3 ms·

> AI elevator background "music". What are some examples? I haven't encountered this.

by ipsum2 2y ago

xanderlewis 2y ago
Just search 'jazz' on YouTube. Almost all of the results will not consist of 'jazz' in any real sense, but instead a collection of uncanny melodies and chord progressions that wonder around going nowhere, traditionally accompanied by an obscenely eye-offending diffusion model-generated mishmash of seasonal tropes and incongruent interior design choices. Often, it's MIDI bossa nova presumably written by either a machine or someone who's only ever heard a few bars of music at a time and has no idea that 'feel' or 'soul' are a thing.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  Can you post a link to some like that? Because when I search "jazz" on YT I'm just getting legit music videos and jazz playlists -- stuff like Norah Jones, top 100 jazz classics playlists, etc. But I assume that search results are personalized.
  - xanderlewis 2y ago
    Lucky you! Sure. I just tried in private browsing mode, and got mostly the same. Here are a few of the very first results I get for 'jazz': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL3Cb740VY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL3Cb740VY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXFapv_kFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXFapv_kFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNnzbi-v9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNnzbi-v9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmQvH5K75w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmQvH5K75w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgEswq9ZlI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgEswq9ZlI Some are worse than others.
    - crazygringo 2y ago
      That's wild. Thanks for the links. Infinite AI Muzak I guess? I suppose it was inevitable.
      - xanderlewis 2y ago
        Seems to be genuinely popular. I can see why, but when there's so much 'real music' out there, why not just listen to that and enrich yourself instead of bathing in fake nonsense? If you want jazz, just put on a jazz album — hell, even Kind of Blue will do. I'm not sure all (or any) of it actually is AI though. I assume that's coming very soon, but I suspect this stuff is cynically and methodically hand-composed. By the way: I have nothing against generative composition! Brian Eno has been doing this stuff longer than anyone else, and it's very cool. I'm sure you could make some 'generative jazz' that's actually distinctive and artistic, but this isn't it.
        tessierashpool 2y ago
        Not longer than Steve Reich, John Cage, Philip Glass, or Ann Southam. Nor for that matter Mozart, who wrote simple algorithmic compositions powered by dice. These were common musical games in his day.
        xanderlewis 2y ago
        You’re probably right, but I meant generative in the sense of building a machine that does the entire process.
        tessierashpool 2y ago
        ah, like Al-Jazari's water-powered musical automata in 1206, or Athanasius Kircher's marble machine in the 17th century. or (for more modern examples) Raymond Scott's Electronium in 1959, and the Rhythmicon in 1931.

> AI elevator background "music". What are some examples? I haven't encountered this.

by ipsum2 2y ago

> AI elevator background "music". What are some examples? I haven't encountered this.

Just search 'jazz' on YouTube. Almost all of the results will not consist of 'jazz' in any real sense, but instead a collection of uncanny melodies and chord progressions that wonder around going nowhere, traditionally accompanied by an obscenely eye-offending diffusion model-generated mishmash of seasonal tropes and incongruent interior design choices. Often, it's MIDI bossa nova presumably written by either a machine or someone who's only ever heard a few bars of music at a time and has no idea that 'feel' or 'soul' are a thing.

crazygringo 2y ago
Can you post a link to some like that? Because when I search "jazz" on YT I'm just getting legit music videos and jazz playlists -- stuff like Norah Jones, top 100 jazz classics playlists, etc. But I assume that search results are personalized.
- xanderlewis 2y ago
  Lucky you! Sure. I just tried in private browsing mode, and got mostly the same. Here are a few of the very first results I get for 'jazz': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL3Cb740VY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL3Cb740VY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXFapv_kFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXFapv_kFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNnzbi-v9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNnzbi-v9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmQvH5K75w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABmQvH5K75w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgEswq9ZlI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jgEswq9ZlI Some are worse than others.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    That's wild. Thanks for the links. Infinite AI Muzak I guess? I suppose it was inevitable.
    - xanderlewis 2y ago
      Seems to be genuinely popular. I can see why, but when there's so much 'real music' out there, why not just listen to that and enrich yourself instead of bathing in fake nonsense? If you want jazz, just put on a jazz album — hell, even Kind of Blue will do. I'm not sure all (or any) of it actually is AI though. I assume that's coming very soon, but I suspect this stuff is cynically and methodically hand-composed. By the way: I have nothing against generative composition! Brian Eno has been doing this stuff longer than anyone else, and it's very cool. I'm sure you could make some 'generative jazz' that's actually distinctive and artistic, but this isn't it.
      - tessierashpool 2y ago
        Not longer than Steve Reich, John Cage, Philip Glass, or Ann Southam. Nor for that matter Mozart, who wrote simple algorithmic compositions powered by dice. These were common musical games in his day.
        xanderlewis 2y ago
        You’re probably right, but I meant generative in the sense of building a machine that does the entire process.
        tessierashpool 2y ago
        ah, like Al-Jazari's water-powered musical automata in 1206, or Athanasius Kircher's marble machine in the 17th century. or (for more modern examples) Raymond Scott's Electronium in 1959, and the Rhythmicon in 1931.