I'm Giving Up
Don't worry, I'm not quitting HIVE, but after a week of sorting and sifting through music trying to figure out what has been created by AI and what hasn't, I'm starting to get a little annoyed with Spotify. I did a little bit of Google research and it appears that there has been a massive influx of AI music on Spotify lately.
While it wasn't the easiest to determine at first, I have started to ge a bit better and figuring out what is AI generated and what isn't. I know it's just a matter of time before that will be a pointless endeavor.
Here are a couple tips I picked up as I was doing my research. First, you can usually tell if the artist image is fake or not. Another thing you can do is head over to YouTube and look for the artist. If all the videos are just a still image of the artist and they aren't actually singing, it's a good bet it's AI.
In addition to that, you might also notice that the artist has released a large number of singles or albums in a short amount of time. That's another good indication that the artist is probably AI. Single name artists can be an indicator, but I wouldn't set that as your only criteria.
It seems to be solo artists as well. I have yet to come upon any bands or groups that are AI, but I know that is also a matter of time. Finally, if you can't find any information about the artist online, or very little, there is a good chance the artist is AI.
I've also noticed that a lot of the songs are quite simplistic and formulaic. Don't get me wrong, the vocals are amazing, and I love the vibe of these songs, but knowing they aren't real, takes away from the coolness of them. I'm still on the fence about being awed by how much the technology has advanced and being appalled at how much of a afront this is to the art.
As @slobberchops mentioned in the comments of my post last week, if you only listen to old music, you don't need to worry about this. Likewise, I was chatting with @diamonddave the other day and I asked him if he had come across any of this AI music. He replied with something like "I don't listen to anything after 1995, so it isn't really an issue for me".
Fair point!
It's gotten to the point where I can't really trust Spotify to provide me content that I am going to enjoy. Sure, it knows the type of music I like to listen to, but if I can't train it to weed out the AI tracks, I am not sure I want to keep my subscription. Which is sad because I loved the ability to discover new artists I have never heard before with Spotify. Sure, I know other platforms offer that too, but it's only a matter of time before they face the same issue.
In the past, I relied on radio and television shows like CBS Saturday morning and Austin City Limits to introduce me to new artists. Perhaps I need to go back to that. At least then I know they are real.
With all that in mind, for today's #threetunetuesday post sponsored by @ablaze, I wanted to share some songs that I know for a fact aren't AI created. These are sold songs by artists that may have not seen as much fame as some other artists, but I really love them. Consider them forgotten gems that I can't help but help but jam to every time they came on.
One of them gained a bit of renewed notoriety for being in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but if you don't own the soundtrack, you probably don't actually know who sings it.
Call me crazy, but I love "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim. Despite my large breadth of musical knowledge, if you had asked me about this song twenty years ago, I probably would have told you that Neil Diamond sings it. If you listen to it, I think you will see what I mean. The vocals are very Neil-esque in this one. I've honestly never listened to too much Andy Kim, but I feel like I might need to fix that.
Andy is from Canada and was also part of the musical group The Archies that had the hit Sugar, Sugar which he co-wrote.
It appears he was still recording music as recently as 2015. I'll have to dig into that.
Robbie Dupree is an American singer and songwriter who is best known for the hit single "Steal Away" that I shared above. If you have been following me, you know I am a bit of a "Yacht Rock" junky, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to you that I would love this song.
Yes, the lyrics are pretty simplistic, but there is just something about the tune that I really enjoy. It's a whole vibe like a wave that I just want to jump on and ride for infinity.
Which makes me realize, I need to spend some time digging in to Robbie Dupree a bit more as well. He has about 10 studio albums with the latest being recorded in 2012.
Finally, we have the song I alluded to before. "Hooked on a Feeling" written by BJ Thomas, but made famous by Blue Swede. Tom Jones also covered it as well as a few others, but I think we can all agree the Blue Swede version is the most iconic. Like most amazing things, Blue Swede came from Sweden, and saw short success between 1973 and 1979.
The song is absolutely iconic and like the others before it, I can't help but sing along any time it comes on. It's just a bop like that if you know what I mean.
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I am giving up teaching writing. I don't want to waste my time grading obvious AI output. The upcoming generation will be mostly illiterate. They just copy questions and paste into AI and then wonder why I am not amazed by their "writing." Like calculators in math, AI should only be used after students can already write a decent essay. !BBH
I totally agree with you there! I'm glad that my days in education are starting to come to an end.
!BBH
I get upset with my friends when we are in public and if anyone asks literally anything at all, they immediately go to AI for the answer. I am one of those old school folks that would like for us to rack our brains first, see what we can come up with, have a conversation about it.... then maybe look it up afterwards if it is something important. I don't use AI for anything and I am not trying to claim some sort of moral high ground here but I think as is the case with your students, that it is making everyone dumber.
!BBH
Though I am not a music lover anymore, indeed, AI is apparently becoming so strong in the Music Industry, at least in my country, Bangladesh, I have experienced heavily edited songs with AI, and you can not catch the artist in live concerts. As a result, the old artists are still the heart, and new artists are not getting the attention like the prior generation. For Spotify, it is still a product for the upper-class people there, and if AI is able to camouflage the sphere, then we are really in trouble with AI for nurturing the true talent and soothing voices that we have in the 80s/90s are not gonna get alive anymore from any artists!
It definitely seems to be a changing landscape. I am a bit worried about where we are heading at least on the creative front.
How is this for creative? Soul AI Cover for Rasputin by Boney M:
I am not into soul, but I don't know if I like the original or the AI version better...
Yeah, I have seen a lot of soul covers of 90's rap songs. It must be one of the easier genres to replicate or something.
I really though "Rock Me Gently" was Neil Diamond. I had no idea it was Andy Kim, but he has a voice so similar to Neil! Great song though isn't it?
Robbie Dupree... I think that is the only song of his I actually know. I'm sure there are more but I have never done a deep dive into his music. It may be simplistic, but it's catchy, and as a musician that's what you want.
Blue Swede, that is the only song of theirs I know. They were really before I got much into music and so as a kid I have no recollection of them whatsoever. Then again, my memory isn't exactly what is used to be...
I liked your choices, one hundred percent verified to be free of AI! I think the AI generated music will continue to grow as it's easy to do to and very inexpensive. You aren't paying for a singer, a band, or equipment which doesn't come cheap. I know that all to well from the days when I was in a band back in high school, and that was in the eighties before today's prices. I wouldn't want to imagine how much it costs produce a studio album these days..
Awesome TTT!
I think the problem is these days people are just dumping a bunch of AI stuff onto Spotify hoping they will get royalties from it. It's kind of annoying. Dupree also had Hot Rod Hearts if you know that song.
YouTube full of these AI crap too. Not just music but podcast style shows too. It’s crap! !LADY !PIZZA
No doubt about these classic tunes 🎸 being real though! Classic vibes!
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Hey 😳, what a shock! So, AI can also generate music?
Yeah, it's kinda crazy good at it too.
Yes, and really realistic music!
haha I am with slobber on that one!
Trust what you know, vinyl is the way prior to 1990 about the limit!
Excellent selection, great songs and walk down memory lane.
Thank you! Yeah, it's getting harder to tell these days, so it might be good just to stick with the oldies!
Wish to buy the old equipment again, going to shop around! Still have the LPs.
You totally should!
I have been enjoying AI music on YouTube recently, take for example this awesome AI Rock Cover of the Cheri Cheri Lady by Modern Talking:
Here is the original 80s song:
That's just crazy. It's getting kind of scary what they can do now. I'm impressed by it, but I still feel like it is a scargeligious sort of thing :)
When you like the music, does it matter much whether it was generated by a human or AI?
Yeah, I think it does. It strips away some of the feeling from it.
I don't really relate to most new music so I'm right there with the people that you mentioned that don't listen to anything past a certain year. For me I rarely listen to anything that was made past say, 2005 or so. I'm ok with songs I hear every now and then that are modern but for the most part it just doesn't appeal to me.
By the way the pics of your stereo equipment took me down a fun memory lane. When I was in college it was such a huge deal to carefully pick out your stereo equipment and I remember just staring at Crutchfield catalogs for hours on end. I didn't make enough money to get all brand new gear for a while so I started shopping at pawn shops and sometimes garage sales. I remember I picked up a bitchin amp that had an 8-track player built in for $2 and it was powerful as hell. It was a pain that all the connections on the back were for raw wires since I guess AV plugs didn't exist when the thing was made, but it had plenty of power. I also piked up some rather huge Polk speakers at a garage sale for something like $10.
One of the worst decisions I made was a 5-disk carousel cd/dvd player. That thing was ridiculous and made playing a single CD so much more work than it needed to be. Why would anyone need a 5 disk DVD player? You gonna watch small segments from 5 differnt films all at once?
I had a Sony five disc changer, I loved that thing! Most of my stereo gear came from radio shack because of my discount. I definitely remember the crutchfield catalogs. So much cool stuff in there. My favorite music is probably 60s 70s and 80s. I do like some newer country stuff.
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AI music slop is a plague...
I know Deezer has an algorithm that detects AI music and block it. Also pays artists double than Spotify. Give it a try ✌🏻
Interesting, I will have to check it out. I think my biggest issue is I already have so many awesome playlists saved on Spotify. If there was a way to export them I might not have such a hard time with it.
Well, before streaming we didn't have huge playlists... Sometimes going back is going forward. Return to listen to music with an approach that let you enjoy it in a more significant way, by deciding what you really want to listen and not letting an algorithm decide for you.
That's what we used to do with physical media, right? My music culture and interest all came from listening to full albums on CDs
I like having options. If I want to avoid playlists I will just dig into my extensive vinyl collection. I understand what you are saying though.
An era before 2020 is something that I will feel similar to. Also, love ones before 2000, if I can extend the timeline.
I feel the rawness of the vocals and presentation fading. Still, the modern music connected with the soul of the old ones is a vibe. These days, transforming new songs tuning similar to old popular ones using AI is getting hyped in the communities I am connected to . It's not AI but the old song that we love!!
Yeah, that is a good point. I've always loved a really well done cover of a favorite song, so maybe that is what initially draws me to these AI songs so much. Only to have my hopes dashed by learning it was all based on a prompt.
Does your head in sometimes,that's for sure. I usually trust the image thing - they're really good sometimes, but if you pay attention, you figure it out. Also, sometimes I see "dream" collabs and take a step back and think "this sounds too good to be true, and wouldn't X artist have mentioned it on their Instagram or something if they were really collaborating with Y"?
The uploader is also a deas giveaway, for sure. They always have these obvious names like "something something music" like they're the next big record company. If your favorite artist really released a killer new track, it'd be on their account for sure.
I think with time we'll either learn to tell them apart, or else the fake will become weirdly enmeshed with the real in our minds and not bother us anymore.
Yes, those are some really good points! I'm glad it's not just me and I am glad you have found a way to kind of separate them. At least for now. the dream collab you mentioned is another good tell!