Neil Young Says Pono is Hawaiian for “Righteous”

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Musicofourheart

I have loved Neil Young‘s book, Waging Heavy Peace where he writes extensively about what was then called “Puretone” his solution to save audio, ”Puretone”, has now become Pono, pronounced “Pohknow”, which is Hawaiian for “Righteous”. Neil Young has a home in Hawaii where much of Waging Heavy Peace was authored. Last night on David Letterman he showed a prototype of the Pono cloud music device. Imagine holding and hearing studio quality sound finally. I must have one!!!

When I finish Neil Young’s audio book I will offer a more extensive write-up on Neil Young’s “Righteous” solution. I was psyched to learn that Neil Young was working with the Sony Bob Dylan master tapes of Highway 61 Revisited and Freewheelin (with Bob Dylan’s full blessing) to make them Pono based. This is how Pono will succeed as the music artists want 100% high-resolution audio representation of their music heard not the 5% sound we get scrunched and distributed to us by MP3.

The most comprehensive article I have read yet about Pono from an industry analysis point of view was published yesterday by Rolling Stone Magazine. I urge you to read and process Patrick Flanary’s column entitled “Neil Young Expands Pono Digital-to-Analog Music Service”. Mr. Flanary wrote a thorough study of how much Neil Young and his Pono team are positively influencing RHCP‘s Flea/Anthony Kiedis, producer Rick Rubin, along with the Big Three record labels, Warner Music, Sony and Universal Music Group.

Neil Young is getting a lot of traction with Pono, deservedly so. I don’t agree with the perception that it is an Apple iTunes “Killer” as naive members of the press are reporting. That’s being written to get you to read content. After all Neil Young met and corresponded with Steve Jobs to discuss Pono and the audio music dilemma. I see a future partnership in the offering with Pono and Apple very much along the lines of cooperation Pono is achieving with the major labels. Can you say industry standard, I knew that you could

It is pure speculation on my part coupled with intelligent guessing that Pono and Apple come together at some future music technology juncture. If I look at the throw down Apple needs to leap-frog or better HTC, HP and Beats by Dr. Dre, Pono could be that secret sauce for Apple. I found the one technology advancement that was missing from the iPhone 5, iTunes announcement was an improved music audio experience to match or better HTC/HP/Beats. Pono needs a device manufacturer, Apple distributes via iTunes the music of the industry. As Pono becomes the definitive, next level standard for music data files Apple must follow suit with a Pono story as will HTC for that matter. We could see iPono in the next generation iPhone/iPod, say it ain’t so Ed, hehehe (sorry Neil and Apple) couldn’t resist…

Now that’s what I call waging heavy peace alright ; Neil this note and more’s for you!

Neil Young reveals Pono music player, promises ‘the best sound anyone can get’ (theverge.com)
Neil Young Expands Pono Digital-to-Analog Music Service (rollingstone.com)

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2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Musicofourheart

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We watched the HBO Special last night, the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The show was taped at the Cleveland Public Hall in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14th. It was a very entertaining and well-coordinated event. I like that it was held in a huge arena in Cleveland because it allowed many more fans to attend than the annual event at the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom permits.

I wanted to watch this event primarily out of respect for Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys who had passed away on Friday. It was a sharp contrast to just see the two Beastie Boys approach the podium and accept their induction award. They read a message from Adam, MCA who was too ill to attend. It really reached my heart what he wrote for them both. So sad to lose MCA as we did.

Highlights of the event:

John Mellencamp inducting Donovan. I loved the enthusiasm John Mellencamp expressed for Donovan. Mellencamp brought with him to the podium his personal copy of Donovan’s vinyl album, Fairytale which I dug seeing him do. Donovan’s induction has been way over due.
Bette Midler inducting Laura Nyro. Her love and genuine emotion for Laura Nyro’s music affect epitomized how Laura Nyro won my heart as a music fan. So glad to see Laura Nyro finally recognized for her talent.

The Guns and Roses music segment hit it perfectly. “Sweet Child of Mine” with Slash playing those chords and notes on his Gibson Goldtop guitar really did it for me. Axl Rose’s decision not to attend and accept his award was truly his blunder.
I was moved to see the members of various groups like The Miracles, The Flames, Bill Haley and the Comets, Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps on the same stage, acknowledging their awards and admiration of their fans. You could so feel the love and mutual respect for these pioneers of music.
Flea’s acceptance speech was my favorite acknowledgement of the night.The Red Hot Chili Peppers live music segment was the performance highlight of the evening. They played my favorite song, “By The Way”. Their energy levels are amazing.