New Album Out! Wings Of Desire

There’s a scene in Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire where the angel Damiel is pining to be human, to have a body. He says,

“But sometimes I'm fed up with my spiritual existence. Instead of forever hovering above I'd like to feel a weight grow in me to end the infinity and to tie me to earth. I'd like, at each step, each gust of wind, to be able to say "Now!" Now and now and no longer "forever" and "for eternity." To sit at an empty place at a card table and be greeted, even by a nod.”

Upon seeing Wings of Desire, a weight grew in me. Because the movie greeted me, made me think. Now and now. What are you waiting for? Perfection is a myth. Play. Record. Do it again.

Along with Wenders, there is Jason Isbell. Weathervanes tied me to the earth. There was a hole inside me, and I filled it. Play. Record. Do it again.

There is a wonderful German word/idea that encapsulates Damiel and Isbell - Torschlusspanik, roughly, gate closing panic. The fear that time, and hence opportunities, are running out. It describes the sense of panic when you realize, one day, that you haven't done very much with your life, and that if you don't act soon then you may miss out on the remaining opportunities as time passes and the 'gate closes.


What are you waiting for? Perfection is a myth. Play. Record. Do it again.

credits

released February 16, 2024

What does Jason Isbell have to do with Artificial Intelligence?

 

What does Jason Isbell have to do with Artificial Intelligence?

 

Many fear artificial intelligence; that it will in essence, at the end of the logic, replace us. A fortiori, AI will replace artists. As chatbots and AI grows in power and seemingly to expand the definition of intelligence to the point of replacing us and our aesthetic endeavors, I propose that Jason Isbell puts this idea to rest.

If you haven’t heard, Jason Isbell garnered Grammy nominations for Best Americana Album for “Weathervanes,” Best Americana Performance for “King of Oklahoma” and Best American Roots Song for “Cast Iron Skillet.”

Some background on Isbell is relevant for my purposes. Per the Music Box documentary, the divorce of his parents impacted him greatly. He is a recovering alcoholic, at one point he overdosed while he was in Drive-By Truckers.

What does this have to do with AI?

The driving idea behind AI replacing us and our aesthetic endeavors, is that if we just feed the software enough data and provide enough computing power, AI can produce art.

But I contend that art requires a body. Art can’t be produced with just data and computational power.

I contend that Jason Isbell’s trauma is in his body, and that it feeds his art. His body is a resource for aesthetics. The word I used with my therapist is “incarnate.” Isbell’s experience, interacting with his memory and his skill and craft, honed over decades of practice and performance and listening (which necessitates a body) produce art. Art that moves you and me, and him.

In the Music Box documentary, he gets choked up singing one of his own songs. The power of Cast Iron Skillet isn’t really measurable. Watch CBS’ John Dickerson hold back emotion after Isbell performs Cast Iron Skillet here at 39:45. It took this guy about 2:17.

Art requires emotion, production and reception. Emotions require bodies with hormones and chemicals and electricity in a delicate balance.

The delicate balance of guitar, harmony, and lyrics is what Isbell manipulates in Cast Iron Skillet, and in my humble opinion, Isbell is a master at a level few humans will ever reach.

Reaching requires a body. Art requires a body.

Culture is in his songs.

Tie in George Carlin’s line about “a little secret about the blues. You don’t just need to know which notes to play, you have to know why they need to be played.”

AI doesn’t possess a why. AI isn’t motivated. AI doesn’t feel compelled to write songs.

Jason Isbell does feel compelled.

Be thankful for Jason Isbell, and don’t fear for artists.