativity. I don’t think you can have technological evolution without this, but I do think the Elton John’s of the world can be scene as a “voice crying in the wilderness”.

So, I’m off to Superior with Toyo 4x5 and Tri-X, OM and Kodachrome. Yeah, baby.