Jean Michel Jarre: “I Never Said That The Internet Was Dead!”

Stories of the Internet’s death are premature, according to popular synthesist Jean Michel Jarre.

Jarre is featured in the latest Uncut magazine, which attributed to him some pessimistic views about the Internet:

“The sad thing about the net is the way that this anarchist dream has been turned so swiftly into the most brutal, cynical and intrusive marketing tool ever seen.

“I predict the next cultural revolution will come from today’s children. They will recognise the Net for the ugly, exploitative sham that it is and reject it.”

Pretty harsh words for a musician that’s so popular on the Net. But Jarre says he was misquoted.

The musician posted this statement on his blog this morning:

Suite à une mauvaise interprétation, voire une mauvaise traduction d’une interview que j’ai donnée récemment au magazine anglais Uncut, je souhaite rectifier les propos qui me sont prêtés et qui courent un peu partout sur le net depuis ce matin.
Je n’ai jamais dit que l’Internet était mort, pas plus que je n’ai évoqué l’expression “imposture moche” à propos d’internet, qui est un outil dont je n’ai pas à vanter les évidents mérites!
J’ai simplement avancé l’idée, qu’après une époque où Internet est considéré comme un espace de liberté, une grande toile fraternelle sur laquelle tout le monde échange tout, plus ou moins gratuitement, il se pourrait bien que les rebelles de la prochaine génération “prennent le maquis” du web en considérant qu’il est devenu la plus grande machine d’exploitation de tous les temps, contrôlé par des multinationales bien plus puissantes que les majors du disque ne l’ont été par exemple, dans le domaine de la musique ces dernières années…
Ceci est un exemple, parmi d’autres, nous montrant que, constamment, n’importe quelle info circule, n’importe comment, sur le web. Notre responsabilité et la plus grande difficulté de notre relation, dans les années à venir avec le web, va être de vérifier la véracité du flot d’informations que nous recevons à chaque seconde, en particulier quand on les relaie…
Bon courage.

Here’s the Googlish version:

Due to a misunderstanding or a bad translation of an interview I gave recently in the British magazine Uncut, I would like to correct the statements that are loaned me and running around on the internet since this morning.

I never said that the Internet was dead, nor have I mentioned the term “sham ugly” about the internet is a tool I did not praise the obvious merits!

I simply put forward the idea that after a time the Internet is considered an area of freedom, a large canvas on which all the fraternal world trade while more or less free, it may well be that the rebels next generation “go underground” Whereas the web has become the largest machine in operation of all times, controlled by multinational corporations more powerful than the major labels have not been, for example, in the field of music in recent years …

This is an example, among others, showing us that constantly circulate any information, no matter how, on the web. Our responsibility and the greatest challenge of our relationship in the years to come with the web, will be to check the veracity of the flow of information we receive every second, especially when the relays .. Good luck.

If you can share a more accurate translation of Jarre’s statement, leave a comment!

Image: Thomas Alsina

2 thoughts on “Jean Michel Jarre: “I Never Said That The Internet Was Dead!”

  1. Sorry, no translations here; just an opinion..

    At first I thought it would become another "omg, we're running out of IP space" kind of statement (something which is being proclaimed for years now, a topic I'm quite sceptic about) but yes; I fully agree with Mr. Jarre on this issue. Its true.

    It manifests itself in the small details. In electronics; where you used to be able and find schematics for a circuit board you're trying to fix; now you most likely only find webstores which can sell you said circuitboard. Then at approx. page 15 – 20 of a search engine you might come across more specific information. Sometimes, sadly often, a statement that a website has been pulled because the author got complaints that he was violating copyright. In many cases disputable, but why even bother when you're a hobbyist and the complainer a multi-billion company? You'll lose anyway!

    I think its very refreshing to see someone like Mr. Jarre who also recognizes this phenomenon yet is also bold enough to address it.

  2. Here's a slightly more accurate translation:

    Due to a misunderstanding, or even a bad translation of an interview I recently gave to the British magazine Uncut, I wish to correct the statements attributed to me and that have been running around the internet since this morning.

    I have never said that the Internet was dead, nor have I mentioned the expression “ugly sham” about the internet, which is a tool whose obvious merits I do not need to praise!

    I simply put forward the idea that after an era where the Internet is considered a space of freedom, a large fraternal canvas on which everyone may exchange anything, more or less free of charge, it may well be that the rebels of the next generation “go underground” the web, considering it has become the largest exploitation machine of all times, controlled by multinational corporations much more powerful than the major labels have been, for example, in the field of music in recent years …

    This is an example, among others, showing us that any information, anyhow, constantly circulates around the web. Our responsibility and the greatest challenge of our relationship, in the years to come, with the web, will be to acertain the veracity of the flow of information we receive every second, especially when this information is being relayed… Good luck.

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