Just in case you somehow imagined that Elton John wasn't an idiot, this should lay the matter to rest:

“The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff.

“Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision.

“It’s just a means to an end.

“We’re talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that’s not going to happen with people blogging on the internet.

“I mean, get out there — communicate.

“Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet.

“Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging.

“I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span.

Yes, of course, because, you know, it's all about the art.

You think the Beatles are full of soppy insipid lyrics, now you say Elton John is crap, you hate the Dixie Chicks, so what kind of music do you like anyway? How about Green Day?

Right after he made that pronouncement, Sir Elton went outside and told the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn...then he mumbled something about God giving men wings if he wanted them to fly...

Why stop at the internet? If Elton really cared about his art, he'd stop allowing release of CD's, since visual imagery is a large part of the connection with his audience.

In fact, he probably should stop releasing all recordings. A live performance allows a much closer connection between the artist and his audience.

And once he's gone that far, he'll surely realize that allowing the natural sound of his voice and piano to be amplified just distorts and dilutes the artistry.

Ultimately, he should only perform in an outdoor setting with only natural lighting and a few people in attendance. That's what a true artist would do.

/sarcasm

Sounds like Sir John might be back on whatever it was he was on before.

*sigh*

What is it that drives some people to fret so voluminously about the alleged community-killing, soul-deadening, self-isolating, mind-wasting dangers of information technology? Doesn't reading (say) a romance novel at home do the same thing?**

Is this some sort of 21st century version of "Reefer Madness"?

** No offense intended to those who enjoy reading bodice-rippers -- or the Letters section of Penthouse :-P

You think the Beatles are full of soppy insipid lyrics, now you say Elton John is crap, you hate the Dixie Chicks, so what kind of music do you like anyway? How about Green Day?

I didn't say any of those things. I said that Imagine was an idiotic song, but I've never made any general comments about the Beatles that I recall, but if I did, I'm sure they were complimentary, with regard to their music.

I said that Elton John is an idiot. I made no comment on his music, much of which I liked in the early seventies.

I have similarly expressed no opinion on the music of the Dixie Chicks, having listened to very little of it.

What blog have you been reading? Not this one. At least not for comprehension.

Elton wonders what kind of music would be produced if we shut down the internet for five years? Uhm...I think we have a few thousand years worth of data directly related to that question. Lots of good stuff, lots more crap. Same thing we're producing today.

I blame MTV, not the internet.

Words by Bernie Taupin, music by Elton John. Why couldn't he leave it like that?

Offside, for your outrageous claims, I sentence you to one watching of Yellow Submarine.

EWhen Macintosh first came along the number of really ugly desk-top publishing that came out was painful because suddenly non-experts could give it a go. The same is happening for music.

Elton is a member of the club who is trying to close the door after him.

Doesn't reading (say) a romance novel at home do the same thing?

Interesting observation. I believe 19th century pundits actually did decry the reading of novels as an activity guaranteed to rot your brain and render you unfit for company.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

I think Sir Elton is simply becoming old and crochety.

Oh, I only wish that the internet is making more people were staying indoors. Because then I could get some peace and quiet when I go places. But instead wherever I go, there they are: people. Creating mostly an unbearable din. If Sir Elton actually had contact with real live people he'd be telling them to go home and log on please for the love of God.

Elton John is a very talented musician. Unfortunately, like a lot of talented artists, he knows frappin' little about the world outside his immediate circle of sycophants. I think that art and culture generally in the Western world, music, art, theater, literature, have been declining in quality, if not quantity, for the last forty years or so. This happens. Cultural artistry reaches a peak, then declines, then improves again. I don't know when the next turaround will begin but if rap music is any indicator then surely music, at least, can not get much worse. Of course I've been saying that since disco. The internet is obviously not stifling anybody's creativity and it certainly isn't inhibiting communication. It may be channeling them in different directions. It's also allowing every garage band that before would not have been heard outside the garage to achieve a wider audience. If Elton doesn't like them he should do what I do, don't listen.

Elton John has demonstrated that he an idiot.
But that people in general should think that some kind of wisdom could come from a singer is a pretty strange concept in itself.
The only reason for this general idiocy is these people famous for singing or farting have access to the media. Period. End of story.
Though I suppose there is one other aspect- these fading stars are generally more willing [or cravenly desperate and dependent] to speak to the media.

Sir Elton seems to have lived through a different 70s than the rest of us.

"He said: “In the early Seventies there were at least ten albums released every week that were fantastic."

Jonathan Livingston Seagull anyone?

Being famous, even being a famous pop singer, doesn't have to mean you're an idiot - although it often does, as being famous means never having to say you're sorry. :)

Compare and contrast this story with the story of Brian May handing in his PhD thesis in astronomy today. His tutor thinks he'll pass.