Should The Beatles’ flirtation with AI creep us out?

Plus, Bob Boilen talks to Sigur Rós' Jónsi and a drummer-on-drummer conversation goes deep.

View this email online June 17, 2023 by Stephen Thompson This week, we analyze the announcement of a forthcoming, AI-assisted song by The Beatles; plus, an interview with Sigur Rós singer Jónsi and photos from Joni Mitchell’s return to the stage. Hulton Archive/Getty Images You may have seen the ominous headlines whip by this past week: “Paul McCartney Says A.I. Helped Complete ‘Last’ Beatles Song” (The New York Times), “Paul McCartney and AI reunite the Beatles for one last song” (USA Today) and “Sir Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has enabled a ‘final’ Beatles song” (BBC) all pop up in one quick Google search. These headlines raise a series of haunting questions, such as “Ew, why?” and “Could the world’s media sources get together and come up with a consistent way to abbreviate and/or punctuate AI?” NPR’s headline was a bit more sober and descriptive — and, thankfully, more accurate: “The Beatles will release a final record, using John Lennon’s voice via an AI assist.” The phrase “AI assist” is key: This is more of an exercise in advanced remastering than a case of someone typing the words “write a John Lennon song” into ChatGPT and selling the output as a new Beatles recording. The source material is an unreleased demo for a song called “Now and Then” that needed to be cleaned up, so the voice and words are all Lennon’s and not some uncanny-valley abomination in which the late singer’s collected works and voice recordings were digested and re-excreted by computers in some abominable digital equivalent of The Human Centipede. The former happens all the time, as lost tapes are digitally restored, remastered and celebrated as great historical finds — just look at the fanfare that greeted Peter Jackson’s terrific, nearly eight-hour-long documentary, Get Back. The less savory effects of AI on music are still unfolding, as artificial intelligence gets better at producing deep-fake recordings such as the one in which “Eminem” raps about cats. As we wrangle with the potentially industry-upending ramifications of AI, it’s important to maintain perspective on which uses cross ethical lines: Cleaning up an archival demo isn’t the same as, say, reanimating Harold Ramis and digitally grafting his eerily glowing form into the latest Ghostbusters movie. If there’s truly a major piece of Beatles news to glean from this week’s announcement, it’s not the AI assist so much as the fact that we’re about to hear a Lennon recording we’ve never heard before. Calling “Now and Then” a Beatles song — when it wasn’t written as such, and let’s not forget that George Harrison died in 2001 — raises its own set of issues. But I see the pending arrival of “Now and Then” as a curiosity, at worst. When it comes to AI, there are plenty of better reasons to get carried away. Newsletter continues after sponsor message More to read, watch and hear Speaking of long-awaited reunions, Sigur Rós has just returned with a new album called ÁTTA. It’s the Icelandic band’s first studio record in a decade and eighth in 26 years, and it follows a long string of solo and side projects, particularly for singer Jónsi. (Side note: How has it already been 13 years since Jónsi’s Go? Didn’t that wonderful record come out, like, six months ago?) ÁTTA fits seamlessly into Sigur Rós’s catalog, but it brings in new and unexpected sounds — most notably a rich and immersive assortment of strings. Like many fundamentally goodhearted people, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen is a big Sigur Rós fan, so he devotes the show’s latest episode to a conversation with Jónsi about the new record. (Also, don’t miss our review of ÁTTA, by the great and good Tom Huizenga.) Sigur Rós isn’t the only veteran artist with a gorgeous new record out Friday: Meshell Ndegeocello just released The Omnichord Real Book, a fluid and inward-looking collection she crafted in the aftermath of her parents’ deaths. For those of us who fell in love with Ndegeocello in the ’90s, first as an indefinable cult maverick and then as the artist behind 1999’s quiet masterpiece Bitter, it’s a joy to experience her more than 30 years into her career — and to read a review of her new album by your friend and mine, Nate Chinen. I try to remain notionally open to just about any critical reconsideration of maligned music, so it was a joy to read Lars Gotrich’s review of Memorrhage’s self-titled debut album. Led by Garry Brents, Memorrhage reworks the sound of early 2000s nu metal in compelling ways — and Lars’ essay had me hooked even before he stated his love of P.O.D. and Deftones. (P.O.D.’s “Alive” legit rules, y’all, and always has.) One last review this week: Sarah Hennies has some lovely thoughts on Souled American’s 1996 album Notes Campfire. A true cult band, Souled American was an early practitioner of alternative country, but never caught on the way peers such as Uncle Tupelo did. Now, the group’s long-out-of-print catalog is available on Bandcamp for your perusal. It can be challenging and strange — this is, once again, a true cult band — but there’s a reason diehards have spent the last few decades screaming from the rooftops about Souled American. Moments from Notes Campfire recall the work of my own favorite alt-country-adjacent band, Clem Snide, and I can summon no higher compliment than that. Here’s a more-than-welcome NPR Music byline: Daoud Tyler-Ameen, who doubles as one of our brilliant editors, an occasional guest voice on Pop Culture Happy Hour and a less-occasional cartoon voice actor. Here, he talks with drummer Matt Tong, who’s been a member of Algiers (which recently released a new album called Shook) and Bloc Party. Daoud is a drummer himself — he plays in the delightful Bad Moves — so he and Tong are able to go deep on drumming, craftsmanship and collaboration. Joni Mitchell hadn’t played an announced concert in 20 years — though she did give a surprise Newport Folk Festival performance last year — but there she was, on stage at eastern Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre with an all-star cast. Check out our photo gallery, with a warm introduction by Ann Powers. Finally, we’ve got a couple more new All Songs Considered episodes for you: Bob Boilen has a new mix (with new songs from Bob Dylan, Annie Bartholomew, Darlingside, Sparks, Alaska Reid and Buck Meek) and Robin Hilton hosts a new episode of New Music Friday. North Carolina alt-R&B singer Tre. Charles recently opened up for Tiny Desk Contest winners Tank and the Bangas, which had us watching his Live Session with Member station WNRN. Tiny Desk Elizabeth Gillis/NPR Charismatic veteran R&B star Durrell “Tank” Babbs just headlined a performance at the Tiny Desk, and it marked a triumphant return for the singer, who hadn’t appeared in the series since… well, Babyface’s very recent set, which you might remember from last week’s newsletter. Tank’s own concert finds him transforming the Tiny Desk into what he calls “the big, nasty Desk,” so prepare yourself accordingly. “Some of these songs make you want to make up. Some of these songs make you want to break up,” he says, adding, “And some of these songs make you want to participate in various sexual activities.” Also this week: Adam Blackstone captured the essence of Black Music Month when he said during his Tiny Desk concert: "In order to pay it forward, you have to pay it back..." That sentiment was the spirit of his performance, a multi-genre celebration of the legacy of Black music. One More Thing Just in time for Fathers Day, Jazz Night In America has a show toasting the “Dads of Jazz.” Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? 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