Everyone Wants To See That Groovy Thing
I was listening to an episode of Net@Nite this afternoon and it suddenly occurred to me that the Apple iPhone, as least as it stands today, is a bit like the Spiraling Shape in a certain song by They Might Be Giants. Here’s a few verses:
Fogging the view, cupping face to the window
In darkness you make out a spiraling shape
Putting all reason aside you exchange
What you got for a thing that’s hypnotic and strangeThe spiraling shape will make you go insane
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
But everyone wants to see that groovy thing
(Everyone wants to see that thing)And nobody knows what it’s really like
But everyone says it’s great
And they heard it from the spiral in their eyes
We really don’t really know what the iPhone is going to be. While everyone and their brother have been anticipating it for a while, I think everyone should take a break and wait for the real thing to come out. Hopefully, for Apple anyway, it doesn’t turn out like a later verse in the song:
And now that you’ve tried it, you’re back to report
That the spiraling shape was a fraud and a fake
You didn’t enjoy it, you never believed it
There won’t be a refund, you’ll never go back
It’s pretty clear, though, everyone wants to see that thing.
