I’ve been playing around with ChatGPT, the AI language program everyone is talking about lately. Having read Bill Pearce’s thoughtful piece at pinklightsabre this morning, I thought I’d check out its facility on the topic of rock music.
First I asked for the top Rock albums of 1973, thinking that perhaps I could short circuit weeks of research and writing by getting ChatGTP to write “73 From ’73”.
Good list, but not the best start in terms of accuracy. Going For The One came out in 1977.
OK, I thought, let’s try it on history. Now, what do I know a bit about?
VINYL CONNECTION: Write 250 words on the history of progressive rock
ChatGPT: Progressive rock, also known as “prog rock,” is a genre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This style of music is characterized by its use of unconventional musical structures, intricate instrumental arrangements, and complex musical themes. Progressive rock musicians often sought to expand the boundaries of rock music and incorporate elements of classical, jazz, and world music into their compositions.
The origins of progressive rock can be traced back to bands such as Pink Floyd and The Nice in England, and The Moody Blues in the United States. These groups were inspired by the musical experiments of psychedelic rock and were eager to push the boundaries of traditional rock music. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, progressive rock emerged as a distinct genre, with bands like Genesis, King Crimson, and Yes leading the way.
During the 1970s, progressive rock reached its peak popularity, with many of the genre’s top bands achieving mainstream success. This period saw the release of classic progressive rock albums such as Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” Genesis’s “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” and Yes’s “Close to the Edge.”
However, by the end of the 1970s, the popularity of progressive rock began to decline. This was due in part to the rise of punk rock, which rebelled against the artistic pretensions of progressive rock and returned to the stripped-down, rebellious spirit of early rock and roll. Despite this decline in popularity, many progressive rock musicians continued to create innovative and challenging music throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with bands like Marillion, Porcupine Tree, and King’s X maintaining the genre’s legacy.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in progressive rock, with a new generation of musicians drawing inspiration from the genre’s musical experimentation and sophistication. Today, progressive rock remains a vibrant and important part of the rock music landscape, inspiring musicians and fans alike to push the boundaries of what rock music can be.
VC: Correction: The Moody Blues are from the UK, not the USA.
ChatGPT: Thank you for pointing out the correction. The Moody Blues are indeed from the United Kingdom. I apologise for the mistake.
VC: Please add information on sub-genres of progressive rock such as the Canterbury scene and RIO.
ChatGPT: Progressive rock has given rise to several sub-genres over the years, each with its own distinct characteristics. Two of the most notable sub-genres are the Canterbury scene and RIO (Rock in Opposition).
The Canterbury scene refers to a group of progressive rock musicians who were based in the city of Canterbury, England, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. This sub-genre is characterized by its use of unconventional musical structures, unusual time signatures, and whimsical, often surrealistic, lyrics. Bands like Soft Machine, Caravan, and Hatfield and the North are considered to be part of the Canterbury scene.
RIO, on the other hand, refers to a movement of progressive rock musicians who sought to challenge the conventions of the genre and push the boundaries of what was possible in rock music. RIO emerged in the late 1970s and was characterized by its focus on complex musical arrangements, unconventional instrumentation, and a disregard for commercial success. Bands like Henry Cow, Univers Zero, and Art Zoyd are considered to be part of the RIO movement.
Both the Canterbury scene and RIO have had a lasting impact on progressive rock, inspiring musicians to continue pushing the boundaries of what rock music can be. These sub-genres have also influenced other forms of music, including avant-garde jazz and classical music, and continue to inspire new generations of musicians and fans.
VC: This is an OK ‘introduction’. Can you add more technical and musical detail please?
Progressive rock is known for its musical sophistication and technical virtuosity. This genre often features extended musical structures, such as suites and concept albums, which can last for several minutes or even hours. Progressive rock musicians often incorporate elements of classical music, jazz, and world music into their compositions, and often seek to challenge the listener with complex musical themes and unexpected musical twists.
Progressive rock is also known for its use of unconventional musical instruments and electronic effects. Synthesizers, organs, and other electronic instruments are commonly used to create a distinctive soundscape that sets progressive rock apart from other genres of rock music. In addition, progressive rock musicians often experiment with different recording techniques, such as multi-tracking and studio effects, to create a unique and immersive listening experience.
The instrumental arrangements in progressive rock are often elaborate, featuring intricate interplay between the different instruments. Progressive rock musicians are known for their virtuosity on their instruments, and many are highly trained musicians who have studied classical music and other forms of music. The musicians often play multiple instruments and switch between instruments during live performances.
Lyrically, progressive rock often explores complex themes and philosophical ideas, sometimes with a political or social commentary. The genre is also known for its use of poetic and surrealistic lyrics, which can be difficult to interpret and often require multiple listenings to fully appreciate.
In conclusion, progressive rock is a genre that is defined by its musical sophistication, technical virtuosity, and creative experimentation. It is a genre that continues to inspire new generations of musicians and fans, and remains a vibrant and important part of the rock music landscape.
VC: Nice work. Now tell me a joke about prog rock!
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s one:
Why did the progressive rock musician bring a ruler to the studio?
Because he wanted to measure the length of his solos!
*
Generally, the content is good quality and the writing adequate (if a little repetitive). I was struck by the bot’s regurgitation of the old furphy about punk killing off prog. Absolute nonsense, but—like the March 1 release date of Dark Side Of The Moon—one that has been perpetrated to the point of becoming fact. That’s the organic nature of history, I guess.
Will ChatGTP and its offspring finally and irrevocably kill off blogging? And indeed writing generally? Or will we all migrate to youtube where people can snigger at our stumbling vocalisations and funny accents?
What do you think?
vinylconnection.com.au 
I think we are all language processing tools. And share the same fundamental gifts and limitations as the models we make: garbage in, garbage out! Or maybe right there is the difference, if we can make something more of our own garbage…eh old friend?
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Hey, that could be the Lonely Keyboards slugline. ‘Making something more of my own garbage’. Thanks!
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I’m curious – which app are you using? Some look a bit suspect re privacy.
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It’s ChatGPT, Richard. Know anything about it?
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I looked for an Android app and their are many. I haven’t tried any yet.
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The mobile apps are third parties cashing in on fhe development. I see I can use the service directly in a browser for free. My question is, why would I use it?
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To bypass the troublesome process of researching and thinking for yourself? 😅
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Never tried doing them !
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I was listening to an episode of ‘Plain English with Derek Thompson’ the other day – and the guest was making some interesting observations about ChatGPT in particular.
From their discussion, I gather google isn’t as good at finding ‘the best’ information anymore; due to things like search engine optimization, people/systems are learning to get their info to the top of the results, even if it’s not the best info.
So if this is like ‘google for google’ (as someone cleverly described it), it’s that to the next level – I think they described it as getting more and more confident at delivering BS.
Though change their #3 of Aladdin Sane to #1, and maybe it’s not all false!
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Thanks for pitching in, Geoff. There is a trust issue, isn’t there? One of my (many) fears is that in a Trumpian post-truth society, taking what an AI ‘writer’ says as fact is accelerating down the slippery slope towards a new Dark Age.
Aladdin Sane at #1, eh?
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It’s funny, I didn’t have much use for Aladdin Sane after 1 listen. But thankfully, there have been dozens of listens since then, and to borrow a Beatle line, I have to admit it’s getting better!
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Seriously, though, there’s a reliability / trust concern, and it’s the investigation that I especially enjoy. Might ‘ask’ out of curiosity just to see what I get, as you’ve done.
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So I’ve read this twice with a run in between. I feel that I’ve got a bit of clarity on this topic. I’m going to compare this to the straight up news on the front page of the New York Times versus what you find on the Op Ed page. I think in it’s current incarnation (can I say that?) ChatGPT will give you the facts (or an amalgamation of the facts that it finds on the web) like journalism, but without opinion, and opinion is my favorite part. Sure, ChatGPT will give you a review of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, but my review includes personal anecdotes and comparisons to my life. A bot can’t do that unless it’s lying. If I needed a quick overview on Prog rock (which I do), what you wrote is certainly serviceable, and I’d read it for the information. But I wouldn’t read it for fun. — Of course, we are in the infancy of AI generated content. I can only imagine where things will be in five or ten years. I think there will still be bloggers, some of us just like to write. Will there be any readers? Probably not, with or without ChatGPT.
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AI is probably one of ‘our’ biggest readers right now.
But is it listening? And where will it go with what it learns about listening, and interlocution?
Can I have a bot-like for this comment? If not today then tomorrow.
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An interesting point; information vs opinion. For fun, I consulted ChatGPT.
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I appreciate it’s honesty.
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I still have not used ChatGPT, though all the young kids are swearing by it. Maybe one day I’ll play with it, seems like fun can be had.
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A very good illustration of how to use AI. Thank you. Working interactively, I imagine you could refine and improve the essay it composed and get it close to your own standard.
Cheers
DD
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Yes. I have a friend who has been working regularly with visual images generated by AI for over half a year. Some of the results are stunning. But who is the artist?
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Music composition and performance is presumably in the AI queue too.
A list of references for whatever media might help to keep things honest/ honourable, but what enormous lists they would be.
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Very interesting. Scary. I did a little test that was in the NYTimes during the holidays, to see if readers could tell which essays were written by 4th graders and which by ChatGPT and I was pretty flattened by how hard it was. 4th graders are perfectly capable of churning out “adequate” and “regurgitation” of course. I’d like some bean-counter to analyze your example to see how much of it is comprised by “mosaic plagiarism,” my guess is 99%. But still scary. Still incapable of telling a joke, maybe that’ll be the tell when they come to the door of my bunker.
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“Mosaic plagiarism”, what a great term. I’d not heard that before, but it’s perfect.
As for humour, who could possibly trust a human with no sense of humour?
(Any space in the bunker?)
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While certainly not perfect, I still think it’s pretty remarkable what ChatGPT generated – and frankly a bit scary!
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Indeed, Christian. On both counts! Yes, it is better than expected, and responds to ‘deepening’ prompts quite well. And yes, a bit scary.
I thoroughly recommend Bill P’s post, link at the beginning of this article.
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Well, he got more than half of them right for the top 10. That’s pretty good for a computer. Or whatever the hell it is.
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Or she did. Hard to tell with bots.
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Interesting Bruce. Lazy or close minded. I’ll let you pick CB’s profile. Maybe you just have the brain capacity for new info. I do admire that. That list surprised me. Pretty good in my opinion forgiving the Yes choice. With all that said which is a lot for Mr Lazy I do enjoy your words and effort.
Just a reminder that Im a little behind on the modern side of things. Can you say “outhouse”?
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A church house gin house
A school house outhouse
On highway number nineteen
The people keep the city clean
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Very nicely done. I was going to add to your prose but I’d just sour the words.
Im listening to some of that there music you was talking about. KC In Vienna. The music sits pretty high in my music pile.
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Isn’t that a great live KC set? Keep on proggin’, CB!
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[…] Bruce Jenkins of the Vinyl Connection site embarked on his own test of AI-written articles, with his focus on the topics of Prog Rock and best records of 1973. In a strikingly similar set of results to those I had, Bruce found the answers to the questions he posed just as unsatisfying – https://vinylconnection.com.au/2023/02/01/prog-bot-vinyl-connection-dives-into-ai/ […]
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