We're about the same age, I was even in a band at a small liberal arts college in the great lakes area in 2003. AI can't bring it back, and the stuff the music AI has created here sounds terrible to me.

The original recordings sound much better and more interesting to me. Way better. The AI generated versions sound slicker in some sense but... like the re-recorded versions of old hit songs from the 60s you hear at the grocery store sometimes. Technically the song is still there, but it blends in with the rest of the muzak.

I'm sorry to be so negative, it's great you're returning to the material after all these years, but the AI versions I've listened to all have the same smoothed-over quality that loses everything interesting and relatable to my ears in the original versions.

I’m not really a fan here.

I want to be able to rap like Twista. If I use AI to change my voice and speed it up, it’s kinda fake.

Where’s the originality in that. I’ll never be *that good*, but I have fun doing it.

Now I guess using AI strictly for mastering is OK , but even then the results haven’t been good for me.

The web stuff is well done. Now, with this newly created momentum, you should re-record the songs now, without AI. Hell, you could probably afford an awesome studio and equipment too. You could easily blow the AI out of the water.

Hi! Thx for sharing :).

I've read the "how revival works" section, but still have no idea "how the revival works".

("We've used ai" is all I got from both this intro on HN and the we pages I read, though possible I missed some section.)

Can you share?

I.e. Did you take original audio recordings and run it though some audio chain that optimizes the mix and volumes? Did you put the sheets and lyrics into ableton and recreate the music? Did you feed audio files into chatgpt and prompt "make it better"? Something else?

In the interest of transparency, understanding what happened here will significantly guide my own emotional response :). I appreciate the details of 5 core principles, but spending so much time on principles without actual detail on what got done makes me skeptical and even cynical, which may not be the intent. For example, I personally distinguish between a raw photo, edited photo, composite image, and AI regenerated image, and one of the things I'm trying to understand is the path / traceability from human to final audio file.

Thx!

Nice - I've done similar things with some of my music [1].

I have a classical piece I wrote over a decade ago for piano [2] (it’s the instrument I play), but it was always intended to be an orchestral work. Using AI allowed me to sonically experiment with a stringed score which was pretty cool.

It’s basically the equivalent of taking a piece you’ve written and running it through an arranger keyboard or Band-in-a-Box on steroids.

[1] - https://mordenstar.com/blog/dutyfree-shop

[2] - https://mordenstar.com/blog/screwdriver-sonata

That video from 2004 is so refreshing. It’s just two people talking without asking me to “please subscribe” every 30-seconds.

I think this is a super intriguing project! I’ve been experimenting with some similar work on my old unfinished songs from eons past. It’s been really fulfilling to take that old work and see the original vision spring to life through modern tools.

Good idea! Both versions sound great, in their own way.

I might have to revisit some of my old songs...

The revived (AI) versions have this...thin and hollow sound to it. It is difficult to explain, most AI-generated songs have this when they're modelling acoustic drums, stringed instruments, etc.

FWIW, I'm (now a hobby) musician and have done studio work. Even the latest and best models have this unmistakable sound.

Have you considered processing the original recordings using AI? I've witnessed some truly amazing results. I've had twenty year old Skype call recordings sound like we were sitting in a recording studio.

Honestly, this is just sad.