November 6, 2023
Greetings from the source,
As you know, many people turn to this page for insightful commentary on the issues of major social impact. Well, that may not be true, but the words have the impression of that fact.
I’ll let you off the hook, though. I am not qualified to opine about music, or culture, or history or technology, and now I wish I hadn’t started that list because there doesn’t seem to be an end to the number of subjects I don’t know well enough to discuss.
And yet, here we go.
Recently, a new song was released, ostensibly, by the Beatles. I can add that qualifier because otherwise the sentence would have the impression of a fact that isn’t necessarily true.
I’ll admit I am not a classic Beatles fan. By that I mean, I am aware of their music, I like many of their songs, and I know what an impact their career had on the world. But I wasn’t screaming outside the Ed Sullivan show when they first arrived. I listened like we all did, but truthfully, I didn’t scream at any point in their career.
The remarkable thing about the latest Beatles song isn’t that the group broke up fifty years ago, or that two of the members are dead, or even the incredible effort that made the music conceivable. It is remarkable that it still matters so much. Well, there is something else.
The song is ‘Now and Then’. The title could imply a myriad of messages, and if you listen you will likely come up with your own. But for me, it also notes that span since it was possible this group performed a song together. It dictates that this can’t be a Beatles song.
I won’t pretend to understand all of the technology that made this possible. At the heart of the music is a sampling of miraculously recovered recordings from decades ago, from George and primarily from John. These are overlaid with more recent additions by Paul and Ringo, and so there is this thread of credibility that binds it to the Beatles.
In truth, the song, and the video that was created around it, are lovely. I won’t be too critical of the lyrics or the music, which are reminiscent of other Beatles songs, and maybe that’s the intent. It certainly evoked a nostalgia in me for what was Then.
But this is Now. The only way that this time travel is possible is because of a technology that, in truth, could create this song without the Beatles ever having existed. Paul McCartney partnered with Peter Jackson, who owns a proprietary Ai software named MAL, which has a proven track record of restoring other vintage Beatles recordings.
There is a certain integrity in taking the raw sound from a warbly cassette and enhancing it to make it possible for the Beatles anthology to grow, I mean, the Fab Four are present. And I’ll admit I’m in awe of the song, and the fantastic fantasy video that accompanies it.
But there is an echo we all are aware of, that Ai is capable of scouring all of existing music and sampling what is asked for and producing its own new result. You can find them nearly anywhere: “Produce a song that is in the style of Tupac, but with the words of John Denver.” Click. You can laugh about the quality of some of the results, but you can’t ignore the possibilities.
There are already many legal challenges to this process in the court systems, artists who feel that their work is being stolen to create other work they are not credited or paid for. It’s a complicated subject, but I can feel the momentum of technology overwhelming the ideology of human beings creating original work.
This could be apples and oranges. Paul used the power of this software to reach back into impossible and make it possible, and the result is lovely, and doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s a good trick, but is it the Beatles performing? Does anyone care? I am not an expert on artificial intelligence, I can only see what it is used for, and so far its most dramatic demonstration is replacing the people who create things. In this case, it was two dead Beatles. Maybe it is what they would have wanted.
I am a writer, and while my work doesn’t register like the Beatles discology, it is being used today by AI to create other impressions, images and thoughts. Are those David Scott Smith works? I am not affected by this if I’m honest. But at some point, we all will be. Does it matter? There’s the question.
Perhaps it’s better not to over-examine any of this and simply enjoy the music that has been produced, regardless of the source. I am usually better served by not listening to my cynical side. I respect Paul’s passion for this project, and I applaud the result. I just listened to it again while I was writing, and it seems like a Beatles song, so I guess it is. I’m still not screaming, though, at least not about the music.
Hope this finds you listening,
David
Copyright © 2023 David Smith
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