OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

There are a lot of thoughtful ways to be critically write about the hype cycle without attacking artists personally for benefiting from it. I think weaker writers are less capable of avoiding the latter. It’s not like boygenius is pushing other ascendant artists down the stairs on the way to the top. It’s not like their feelings are false and their fans are lying because it doesn’t make others feel the same way.

If boygenius did push anyone down some stairs I stand corrected.

I had never heard of any of the people in boygenius until a friend posted a video in 2020 of slowly driving through Providence, listening to “Me & My Dog.” That track is unstoppable pathos for me, and at the height of the pandemic’s first year, it had some resonance with my own personal feelings.

That is, I agree with imago about a certain element of what he’s saying— hearing these sorts of records organically assures my ears will be open and not in thrall to the expectations or exuberance of critics.

Blame the hypers not the hyped.

I'm just chuffed that Case/Lang/Veirs didn't get this hype

― INDEPENDENTS DAY BY STEVEN SPILBERG (President Keyes), Monday, April 3, 2023 6:47 AM

“I think [hyped album] is very mid, sorry” is essentially “modern distro models allow me to find several more-obscure examples of the genre/style of [hyped album], however they reach my specific taste preferences more directly, thus I wish they got the hype instead of [hyped album artist]”.

I’m sure there are numerous pre-streaming-era examples, but Gen Xers who attended college in the mid-90s may recall being told “You think Alanis is good? You need to hear Ani DiFranco!”; with a more modern version being “Yeah, Big Thief is fine, but it would be great if the same critical love was thrown at (for me, anyway) Trace or Art School Girlfriend…”

Not to make too much of the comparison btw these acts, but I would quibble that Case & Lang, at least, aren't/weren't any more obscure than even the most famed Boygenius member (although granted didn't have the same "heat" at the time).

PB is capable of filling 5000+ cap amphitheaters across the country.

Neko has never been that big. (Love her, of course.) Lang, maybe ... but that was a long time ago.

Or maybe I'm reading what you're saying wrong? Entirely possible!

Well fair enough!

(Btw – I re-listened to Case/Lang/Viers today, and it is really good; although also the sort of album that seems destined to be less "buzzy" for aesthetic reasons. It happens to have received the exact same Pitchfork score as Boygenius's LP – though doesn't have a "Best New Music" tag, if they were doing that then.)

case/lang/veirs were all in their mid-40s or older when that record came out

perhaps not too unusual that it didn't generate buzz with the kids

Perhaps, but isn’t that’s part of the “complaint”when it comes to certain artists being hyped(?) Nothing’s stopping RS from putting artists that age on the cover, etc.

Anyway I’ll stop “comparing” those two trios (as it feels icky and doesn’t make much sense anyway), but I agree it’s common to respond to hype by asking “why these particular artists and not others,” and the reasons may be good or bad or make sense or not, there are all sorts of factors involved.

yeah not really apples to apples

I am once again calling for the Fiona Apple/Oranssi Pazuzu supergroup

sadly feel like Apple & Oranges is likelier to be her, Blood Orange and Rex Orange County

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Oranges?wprov=sfla1

I thought indie rock writ large was regressive music for lame dweebs when it was a misogynist boys club, and just because women play it now doesn't mean that it somehow transcends being regressive music for lame dweebs

got 'em

Ouch. Lame Dweebs is the name of my Bright Eyes tribute band.

funny, my Puny Tyrant tribute band is called Dame Lweebs

this made me lol, i'm sorry

https://metal-digest.com/2022/10/26/harakiri-for-the-sky-harakiri-for-the-sky-mmxxii/

"The meritorious wonders that are portrayed upon this re-recording can be viewed from the angle wherein a soul wrestles not with the currents of a river, for you should be within its flow rather than trying to control the inevitable.".
And then:
"But the question still remains unanswered…besides a length of 10 years, what separates the re-recorded version from the original?"
I love it when you're not sure if the writer understands his own writing

I suppose it's all a tangential reference to Heraclitus

Isn't everything, really?

no one posts in the same thread twice

Coldplay just want their music to be heard in the correct context

Clearly AI generated & full of wrong mistakes & wrong takes: https://singersroom.com/w5/best-pavement-songs-of-all-time/

I like that they never tire in pointing out that these Pavement songs are by the band Pavement

a wrong take AND a mistake

I like that they never tire in pointing out that these Pavement songs are by the band Pavement

Very important to start from first principles

That Edw@rd Toml1n is a very prolific writer

Google proofing from an AI? I’d welcome his coming here to tell us more about 80s band the Smashing Pumpkins.

music criticism is the laziest, most formulaic, and least insightful form of writing, so it makes sense that they would replace music writers with AI

omg google for Tomlin and find symsymsym

xpost helluva board to make that claim on :)

it's interesting that the positive/descriptive/bland house style of AI is at this point not just immediately recognisable but acutely annoying. have to wonder if there will be a reaction against this in regular non-AI writing, maybe this time next year everyone will be writing criticism like hunter s thompson. again.

CaAL, that will just inspire coders to develop a Gonzo module.

"I was wacked-out on peyote and household bleach when I listened to the latest Rihanna album. I took a loaded .45 and a bottle of Jose Cuervo and headed down I-80 while listening to it. Here are my impressions:"

A Spike Jonze film about teaching an AI to be edgy

AI having late night phone calls with a Lester Bangs hologram after losing virginity to an NFT

you can already ask chatbots to mimic writing styles anyway though

and I don't think it's the "house style of AI" you're hearing in that listicle, it's very much the alien way music is written about on Wikipedia

I think something weirdly off-putting (and recognizable) about AI-generated text is the mechanically perfect grammar... actual writers mix it up and bend the rules, y'know?

no there is definitely a house style of AI, I've been dealing with a load of students who've used it, some things it does:

* relentlessly seeing the difficulties in things, but then the positive side, and reminding people to be mindful and consider both sides of debates.
* discussing everything on the blandest, most impersonal terms but always avoiding any suggestion of systemic change
* never playing with language & grammar, there's no poetry to anything it puts out

I know it used to write in different styles, but I feel like that was beaten out of it at some point. if you try now it might identify some themes or tropes the author uses, but has no clue about how they use language, or if it has a clue then the heavy morality in play overrides it somehow.

look, it just can't do it.

Rihanna LP Review



Write a review of a Rihanna LP in the style of Hunter S Thompson

ChatGPT

Fear and Loathing in the Studio: A Review of Rihanna's Latest LP

The air was thick with smoke and the room was awash in neon lights as I sat down to listen to Rihanna's latest LP. I was expecting a wild ride, and let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed.

From the moment the first beat dropped, I was transported to a world of debauchery and excess. Rihanna's voice was like a siren's call, beckoning me deeper into the depths of her sonic universe.

As I listened to track after track, I couldn't help but feel like I was living in a fever dream. The beats were frenetic, the basslines thumping, and the lyrics were pure poetry. It was as if Rihanna had tapped into some primal energy source, channeling it directly into her music.

But for all its raucous energy, there was also a sense of darkness lurking just beneath the surface. The lyrics hinted at a life lived on the edge, where pleasure and pain were inextricably intertwined. It was as if Rihanna was daring us to come along for the ride, to embrace the madness and the chaos.

As the LP drew to a close, I was left feeling both exhilarated and exhausted. It was like I had been on a wild journey through the heart of Rihanna's psyche, and I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to come back to reality.

In the end, Rihanna's latest LP is a testament to her incredible talent and her fearless spirit. It's not for the faint of heart, but for those brave enough to take the plunge, it's an experience that they'll never forget.

music criticism is the laziest, most formulaic, and least insightful form of writing, so it makes sense that they would replace music writers with AI

― budo jeru, Thursday, May 4, 2023 8:07 AM

dunno if you're joking, but i genuinely feel this way about sports journalists. like i'd rate fox news shitheels above them (at least they have a sense of showmanship ffs).

xpost lol @ "the beats were frenetic" idk why that tickles me so much

xp I mean yes, that sucks bad, but it's not the same style as that Pavement thing, right?

which chatgpt are you using btw?

In one of my few experiments w/ChatGPT, I asked it to write a short story about a Google Pixel phone, in the style of a few different authors. For Hemingway and Joyce, it basically generated the same dull narrative, just swapping the location from Key West to Dublin... but for Bukowski, the story started with a few details equivalent to the Hunter S. thing above – "as I downed my final beer and swerved off the barstool," or whatever. Funny, but obv. no one would mistake it for the real thing.

I asked it to write a review of the Hamilton soundtrack in the style of Lester Bangs and it gave me a bunch of Freedom Rock lines: "Well, let me tell you, the Hamilton Soundtrack LP is a freaking revelation, man!"

all the AI generated pieces I've read of this kind come off as if the writer is being held hostage and forced to come up with listicles. "Dry facts only. I cut off a finger for every strongly held opinion you express."

I'm still on ChatGPT3, if anyone is on 4 they could give it a go?

These posts are going to seem so quaint after 1 or 2 years of exponential improvement in the technology.