(Credits: Far Out / Ben Stanfield)
The worlds of technology and music feel like they should be on different plains. Yes, every musician will need a passing knowledge of how recording works to get their masterpieces down on tape, but the structure behind making various technology functions tends to go against the convention of having no rules on doing what you feel inside. Then again, Steve Jobs was always a different breed of inventor than his counterparts, and for him, his biggest inspirations came from musicians like The Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Before we dive into Jobs’s relationship with music, you have to consider the era in which he grew up. Computers were still known as futuristic contraptions to the majority of the world, but the summer of love also reminded us of the limitless possibilities the future could hold if we kept an open mind.
Regardless of everyone from industry higher-ups to fellow tech entrepreneurs telling Jobs that his products wouldn’t work, he kept nothing off the table when it came to building his technical masterpieces. And when you think about it, isn’t that what The Beatles and Dylan were doing on both sides of The Atlantic?
There had been folk troubadours before Dylan, like Woody Guthrie, but no one else spoke with as much authority about the state of the world as he did. He didn’t claim to have all the answers, but Dylan certainly wasn’t going to go along with the program in the hopes of being the next big star, usually dancing to his own music and having the rest of the world follow him.
The Beatles were no different when creating their own artistic visions in their later careers. Sure, they had followed the trends as Brian Epstein instructed, but half of their catalogue after they left the road was about intentionally making something that sounded different from everything the rock scene was doing.
Although the songs of both The Beatles and Dylan have been passed down through generations, Jobs was convinced that no one could have equalled them, saying, “Somebody else could have replicated the Stones. Nobody could have been Dylan or the Beatles”. And, well, it’s not like Jobs is wrong.
Everything The Beatles and Dylan have done has been studied as if they are modern versions of Shakespeare, but both the Fab Four and Dylan are the only ones who can still interpret those songs like they used to. This was about having a singular voice in your field, and Jobs was going to use them as a guide for where he would go.
Looking at where he took Apple later, Jobs was focused on making his products an experience not unlike what The Beatles and Dylan did. While the Macintosh or the iPod had similarities to the technology of the time, it was about bringing everything together in a neat package that made people want Jobs’s product more than anyone else’s. Swiping one of The Beatles’ famous business names was certainly a bit cheeky, but Jobs wasn’t looking to piggyback off his idols’ ideas. It was merely a tip of the hat to those who helped him realise his own dreams.