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John Mellencamp Calls the Internet the Most Destructive Invention Since the A-Bomb

by Caleb Johnson on August 18, 2010 at 02:50 PM


First it was Prince, and now John Mellencamp is picking a bone with the Internet. According to Reuters, during a recent speech at the Grammy Museum, Mellencamp said, "the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb."John Cougar went on to say that it had destroyed the music business, and has the movie business in its sights. While this sentiment would be called relevant in 1999, the real issue is comparing the way most of us communicate to one of the most destructive forces of all time. (Granted, for an industry known for fleecing its audience and screwing its artists, maybe the open-ended Internet is akin to the loss of life...) What Mellencamp laments is the degradation of music via MP3, saying of an iPod, "the warmth and quality of what the artist intended for us to hear (is) so vastly different."

Well, John (can we call you that?), the Internet does not equal MP3s, and plenty of artists are thriving, connecting and producing in the new world. The Web and the atomic bomb are certainly two of the most important and powerful inventions of the last century -- as both are scary, both are game-changers and both completely shook things up, retiring plenty of obsolete technology (and pop ballads) in the process. Call us overly sensitive, though, as we do spend our days blogging, which is apparently nearly as devastating as Hiroshima. [From: Reuters]

Tags: AtomBomb, celebrities, filesharing, GrammyMuseum, Hiroshima, Internet, JohnMellencamp, music, prince, top, web

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