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I've also read that Steve admired how the Beatles were willing to experiment and change styles to keep up or even stay ahead of the competition. They refused to
by tabtab 7y ago
I've also read that Steve admired how the Beatles were willing to experiment and change styles to keep up or even stay ahead of the competition. They refused to settle. Despite rocketing on the charts via "hold-hands" teenage dating tunes, they were also early experimenters in psychedelic rock, perhaps even helping to shape it to what it became. They also pivoted to a more heavy blues-ish style later in the decade as the bass-driven "heavy metal" sound grew in strength.
And I do agree with Job's statement that the Beatles "kept each other in check". Paul was a bit to sun-shiney at times, and John too sarcastic or wondering. When they intermixed and made sure they each glued or included these together in the right amount, their music was better. It was a yin-and-yang balance.
Jobs also admired Bob Dylan's bravery for moving from acoustic to electric guitar despite many fans grumbling, calling him a "sellout". Job's allegedly had a recording of fans booing Dylan's new electric guitar during a performance, and responding to the angry fans by yelling at a stage worker to "turn it up!" on the amplifier. Intentionally ticking off fans is a big risk in a music career. (Jobs didn't attend the concert, but collected bootleg tapes as a hobby.)
That definitely sounds like a Job's-style move, being he was known to remove features on devices that he felt would soon be obsolete despite market ubiquity. Whether those music artist incidences influenced Jobs or merely cemented his tendencies is hard to say. It seems he made an effort to learn from the masters, though. The fast-changing music industry mirrors many aspects of rapid technology change.