A.I. Music

Why A.I. Music Can’t Replicate the Human Touch

As we've explored on this blog, A.I. has made remarkable strides in fields from image generation to writing. But when it comes to creating music that really touches people, A.I. faces formidable obstacles. Because while A.I. music generators can churn out competent melodies, their output often feels hollow or disconnected…
December 6, 20243 Comments
Rock's Lost Groove

How Rock and Roll Lost Its Groove

In the late 20th century, rock and roll was still the dominant force in music. If you belong to the Baby Boom through Y generations, rock music formed the soundtrack of your life. But since the late 1990s, rock's popularity has steadily declined, overtaken by other genres like hip-hop, pop,…
October 16, 20246 Comments
Rock Faucet

Can’t Stop the Rock Faucet

We've spent a lot of time charting the crisis besetting the modern music industry. And one of the best professionals who's undertaken the project of plumbing the problem is Rick Beato. Now, the veteran producer and studio musician does a deep dive into why music has gotten worse since Cultural…
July 1, 202410 Comments
The Metal

The Downfall of Heavy Metal

Get get FREE books and first looks at my exciting new projects monthly! Join my elite neopatrons to read my new dark fantasy novel The Burned Book as I write it! Join on Patreon or SubscribeStar now. Ragging on Zoomers' taste in music has become common among older generations. Spend a few minutes sampling tunes that…
April 16, 202418 Comments
Suburban Hip-Hop

Of Hip-Hop and Corporate Pop

Yesterday, over at the Z Blog, the Z Man took up the thread of this blog's posts on the death of rock music and Cultural Ground Zero. Approaching these related phenomena from an alternate angle, he gleaned some new insights. Not discussed is the culture of the managerial class. The…
January 26, 20246 Comments
Who Killed Rock and Roll

Who Killed Rock and Roll?

Shock rocker Marilyn Manson may have been rather tame and boring in hindsight. But in retrospect, it turns out that he did make at least one true observation. Rock and roll is in fact dead. And it died right around the time he was singing about its demise. If you've…
January 17, 20244 Comments
Heavenly Light

Heavenly Light Music Video

For those who enjoyed superversive musician Ben Zwycky's rendition of "Silent Night", you'll be delighted to learn that the second - and title - track from his new album Heavenly Light is now live. As promised, here is the second music video from my first album, this time for the…
January 3, 20242 Comments
Silent Night African

Silent Night …

... African style Author and musician Ben Zwycky writes: I am happy to announce that my first album, Virtual Orchestra: Heavenly Light, is now released in time for Christmas, including one Christmas-themed song as track 8, an African-style take on the classic Christmas carol blended with my previous song on…
December 13, 20234 Comments
Cracker Island

Cracker Island

One of my chief guilty pleasures when it comes to music is the virtual band Gorillaz. Known for their distinctive blend of electronic, hip-hop, and alternative sounds, the live-animated collab led by Blur frontman Damon Albarn caused a sensation when they burst onto the scene at the turn of the…
October 25, 202312 Comments