From left: Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley, Patrick Stump
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Members of Fall Out Boy discuss the impact of AI and algorithms on the music industry.
in a recent interview with Independentthe band announced their latest album, So much (for) Stardust, Fits their musical evolution and extensive discography, as well as their musical growth. The 20-year-old band have always played their own tone, releasing their latest album as a “very low-tech” follow-up to 2018’s “Cyborg” sound. mania, according to Lead singer and lyricist Patrick Stump.
Thanks to the likes of Metaverse and NFT, the band’s eras have become mixed, acknowledging the passing of time and the growing rise of “pretty inauthentic worlds,” says bassist Pete Wentz.
“We live in a world of NFTs and avatars and my kids are buying all the time. fortnite skins,” says Wentz. “Okay, got it, they educated me, I’m downloading what this is all about. But at the same time, I think there’s something a little counterintuitive about Fall Out Boy’s DNA.” I’d rather be specific, I can go inside.
The rejection of technology’s growing presence in everyday life extends to the existence of chatbots and lyrics. Stump shares that his family once obtained his ChatGPT to compose the lyrics.
“They pushed me to write a Fall Out Boy song and they showed me the lyrics. ‘Wow, look at this!'” intend to.”
The singer acknowledges that artificial intelligence will improve over time, but said it ultimately doesn’t matter because what it creates lacks artistic authenticity and intent. “I think it’s very likely that the AI will start writing songs, and I think it’s very likely that the songs will start to be good,” he said. “It’s that Dr. Malcolm that I’m wondering about. [from Jurassic Park] How — “You ask what you can do, but never ask if you should” — Why? Art is about expression, so if you are consuming art that has no expression behind it, what does that mean?”
And while Stamp says he “understands it from a capitalist perspective,” to consumers “as someone experiencing art,” it’s of little value.
“There was a big controversy in New York about it, but the artist came from somewhere in Africa where that particular material meant something particular,” said the Fall Out Boy frontman, who is of Nigerian descent. Mentioned artist Chris Ofili, who painted the 1996 painting. Virgin Mary It features one of the Virgin Mary’s breasts rendered in elephant dung. “What it meant to him didn’t mean the same thing to us. So context was all art. If AI did it, there’s no story behind it. It has nothing to do with AI.”
Stumps adds that technology will probably advance to the point where he won’t be hired to compose film scores. It’s something that shouldn’t be automated. ”
Still, not all technological advances in the last 20 years are bad. While the band is fed up with algorithms and such, Wentz said streaming has given younger generations more exposure to older music and given newer artists the chance to perform in song form.
“We’re in an era where everything gets big and old songs get big. Whether it’s a one-minute song or no chorus, there aren’t many rules,” he said. “If you have a good song and an interesting point of view, at least people will try it.”
