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Cultural Artifact: AI Assisted Music Vol. 1

by Kent Liverpool

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1.
A Million Falling Stars 02:15
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A Million Falling Stars She just melts me down into the night Fireworks just flash around A miracle of light She, raven-haired and lipstick red and wet All the secrets in her eyes of green I don't know yet She is like a million falling stars A just-born galaxy A wide and salty sea She has secrets I don't know And I would cross the milky way To go into the light with her The light of a million falling stars The light that shows where love starts The light Of a million falling stars Her Her hair blows like a field into the sky I floor it through the canyon And feel like we could fly I don't have enough that I could give To make the life this goddess wants The one I hope to live With her And a million falling stars We're bubbling up like isotopes A thousand cosmic parts Under a million falling stars She smiles and it's a constellation over Mars She's the light Of a million falling stars The light that shows where love starts The light of a million falling stars The light of a million falling stars The light that shows where love starts The light Of a million falling stars
2.
Truckin' Through the Eighties With You 02:00
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Truckin' Through the Eighties With You Hair blown out like the queen of Siam I'm the only boy she digs oh yes I am Every inch the rocker Ain't nobody's fool Three degrees in passing out A PhD in cool. I dig truckin' through the eighties with you girl Yeah, yeah yeah I dig Truckin through the eighties with you Drinkin' at the Whiskey Smokin' at the Roxy You will be my witchcraft I will be your proxy Evident and relevant and preaching to the fire Nothing much about us trying to morph into a friar I dig truckin' through the eighties with you And I got my law degree just last night I dig truckin' through the eighties with you I dig truckin' through the eighties with you girl You're like case study architecture I dig truckin' through the eighties with you And I'm gonna do... Tort cases.... (etc)
3.
Caravaggioist Gestures 02:52
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Caravaggioist Gestures Ensconced as I am A waistcoated unshaven man I've seen better days Still I walk in the footsteps of Rimbaud In an Irish whiskey haze Don't know if the pain has taken over my mind But I know that finding you is some kind of sign And it might be a real thing This love, this sweet, sweet love So I will do right by you baby I'll treat you tender and kind And I hope that when you take out your brushes You render me in Caravaggio giallo tones Caravaggio styles Deep browns and shadows Show the many miles Caravaggioist gestures Caravaggio gestures Whoa Caravaggioist gestures That will capture the essence of my soul You my sweet painter lady I love how you paint me I love how you smile So I will do right by you baby I'll treat you tender and kind And I hope that when you take out your brushes You render me in Caravaggio giallo tones Caravaggio styles Deep browns and shadows Show the many miles Caravaggioist gestures Caravaggio gestures Whoa Caravaggioist gestures That will capture the essence of my soul You my sweet painter lady I love how you paint me I love how you smile So I will do right by you baby I'll treat you tender and kind And I hope that when you take out your brushes You render me in Caravaggio giallo tones Caravaggio styles Deep browns and shadows
4.
The Definition of Dancing 02:37
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The Definition of Dancing You look so exotic, downright quixotic Dare I say erotic tonight Maybe we could touch some more Out on the floor Unlock the love door Alright It's programmed deep inside us Just ask Freud, Darwin or Damascus So move your feet, flip your hair Smile real sly, on command Snap your fingers, sway your hips Arch your back, as the trend As the trend demands Tonight Just like we did last night And in some sense all nights Figuratively speaking Stretching the definition of dancing To encompass all negotiations Of dialectic endeavors Feet, legs, hips, femurs, knees, haunches, neck, shoulders, Pelvis, Elvis FYI I'm referring to Costello, so Move your feet, flip your hair Smile real sly, on command You look so exotic, downright quixotic Dare I say erotic tonight Maybe we could touch some more Out on the floor Unlock the love door Alright It's programmed deep inside us Just ask Freud, Darwin or Damascus So move your feet, flip your hair Smile real sly, on command Snap your fingers, sway your hips Arch your back, as the trend As the trend demands Tonight Just like we did last night And in some sense all nights Figuratively speaking Stretching the definition of dancing To encompass all negotiations Of dialectic endeavors Feet, legs, hips, femurs, knees, haunches, neck, shoulders, Pelvis, Elvis FYI I'm referring to Costello, so Move your feet, flip your hair Smile real sly, on command
5.
Bush Crickets 02:00
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Bush Crickets Too stoned again Looks like Owsleys' out again Fins and all Window pain Hope i don't go insane Or go against the grain Bell bottom, blue grotto Rembrandt browns and Caravaggio Poppin' up to say hello We're out in the field hunting bush crickets Gonna find every last one singing their chorus in the sun Stoned as hell Hunting bush crickets Gimme a break It's all so fake Holy crap is that an Earthquake? Elementary my dear Watson Whose that walrus driving my Datsun? Calisthenic moment Hoping for a come down Peerage, veerage, hokum pokum Robert Crumb and Crunchy Crokem I would love a Boston bean right now Because We're out in the field hunting bush crickets Gonna find every last one singing their chorus in the sun Stoned as hell Hunting bush crickets Gimme a break It's all so fake Holy crap is that an Earthquake? Too stoned again Looks like Owsleys' out again Fins and all
6.
Moonlight Over the Water 02:29
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Moonlight Over the Water Moonlight over the water The end of a long day Palm trees sway in the warm breeze Seagulls fly into the haze Me and the boys face the water And give each other a look We raise our glasses together And we all toast Captain Cook Hi hi hi Leigh leigh leigh The white man took our culture away Hi hi hi Leigh leigh leigh The white man took our way of life away There's a legend of a saving angel Who floats down from heaven to fix everything They say that if you're very quiet From the ocean, you can hear her voice sing Hi hi hi Leigh leigh leigh The white man took our culture away Hi hi hi Leigh leigh leigh The white man took our way of life away There's a legend of a saving angel Who floats down from heaven to fix everything
7.
Any Strength of Mine 02:00
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Any Strength or Mine Somewhere in the reaches of eternity Somethings in the process of becoming But after working through the pain I'm finding once again That all my troubled times are meant to be But I can feel it in my heart And I can make a brand new start There is no savior now And all the walls be coming down And any strength of mine I will provide Now I have seen the people of my country Turn into some stinkin' blinkin' fools And I can see the best of those among us Give it up for trinkets, toys and jewels Now what is this all chasing after money We're going to have to stop it in it's tracks And I would surely scale the walls of Babylon If I could get the chance to take it back Cause I can feel it in my heart And I can make a brand new start There is no savior now And all the walls be coming down And any strength of mine I will provide
8.
The Situationists 02:00
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The Situationists Baby baby you look so fine tonight Let's jump into my Buick and take a ride I'll take you on down to lover's lane We'll do some kissing and I'll take out my books again I'll tell you about the Situationists Wittgenstein and post-modern semantics All about Derrida's deconstruction of words And Michel Foucault's assault on institutions But mainly Situationists The Situationists The Situationists The Situationists The freakin' Situationists Baby let's go down to the Dog 'n Suds We'll get some chili dogs Stare at the sky above I'll gaze directly in your eyes You can have the best of my fries Then as is our tradition I'll get out my Penguin edition And tell you all about Guy Debord The spectacle and Schopenhauer's fear of the lord We'll get straight into subjectivity Then I'll jump back to my one true love The Situationists The Situationists The Situationists The Situation...sure, we can touch on Nietzsche, but just for a sec I want to kiss you baby But don't turn my brain into a grease ball wreck I say let's get out of town Maybe listen to a lecture at Chicago or Brown I hear Chomsky's talking linguistics down But I sure hope he touches on The Situationists The Situationists The Situationists Talking linguistics down But I sure hope he touches on the Situationists
9.
Becky 02:00
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Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky You make me a wrecky wrecky With your beautiful blond hair Your heartbreaking way of caring 'bout me You've got magic eyes They always take me by surprise A thousand watts of light A positive force in the night Oh Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky, ooh-ooh You are my cookie cookie cookie cookie Ooh, sweet and oh so soft Chewy but always good for me, Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky Ooh, ooh, you are me, cupcake Double up the frosting with an extra dose of love Caramel chocolate candy coated fountain of love love love Though I'm often reading stuff It's you I love so much I wouldn't enjoy it at all If you weren't near me You've got magic eyes They always take me by surprise A thousand watts of light A positive force in the night Oh Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky, ooh-ooh You are my cookie cookie cookie cookie Ooh, sweet and oh so soft Chewy but always good for me, Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky Ooh, ooh, you are me, cupcake Double up the frosting with an extra dose of love Caramel chocolate candy coated fountain of love love love Though I'm often reading stuff It's you I love so much I wouldn't enjoy it at all If you weren't near me You've got magic eyes They always take me by surprise A thousand watts of light A positive force in the night Oh Becky Becky Becky Becky Becky, ooh-ooh You are my cookie cookie cookie cookie Ooh, sweet and oh so soft
10.
Racial Oppression 03:02
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Racial Oppression My beautiful lady If you don't think she's magic You're in the minority There's a lot I have to let go undone Cause she's my priority Cause she gives me satisfaction And sweet, sweet love and care She's the reason I can endure this time so unfair Yeah, it's not easy for a man like me And here's my confession: She gives me sweet healing love In a time of racial oppression Nobody knows the trouble I've seen The things that they've whispered Or said outright to me Just knowing that most folks They always think twice "He's one of those kind" It's not very nice Yeah it's not easy for a man But she gives me love She gives me love In this time of racial oppression It's not easy for a man like me And here's my confession: She gives me sweet healing love In a time of racial oppression Nobody knows the trouble I've seen The things that they've whispered Or said outright to me Just knowing that most folks They always think twice "He's one of those kind" It's not very nice Yeah it's not easy for a man But she gives me love She gives me love In this time of racial oppression Yeah it's not easy for a man like me And here's my confession She gives me sweet healing love
11.
Cultural Artifact 03:00
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Cultural Artifact Take my hand Let's go out on the floor Get to know each other Though we don't exist like this anymore The trend is gone It died with the seventies It weighs on me heavily We're an artifact of history But let's dance We're now being seen as a picture in a magazine People look and say oh they've gone away But look at those lapels and look at those chains And they marvel at the mirrorball They laugh at the superficial nonsense of it all But you look so pretty as a cultural artifact Now we're just something from another time and place that's gone We're gone Disco is gone They get a smile from our feathered, blow dried hair At my plaid pants they stare Oh yeah But they dig your dress Sociologists position us against classic rock and punk But we owned the funk That's a fact That's a fact But let's dance We're now being seen as a picture in a magazine People look and say ooh they've gone away But look at those lapels and look at those chains Yes and they marvel at the mirrorball They laugh at the superficial nonsense of it all But you look so pretty as a cultural artifact We're now just something from another time and place that's gone We're gone Disco is gone They dig your dress Sociologists position us against classic rock and punk But we owned the funk That's a fact That's a fact But let's dance We're now being seen as a picture in a magazine People look and say ooh they've gone away But look at those lapels and look at those chains Yes and they marvel at the mirrorball They laugh at the superficial nonsense of it all But you look so pretty as a cultural artifact We're now just something from another time and place that's gone

about

AI music has finally arrived, as anybody paying attention knew it eventually would, hot on the heels of text and graphic synthesis.

I thought, before the overwhelming tsunami of AI music floods the world from every corner of creation, that I'd create a sampler plate of the kinds of things AI music can do, right at its infancy. I wanted to explore it, and I thought you all might want to check it out.

There's a lot of people who might not be aware this technology has been in the works, let alone that it's already here. So my hope is that through this collection, listeners can get a taste of what AI music can sound like, and what the software can do. Spoiler Alert: It's insane.

In case you're wondering what the heck this is, or what I'm on about, let me try and explain it very clearly and simply: With the Suno company unleashing this software for free or nearly free, anyone and everyone can now make very credible sounding, highly polished, coherent music, totally copyright free, that they can then send out into the world. It takes almost zero talent or skill to generate a very listenable track. I might have a bit of a way with words, and a bit of knowledge in using the proper descriptive words, but literally, even a six year old, typing in 'Shark Songs,' or a ten year old prompting 'Death Metal, fast, angry, about video games,' will generate minor masterpieces of pop music production values, with decently listenable melodies, rhythms, and very strong, attractive lead vocals. Think about that for a moment. It's a full on game changer.

I imagine that there are a number of scenarios that could play out: one is that creative people will instantly move away from all of the kinds of familiar tropes that AI music has learned from and traffics in, and create a new strange reactionary music, much as painters, in response to the advent of the camera invented Impressionism and Expressionism. Or it will quickly devolve into music in shopping centers, background music in TV shows and YouTube videos. It could infiltrate the actual, respectable mainstream charts and playlists (at least certain songs) and become indistinguishable.

I think there will be people who will lunge toward all of the pre 2024 music, especially the known music of the 20th century, the 'Hey Good Lookin's,' and 'Penny Lanes' etc., wanting to know, and be sure they're listening to real music. There will be suspicion about slick pop coming from God Knows Where. Perhaps a style, or sound will develop, unique to AI, and unproduceable by mere humans, that will take up the oxygen, and pastiches, and reproductions, and derivative copies and imitations will become so ubiquitous that its nauseating, and will then exhaust everyone, once the novelty has worn off, and they'll disappear, and this uniquely AI sound will be the star of the field.

Or everything I just listed, all at once, in fluctuating percentages. What's sure is there will be action, reactions, shunnings, embracings, confusions, suspicions, disgust, wonder, curiosity, burn out, and more. In the end, it's sure to evolve or devolve into something very different than it will be in its first couple of years.

But a positive thing, is that, like all tools, this software will put music creation into the hands of everyone. The barrier between a dream, an idea, or a sound is now down, and creating your own song of your own preferences, that someone can feel proud of and excited about requires no years of practicing to acquire skill on an instrument, nor producer skills - nothing. All someone has to do is learn to describe, in a few words, what they'd like to hear. This will bring immense joy and pride, as well as hours of pleasure and exploration, to millions of people, especially the young, who could use a break in this troubled world. Because above all - it's really fun to use.

Note that I write all my own lyrics; the software allows you to upload your own if you prefer, though it can write them for you as well. The other thing the user provides is the 'prompt' or 'token' that guides the music toward the sound you want. Herein lies the art of the whole endeavor.

This collection is styled after the amazing eclecticism of 1960s and 1970s radio that I grew up listening to. It was all over the place but somehow it all hung together.

This technology can create amazing simulacras of music, but, in my estimation, it will never be equal to music created solely by a human being. Even if it comes to sound as interesting, or organic, or any term of value you choose to use, it won't be the same. And - let me just say it - it won't be as valuable.

Why? Because it's not sweated over, or bled over, or ruminated over, by an organism surging with hormones, with fluctuating blood pressure, and sudden mood swings, and sudden impactful real life experiences, and insecurity and doubt. It has no limited history; no small, idiosyncratic biography from a certain time and place, is not born with certain specific genes - all the things that make music that comes from a human so infinitely unique. Computers feel no pain, and most importantly, have no awareness or fear of their own mortality.

But it's a tool, and an environment where one can learn, and play, and imagine, and dream, and smile. And the product that results from a users imagination and fun will hopefully bring a commensurate amount of fleeting pleasure to a listener. One thing I've concluded, personally: AI music can amuse, thrill, divert, but it doesn't quite move one, nor does it stick, for some reason. Interesting.

Is it a good thing? A bad thing? Will it improve the world of music? Ruin it? All of these questions will start to be answered as time unfolds.

Behold: we've entered a new world.

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Note that I've provided the lyrics for each song on the song's page. I humbly ask that you read along while you listen, as the words are the beating heart of my contribution to these constructions.

credits

released March 28, 2024

All lyrics and prompts by Kent Liverpool, March 2024

Music by The Software

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Kent Liverpool

Kent Liverpool, originally from Michigan, is a musician who wrote, performed and recorded in many places within the USA between 1980 and 2011.

He worked in a classic rock style, influenced primarily by 1960s and early 1970s am radio, SoCal singer-songwriters, AOR, Heartland Rock, and New Wave.

He's currently releasing his vast back catalog (900+ songs) in weekly, themed album length collections. ... more

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