Ageing rocker Jon Bon Jovi says Apple supremo Steve Jobs is "personally responsible for killing the music business" with the instant gratification offered by iTunes and the iPod.
The Livin' on a Prayer superstar reckons that the lack of physical vinyl or CD album sleeves has damaged the youth of today's chance to truly experience the music of their idols.
He told the Sunday Times Magazine: "Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album."
He adds that rock and roll fans have missed "the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it."
Bad Medicine
Clearly JBJ thinks that downloading directly to an iPod, sampling tracks before you spend pocket money, while discovering new artists along the way is no Bed of Roses for today's easily satisfied youth.
He says of his 1980s heyday : "God, it was a magical, magical time.
"I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?'. Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."
While Jon overlooks that buying an album based on the insert booklet has probably resulted in millions of wasted pocket money pounds, we guess he has a bit of a point about iPods ruining albums.
A shuffle here, a random song there, incomplete records all over the place. Do we really listen to our favourite records all the way through, in the order in which they were carefully arranged any more?
