I never realized that Drexler’s concept of “radical abundance” might generalize to include country music – and yet here we are.
First of all, I’m not even sure that “AI” is where most of this stuff comes from – but I’m pretty sure it is. It may be that some of this highly anonymous music is coming from real, unknown country artists – but I kind of doubt it. And even then, how would I know?
Maybe I’d better start at the beginning.
As I was preparing “future posts created out of copied placeholders” in my usual way, I did a particularly lazy search for country music videos, in a way that tends to pull back compilations of current country hits, but also tends to get a few single songs that I’ve never heard before. This has been a great way for me to discover “new” country music – which may even be old music that I simply missed on the terrible, local, “hot country” stations.
Well, I got the following “compilation” video, and gave it a listen. It’s about an hour and 45 minutes of mixed country songs.
Best new country songs? Sounds awesome! Kinda weird that no artist names were being buzzed at me, but whatever!
I loved the first song (click video above, entitled “Still The One I Love“, which somewhat matches the AI gal singer / guitar player shown, but which is obviously coming from some artist with whom I was not familiar.
Just listen to it! In my opinion, it’s a great song. Yes, very formula, but filled with so many great country tropes and hooks, earnestly performed. I was, like “yeah, what a great start to this compilation!”
As more and more of the songs played, the AI video become more and more out of sync with the music, but the quality of the songs never went down. I found myself enjoying each and every song. That was a little bit strange, too.
That’s when I started clicking around in the video. I wanted to find something – anything – that was more than just “familiar-sounding”. I wanted something that actually WAS familiar – something from an identifiable artist. Even better, somebody I had heard of.
Nothing. No identified artists. No identified songs – other than their names.
I picked one that sounded like it should be identifiable – “Forever In The Rain“. It had a slightly older feel. It might have been a classic I’d never heard of. I tried to search on the lyrics – but found nothing. Thus, it didn’t seem like an actual old classic. However, I WAS able to find it as a single video – and hopefully that would lead to the artist.
Nope. No artist. But it did lead to a bunch of similar songs, much like that compilation video.
I was even able to track these songs over to Apple Music. And as one might suspect, there was no identified artist on any of them.
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sm-country-songs/1788315869
Here’s another one I investigated. And here is where I got some results, eventually.
This one clearly has an AI-generated “video” that goes with it.
The real question – was the music AI-generated, too? Well, two weeks after I first noticed this song, I also noticed that YouTube had now forced a DISCLAIMER onto the page.
Whispers in the Wind (Original)
Wildfire Rhythms
23 subscribers
Subscribe
4 Share
279 views
Nov 27, 2024
Whispers in the Wind is a heartfelt country ballad that captures the enduring connection with a lost loved one. Set against the backdrop of serene countryside imagery, the song tells a story of love, memories, and hope that transcends time. With poetic lyrics and an emotive melody, it reflects on the subtle ways their presence is felt—in the rustling leaves, the golden hues of the meadow, and the guiding light of a star. It’s a song about finding comfort in cherished memories, carrying their wisdom forward, and feeling their love in the quiet moments of life. The soothing tones of acoustic guitar and gentle rhythms create a reflective and deeply moving listening experience. Whispers in the Wind is a reminder that even in absence, love remains forever true, carried in every breath and echoed in the wind.
How this content was made:
Altered or synthetic content
Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more
Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
So – yeah. AI-generated.
I don’t care. I like it.
AI is nothing but human intelligence, mixed, swirled, bottled and re-sold.
AI songs are nothing but human music, mixed, swirled, bottled and re-sold.
It may be a brave new world, but it doesn’t have to be a bad new world.
I think this AI music is great. Even though it’s a kind of “novel average of human greatness”, it’s still great. And if making great music, in a kind of generic way, is now possible – well, so be it.
I am still going to love REAL HUMAN country music – and maybe even love it more, because of this. But I won’t deny liking the synthetic stuff, too. Machines just don’t scare me.
Maybe I was just raised that way!
W
