The new Beatles Song

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am not sure just how much interest this will generate…my guess would be not so much…though I live in hope.
Having listened to this new Beatles song I was not impressed with it.
Let me say that as a young girl I was an avid Beatles fan.
I went to see them live at Blackpool too many years ago to mention.
I had a Danette record player and played ‘Love me Do’ so many times my dad cut the plug off it.

This track was supposed to be on a cassette…has been made by using Artificial intelligence to mix the voices of the last two surviving Beatles and I am sure it will sell…but it isn’t for me.

Over to you….tell me if you love it…or whether, like me it leaves you cold.

[RainbowSix]

I listened to it while in the workshop at work so did not hear it to well however imo it was clearly a lennon type song, pretty mild.

Nice to see that they can do this now though, one of the positive aspects of AI.
Until the robots start killing us all while singing it

[Exile on Spencer St]

I’ve only listened to the bit available online, but it doesn’t come across as one of the Beatles best efforts. But then that’s a particularly high bar.
I guess it wasn’t easy combining the kind of songs Lennon was writing over 40 years ago, the kind of guitar work Harrison was doing 30 years ago, with the current music technology of today.
Just hope Ringo got his fair share of royalties on this one!

[Margaret Pilkington]

I thought it was very bland…the lyrics do not have the ‘grab factor’and it does not have the impact of earlier Beatles music.
But maybe it is my age that is getting in the way.

I just wanted to see what others thought of it.

[Exile on Spencer St]

I suspect our ages may have much to do with it, Margaret.
When I was a teenager and into my mid-twenties music was a vital interest.
Mary’s Music was a bit too ‘musical instruments’ to me but I do recall going downstairs in Tony’s record shop on Blackburn Road to listen to the latest songs in a little booth, walled with perforated hardboard. And spending hours sifting through racks of LPs upstairs in a record shop somewhere. Could rarely afford to buy anything, though. But recorded music was a constant topic of interest and conversation to me and many I knew.
S’funny, a bit later when I started buying records, or illegally taping them, I never had a single Beatles disc. I liked them but their music seemed so ubiquitous on radios and tv that there was no need to have my own copies.
However, one thing that made the Beatles, and Dylan, so memorable as they got into their stride was that each new LP seemed so different from the last. As soon as the latest album was played to death there was an anticipation about what they’d do next to top it.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I did not buy many records, that is probably why I almost wore out Love Me Do.
I bought my records from a stall on Accy Market, I think the chap only sold singles and at first they were 6/11pence…then they went up to 7/6….that was half of my money gone for the week.

I bought Dylan and Pink Floyd too….I still listen to my old favourite…but I think the Beatles should have left this where it was. I am sure neither of them need the money.

[Hill Walker]

This 'new' song is quite interesting. I think that if I had just heard it without knowledge of its history I would have classed it as 'not one of their best' but that would have been somewhat unfair. This song has not gone through the normal iterative process that virtually all other songs have gone through. Its origin is in a 'demo' recording done on none-professional equipment, its analogus to the first draft of a document, something which can be circulated among the relavent people as 'hey guys what do you think'. Had normal processes been followed there would have been many changes both large and small before a proper studio recording had been produced. We need to remember how many weeks and in some cases months of studio time went into many of our favourites.

As it is its not a great song but it is a window into the past and it may serve to create an access into the archives of many past artists who's work is recorded only on poor material such as wax cylinders that traditional methods of filtering out noise and overcoming limited bandwith cannot cope with. Also the recovery of sound tracks on old films where current methods of recovering images far exceed the recovery methods for the audio.

In summery an interesting song in the state that many great songs probably drew their first breath of life.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Hill Walker your post is really interesting.
All of your thoughts on this song are spot on…but it still doesn’t grab me.
The tune is a dirge and the words do not feel like they mean much….they sound contrived
They should have left it on the demo tape

[MoreJoe]

Most of the fuss seems to be about the Dreaded AI contribution.
For me, I thought the song lacked the cheer and energy of the Beatles.
It seems to spring more from John's dreary "Working Class Hero" period.
So I will say "Not good to dance to..."
I will propose it as the featured single from the next Yoko Ono album.
Yoko's album should be titled "How to Get Guests to Leave When the Party is Over".
Just my opinion.
I could be wrong.
-Joe

[Margaret Pilkington]

More Joe, you have hit the nail on the head.
I wish I had said it like that.
The song to me, has no beating heart.
The AI bit is a worry, but only because it could be used to fake music from musicians who are no longer here.
Someone will tell us they have unearthed a previously unreleased song and we, like fools will buy it….(except I won’t)

[kestrelx]

I didn't like it first time I heard it. But the BBC had a program on Saturday night featuring a selection of Beatles performances over the years, with this new song at the end with the video and it was great. The video brought it to life in context of their career. It's Paul and Ringo's final statement on the Beatles. Apparently they tried to work on it in 1995 for an Anthology but the vocal was too dull - it was a demo Lennon made in 1978. An Artificial Intelligence program allowed them to extract it and bring it to life.

[dotti34]

Pleasant but nothing to write home about. I admit I only listened to part of it but it was a bit boring so I switched off. Irrespective of how clever this might be I am still worried about how far AI can and will go.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am not so bothered about AI in music, though I suppose it may rob some artists of their loving..it might make others sound better. Not that I am very much into modern music…a lot of it is just noise and lyrics that are beyond me.

But I do worry about the criminal possibilities that AI offers those who want to get rich from other peoples work…or to steal from them.
I worry that people like me…you know, those old birds…will be the ones targeted and will be fleeced of whatever assets we might have.

I can see it being unregulated and dangerous….someone out there who understands this stuff…please tell me I am wrong.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I have come to the conclusion that if someone like Elon Musk thinks it is dangerous, then I am right to be concerned…and for those who think that I have little need to be concerned because I will have left the planet….I think if they are talking about driverless car, buses and lorries…then I think it is nearer than we think.

[kestrelx]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I have come to the conclusion that if someone like Elon Musk thinks it is dangerous, then I am right to be concerned…and for those who think that I have little need to be concerned because I will have left the planet….I think if they are talking about driverless car, buses and lorries…then I think it is nearer than we think.

He knows it's dangerous because he will be the one making the Robots - but humans have a reason to do things, how do you create that in a robot? It's useful because we could send robots to the moon, able to make buildings in advance of humans going. Or to mine any minerals we could use on earth. So humans wouldn't have to risk the health problems. Let's hope they are smarter than smart motorways! AI could look at everything a person has done on the Internet and learn everything about them in a fraction of time. The Chinese government can know everything about UK citizens using it.