Rocking the iPhone

I was in a coffee queue the other day and I overheard someone describing their iPhone as "a fantastic toy but an absolutely crap phone."

The statement is a bit extreme. I mean the thing does work as a phone; it's got a few issues, but compared to any mobile from five years ago, it's great for the basic stuff. And, more importantly, the first part of that statement, that it is an absolutely brilliant toy, is completely true.

I've been particularly impressed with the various music apps that people have developed for it. Over the years, I've seen various pitches for similar apps for other devices, but very few have actually been developed and even fewer can be used to create anything resembling actual music.

But here we have some professional musicians actually producing music out of the things. All things considered, it's an impressive performance. I somehow doubt any of these gals have practiced anywhere near as much on these iPhone Apps as they have on their real instruments.

Admittedly, I ran across this because I know one of the ladies in the band, so I may not be entirely unbiased. In fact (subtle plug), I've used a pic of the two of us to promote a red nose day fundraising effort. Still, I think it's pretty remarkable performance.

I've tried a few of these apps myself, but, entirely due to certain genetic inadequacies passed on by my parents, I suck monkey-butt at anything musical. I think digi-drummer is my favourite because you can drum along to tunes as you listen to them.

The main problem, though, is that the iPhone just doesn't look very rock and roll. There's a reason the design of the Fender Stratocaster hasn't changed in more than fifty years. It's the right tool for the job. You can bounce around a stage with a fender strat and look and sound cool. Even the very cool and sexy Mentalists don't look particularly cool or sexy standing behind a table coaxing tunes out of their iPhones.

And there's got to be a certain visceral pleasure in banging an actual drum with a couple of wooden sticks. You just can't get that by gently tapping a six inch touch sensitive screen. Drumming is as much about the violence as it is about the music. There is no doubt in my mind that without drums as an outlet, Gene Krupa would have ended up a leading hordes of Mongolians across the steppes of Russia.

So we're back to argument that the iPhone is a fantastic toy, but a crap drum kit.