Buzz Watch: Elton John Wants To Shut Down the Internet

Authored by Jay Baage on August 2, 2007 - 6:02am.

In another of Sir Elton John’s infamous rants, the “Rocket Man” takes aim at the Internet. After the music labels' unsuccessful approach to coping with new technology by slapping law suits on kids that get their music from P2P networks, Elton John has another idea for how to make the music industry flourish again: “Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet.”

The self proclaimed technophobe says that he doesn’t “have a mobile phone or an iPod or anything” but has come to the conclusion that surfing the Internet is a solitary enterprise that is not just bad for the music industry, but for the creative spirit of the youth.

“The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff”, he says to the UK newspaper The Sun.

“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.

Elton John does not give much for the fact that Internet has played a huge role in kick-starting the careers of some of Britain’s best new talent like Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen.

“In the early Seventies there were at least ten albums released every week that were fantastic. Now you’re lucky to find ten albums a year of that quality.”

So, what is Elton John’s solution?

“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.

“There’s too much technology available.”

“I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today.”

Well, good luck with this Elton. Hope you find the off-switch.

UPDATE. Oh, wait, as it turns out, such a switch does actually exist. Please excuse the ironic tone in this article.

Klem Johansen has found it in the basement of the International Internet Agency’s (ICANN) California headquarters, where many of the executives are huge Elton John fans and are now considering turning the Internet off as a reaction to all the negative press Elton is getting.

"People should have thought of this before making fun of Elton John on the Internet," said ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf. "Maybe folks would have behaved differently had they known this could happen, but it's too late to do anything about it now."

Joakim Baage