History is being made today.
Thursday, November 2, 2023, is a day like no other. Something no one imagined would happen again, in our lifetime, has happened.
The
Beatles have released a new song. Their final song ever. But how is
this even possible? The band broke up in 1970. Two of their band members
are deceased. How are we still getting new material?
Of
course, die-hard fans like me are extremely skeptical. Other "new"
material has come out over the years, including the song "Free as a
Bird" which was released as part of The Beatles Anthology 1 in 1995 and
"Real Love" which was released as part of the Beatles Anthology 2 in
1996. These were pretty special considering John Lennon had been dead
for 15 years. Decades ago, Paul McCartney asked Lennon's widow, Yoko
Ono, if she had any unreleased recordings of John's. "Real Love" and
"Free as a Bird" were two of the four she handed over. "Grow Old With
Me" was untouched by the remaining Beatles probably due to it appearing
posthumously on the album Milk and Honey in 1984.
Those
songs were able to be completed with 1990's technology which included
clearing out background noise from the vocal track and, as was the case
for "Free as a Bird", adding more lyrics. When the songs were released
as singles, both made it to the top 10 of the Billboard Top 100 song
chart. It was exciting for a younger fan, like me, to hear a "new"
Beatles song on the radio.
The
final cassette Yoko had handed over with the song "Now and Then"
required more help to reach radio quality than the 1990s could provide.
It was left on the shelf, but thanks to artificial intelligence, of the
2020 variety, a lot more is possible. This kind of AI technology (sound
separation technology) made the recent Get Back documentary possible.
Director Peter Jackson was able to teach a computer what a particular
instrument sounds like and then strip that sound away from audio
recordings of The Beatles in the studio. This made conversations between
the band members crystal clear, whereas prior to having this
technology, those conversations were masked.
After
the surviving Beatles got wind of what Jackson had done, they decided
to re-think "Now and Then". Paul McCartney has stated that nothing
"artificial" was created for this recording. He says, "It’s all real and
we all play on it."
I
am still a little skeptical. I mean who wouldn't be? I want to believe
Paul and the story he's telling but I also see what is out there. Just
go on YouTube, and search AI covers, and you will find many classic
songs being done in a different way. Whitney Houston singing "Bohemian
Rhapsody", Frank Sinatra singing "Thriller", The Beatles singing David
Bowie's "Space Oddity". You can teach a computer how to sing in a
particular style and it will do it. Did the boys rely on this
technology, just a little?
I
want to have faith in Paul and Ringo because we all know they don't
need the money. But it seems like every year, just before the holidays,
there is something new that is released. This year, it is the newly
remastered Red and Blue compilation albums, which will include the new
single. The actual vinyl albums are so cool. They are actually the
colors blue and red. There was a hot minute when I told my family
members if I didn't get those for Christmas I was going to move out.
Then reality set in. My record player is packed away and I already own
the Blue and Red albums.
Regardless, I want to leave my cynicism at the door as I eagerly await the moment, I can hear this song. I am going to listen to it once and then again and again to fully immerse myself in the music. I want to imagine a world where the Fab Four are still recording and sharing their talents with the world. For the 4 minutes and 8 seconds it takes to listen to the track, all of that will be a reality. If current technology can be source of happiness at a time when there is so much sadness, then.... let it be.
*This blog is featured in this week's edition of The Valley Mirror as the "On My Mind" column. The weekly paper serves the Steel Valley and Woodland Hills communities.*
