Back in February we told you about a speech Neil Young gave where he decried the state of audio. Yearning for the audio-nuanced days of vinyl, Young called for a new format… something way better than mp3s or CDs. Enter Pono, which is described in a press release for an upcoming Young autobiography as: “a revolutionary new audio music system presenting the highest digital resolution possible, the studio quality sound that artists and producers heard when they created their original recordings.” In his speech Young talked about downloads of these high-quality files taking up to 30 minutes, which seemed a little eccentric and a lot ridiculous. Pono, however, will apparently be a cloud-based streaming service.
Young has also filed trademarks for the names “21st Century Record Player,” “Earth Storage,” and “Thanks for Listening,” which were all preliminarily approved last week. Rolling Stone reports: “Young has a history of paying close attention to audio quality. His 1968 debut LP was one of the first albums to be mixed with the short-lived Haeco-CSG technology, which improved the sound of stereo albums played on mono equipment. Young has also been heavily involved with the remixing and remastering of his catalog for years.”
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