Former Windows chief wants to be a rock star. Really.
Iconic tech gurus are often dubbed “rock stars” for their stellar performance — as in, “you know that guy Neil in product? He’s a friggin’ rock star.” But if you entertain the metaphor in the literal sense, you get the stuff mediocre Saturday Night Live (SNL) skits are made of — which is why I have to hand it to longtime former Microsoft Windows chief Jim Allchin for the courage it must have taken him to pursue this ironic concept in his next career move.
No stranger to rockin’ the boat
Allchin, known most recently for his series of controversial emails disclosed in lawsuits again Microsoft — and specifically for his infamous rant in which he said that if he didn’t work there, he’d buy a Mac — isn’t shy of expressing himself. So on the heels of his retirement from Microsoft, marked by the milestone launch of Vista back in ‘07, he was ready to rock. And the stars must have aligned, because he got a record deal for his CD, entitled “Enigma” (named after Enigma Machines, get it?), which will be released next month.
You can learn more than you thought you wanted to know about the album on its official site, a seeming tribute to the 1996 GeoCities days, packaged with the font and imagery loosely reminiscent of the SNL favorite, “Deep Thoughts” by Jack Handy.
Tracks with take-aways
And if you’re worried you might not be able to decipher the “enigma” in the lyrics of the album — which includes tracks like “She’s in Love With Me” and “Kick It” — Allchin demystifies that for you, song by song, in an Excel-like matrix. For instance, in describing the song “Rocking Chair,” Allchin notes that “the words are sanitized, but when [he] grew up there were at least two meaning[s] for ‘peaches and cream.’” Who says there isn’t artistry in providing listeners with PowerPoint-like, bullet-fashioned ‘take-away’ points for each little masterpiece? Think of all of the hours of potentially argumentative interpretation that can save. It’s like art, except more efficient.
Up next: The answer to SNL’s “I’m On a Boat?”
And there’s more where this all came from. According to the album’s site, several songs were said to have been removed from the CD — which already includes “pop, rock (and metal), modern country, latin, and blues” genres — to “avoid even more diversity.” But don’t fret; these songs are promised to be included in the next album. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to start saving my pennies for the rap CD. Andy Samberg, watch out.
Irony aside, I commend Allchin for putting himself out there and doing what he loves. After all, according to his bio, he grew up poor in an orange grove to be later pegged by Bill Gates as a “a brilliant technologist, visionary, and strong leader.” As to whether his music will be available on iTunes, we’ll just have to wait and see, but eager beavers can pre-order it on Amazon.
[photo courtesy of Jim Allchin's official CD site]
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