Johnny Marr/Microsoft - Creativity in the digital age

Published on Oct 24, 2017

Sustained creativity has always been a true differentiator. The people who regularly break through the status quo—and embolden others to do it, too—become our models for true ingenuity. Mentorship, collaboration, continuous learning, a growth mindset and, most of all, the human spirit are the engines that drive transformation in society, in business, and in the arts. “Creativity in the Digital Age,” a short film by Microsoft featuring music legend Johnny Marr, shines a spotlight on the vision, techniques, and values that fuel continual innovation and inventiveness.

 

[Anonymous]

What a bunch of lazy, old fart non-sense. There's plenty of good music being made. King Krule's recent release alone is more interesting than the entire eighties, and nineties put together.

Pink Floyd was a bunch of dated, prog rock bullshit. The Beatles? They were mostly music for grandmother's. Thank God we moved on from that.

 

[The Wild Turkey]

Wonder what would happen if John and The Iguana did some songs together.
Could be good, could be great.

 

[Calamine Lotion]

If it's an ad, I'm not entirely sure what he's selling. Am I supposed to run out and buy a Microsoft computer after watching this?

It's probably selling an idea and a brand. Apple has been associated with creative and artistic work and Microsoft wants you to think that you can be creative with their products, too. They also might be using Johnny Marr because they both came on the scene about the same time and both are traditional but innovative, and older people who pay for their software instead of downloading it free know who he is.

 

[marred]

For your grandmother's...erogenous zone?

Your opinion is as wanted as waking up with Bill Cosby's half-rotten knob in your throat.

Why does liking The Beatles mean that you hate modern artists, you pretentious f***tard?

The Beatles changed the world and you changed your underwear twice a month.

I knew I'd get shit for mentioning the Beatles. The main reason I did was because of a thoroughly interesting documentary I saw just recently on the Sgt. Peppers album. All the little tricks they did with what they had in those days was mind boggling. I could only find a trailer but it's a must see if you spot it. There's nothing microsoft about it.

 

[Dingoatemybabby]

I knew I'd get shit for mentioning the Beatles. The main reason I did was because of a thoroughly interesting documentary I saw just recently on the Sgt. Peppers album. All the little tricks they did with what they had in those days was mind boggling. I could only find a trailer but it's a must see if you spot it. There's nothing microsoft about it.

What kind of world is this where you get shit for mentioning the Beatles? They're only the most innovative, creative band of all time. But that being said, if they had computers available, you can bet they would've been all over that and leading the way.

 

[marred]

What kind of world is this where you get shit for mentioning the Beatles? They're only the most innovative, creative band of all time. But that being said, if they had computers available, you can bet they would've been all over that and leading the way.

The kind of world where people don't know what they're talking about I guess. My point was about an artist's ingenuity is what drives their creativity, not the technology itself and The Beatles and Pink Floyd are perfect examples of music that has stood the test of time right up to our digital age before digital was even a word. You do whatever you can with whatever you have at the time. This digital age has made it easier but you actually have to have something to say with your toys you have and most bands have nothing to say. I'm not a hardcore aficionado of either band but they're two examples of creativity by any means possible.

 

[Dingoatemybabby]

The kind of world where people don't know what they're talking about I guess. My point was about an artist's ingenuity is what drives their creativity, not the technology itself and The Beatles and Pink Floyd are perfect examples of music that has stood the test of time right up to our digital age before digital was even a word. You do whatever you can with whatever you have at the time. This digital age has made it easier but you actually have to have something to say with your toys you have and most bands have nothing to say. I'm not a hardcore aficionado of either band but they're two examples of creativity by any means possible.

Totally agree with you. I think that is what Johnny is saying, his guitar and computer are all tools for creative expression, not an end in themselves. The Smiths and the Beatles will be listened to in a hundred years or more, unlike the digi-crap pop of today.

 

[swift eclipse]

What a bunch of lazy, old fart non-sense. There's plenty of good music being made. King Krule's recent release alone is more interesting than the entire eighties, and nineties put together.

Pink Floyd was a bunch of dated, prog rock bullshit. The Beatles? They were mostly music for grandmother's. Thank God we moved on from that.

The great thing about modern music is that people are free to mix genres, and that's something that would get you marginalized among rock, and indie music fans of the past. To many, it was a moral issue. If a band made you feel like dancing, a huge portion of these militant dorks responded like it was 1932, and you showed up to Church with a racially mixed child.

The punk ethic held music back, and it's entire existence has become a dated story that looks worse in retrospect. I'm glad the faux punk narrow-mindedness has finally died. Music was never meant to be restrictive, or prescriptive. Many of these artists preached the whole selling out pablum until they gained the opportunity to do so themselves. It's easy to take that pose when you don't believe that you're ever going to have that opportunity. Even Morrissey has sold his songs to advertisers.

That was the great thing about Johnny Marr. He came from an R&B background, and used jazz chords in The Smiths that he snuck under the small-minded indie dork's noses. It's one of the reasons Morrissey's solo career has sounded so musically uninteresting for so long. He doesn't have someone who is tuned in enough to give him that musical variety without sounding like a cruise ship band.

The rock sound that has dominated Morrissey's solo output is dead. It's over. It's a dated formula inching closer to the realm of Swing music in terms of relevance.

Indies bands were a closed world of ball-less twerps boring everyone to sleep, and pretending to be profound. Their live shows were even worse. It usually consisted of a bunch of inhibited suburban kids standing still while the band played, as if they were waiting to be executed by a firing squad.

Of course there were exceptions, and things slowly progressed, but for the most part, it was uninspiring.

Good riddance to the past. People who live in the past, and can't stand the present are already dead; they just don't know it.

What a bunch of bullshit you wrote here. And King Krule is f***ing terrible. I hope the future holds better than that.

 

[marred]

What a bunch of bullshit you wrote here. And King Krule is f***ing terrible. I hope the future holds better than that.

That was a bunch of anonymous bullshit alright. The Beatles was music for grandmothers? Has this dipshit not seen the crowds of teenage girls screaming their heads off back in the day? Pink Floyd was prog rock? And as if there's anything wrong with progressive rock music anyway.