This is just a guess, but maybe it will come from live community theatre. Look at the way people are going nuts over Daniel Radcliffe on “Every Brilliant Thing” on Broadway, and WHY. Perhaps people will get fed up with mediocre corporate celebrities and the PR machine, and local celebrities will become the trend—ones you can actually come across at the grocery store. There’s no AI at the local community theater and limited special effects—just honest performances from real people. And the bad, unprofessional acting? Maybe it will come to be valued as “theatre grunge” and loved for its edgy authenticity!
IMO their music respects and incorporates the best of early blues, Gregorian chants, and Indian ragas. Every time I listen I hear something new and like them more.
I was going to break down what they do (not what they play), but watch and listen for yourselves. All I'll say is that the guitarist/bassist/effects guy boggles my mind, the drummer slaps, and even their costumes are part of the music.
As long as we have bands like them, all is not lost.
When I first saw them (the song was "Fabiank") I was transported back to (and I'm tipping off my age here) when I first saw Devo on Saturday Night Live come out and do that cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction." The second tune later in the show was "Jocko Homo" and my brain was screaming "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WITNESS!!!"
A few years back I had the privilege of helping install a large scale kinetic work of art in a hospital. The work included classical figuration, old-school boat-building techniques, and a custom winch system installed with the help of a rope-access crew that spend half their lives climbing mountains. To this day we get letters from patients who find the work therapeutic as they navigate their healing journeys. Real work makes a real difference in lives.
I also love Matthew Crawford's take on learning from tradition: "The point isn't to replicate the conclusions of a tradition... but rather to enter into the same problems as the ancients and make them one's own." - From The World Beyond Your Head
Live performance. Even not particularly good live performance, if it's an authentic effort, is better than most corporate generated music let alone AI generated music. Go drop ten or twelve bucks, see someone new and local. Get out there
Ii have been playing the cello in the local orchestra and singing in a choir. Live performance does interesting things to me! And the people are super interesting.
Going to local musical events is pretty much a loser, though. There is no end to the boring stuff that is generated by living beings under the influence of minimalism etc.
The minimalism thing sounds a bit grim. While not a drinker, my local listening tends to be in bars and small theaters. Please keep playing and singing.
Brilliant analysis. I would add that our obession with identities of all kinds, on both the Left and the Right, work against the idea of a shared common humanity. As you put it Michaelangelo understood that the human condition was timeless, and I'm sure, that the whole point of art was to communicate what it means to be human. Placing identities before the human condition, and insisting that these identities have inherent existence, erases the idea that we have anything important to share with each other.
I've been working on a project for a couple of years putting Tang Dynasty poetry to music. I'm sure some would say this is cultural appropriation. But I do it because, for me, music unlocks the power of these poet's insights into the human heart. To suddenly feel that Du Fu or Bai Juyi have something to say to me in 2026, is mind-blowing. It's affirming of my own humanity.
Whether it comes in the form of a new Romanticism, I think the next artistic movement, if there is to be one, will once again take humanity as it's subject -- not isms or identities.
Paul Anka bought the music rights from a French composer and wrote the lyrics for My Way.
Dean Martin released the biggest hit of his career, Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime. This song was originally written in the 1930's. Just two examples of why originality has been replaced by past hits re-released for a new generation. That's why, when I hear a song, I'm more interested in the composer than the singer. The composer is the creative force that often goes unrecognized.
I keep listening to Van Morrison, who draws deeply on the black American music of his youth. Ray Charles helped him believe in his soul back in those days. And still does apparently.
Thank you for this article. It clarifies a number of issues with the arts which ought to be considered by all of us creative folk.
The one obvious option for all of us it to simply step away from the internet. For instance, in your own case, reviewing music: only listen to live performances, LPs or recordings external to the internet. You would avoid almost every fake.
For all of us, the option of stepping back into the real world, using traditional tools, traditional outlets for our creative ideas - print magazines and catalogues, word-of-mouth - galleries of any kind, whether pop-up galleries, sheds, bridges, tents - traditional means of communicating our ideas.
Not that I am rendering technology null-and-void, nor am I proclaiming tradition as the only way forward: both things can stagnate without the intention of originality, without ethic, without the need to evolve, without diverse human input, without integrity.
Our need for connection on root levels, the need for our core beings to communicate directly with each other, drives all of our activity as communities, whether it be on the level of survival and everyday needs, or for creative and philosophical pursuits, or on our spiritual or scientific journeys; our minds evolve with one constant: the need for interaction with other minds. Hence, the success of the internet as a tool for, or mode of, communication. Which, I believe, is its most redeeming feature.
Stepping out of cyberspace would allow us to refresh our vital sense of organic life and help us to realise that there are other options, not only the traditional ones, but other, new options which we have not yet discovered, for the continued evolution of our ability to communicate and enrich our connections and communities. Creativity can be stifled by such an intense and oppressive machine as the internet - it is being stifled! Set it free.
That's my take on the present problem we are facing. And it's my present choice. I am creating for the sake of it, because I love it, because it gives me peace, allows me to meditate, because I am caught up in it. I have no urge to be paid for it. People do pay me, but that is not my primary reason for creating. I do not create in order to advertise, or to make content, or to support a platform.
Live art will never be replaced by machines.
Art lived will never be replaced by machines.
Step back into the living world and everything will suddenly exist the way we need it to.
For almost Twenty years I have been hoping people will discover a new novelty, people actually playing their instruments live. No tracks, no miming, no lip synching, no auto tune etc. When I do solo saxophone gigs NO TRACKS show the melody, harmony, rhythm Don't be lazy be live.
Using a film reference, Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame, once pointed out that "Hollywood started going downhill, when they started paying directors and actors more than writers.".
People go to a film, play, opera, ballet, whatever for the storyline. The spectacles are nice, but it is always the story that carries the play, film et. al.
Yes, a lot of stories are just reincarnations, what matters is if they work, if they bring the story alive again, in a new casing. That is what people are looking for, the same goes with music, it has to flow.
I have largely ignored the superhero movie genre, but I did really enjoy the homage to Midnight Cowboy in the recent Wonder Man series. I think it might qualify as trying to "find universal wisdom in the past because of the timeless qualities of the human form and the human condition." Inspired me to re-watch Midnight Cowboy.
I just wanted to acknowledge how fantastic the comments section is for this substack. Most of the time I think the internet should just get rid of comments, but I always love the discussion here!
Terrific observation. I suspect that every culture grapples with this question differently. So you can watch the first ten minutes of a Hollywood movie and you can pretty accurately write the rest of the script before you watch the rest of the movie. But some European movies still retain the power to surprise.
Architecture has declined more universally. Historic preservation only began when nothing replaced something. No one was upset when an art nouveau building was replaced by an art deco building because each style carried its own unique grace. But when subsequent buildings weren’t just glass and steel, they were ugly, so the scramble to preserve the old occurred because modern architects have lost the ability to create new beautiful things.
When an artist does deliver a new take on a classic, often the response is confusion or dismay. People get way too comfortable with the familiar.
good point.
This is just a guess, but maybe it will come from live community theatre. Look at the way people are going nuts over Daniel Radcliffe on “Every Brilliant Thing” on Broadway, and WHY. Perhaps people will get fed up with mediocre corporate celebrities and the PR machine, and local celebrities will become the trend—ones you can actually come across at the grocery store. There’s no AI at the local community theater and limited special effects—just honest performances from real people. And the bad, unprofessional acting? Maybe it will come to be valued as “theatre grunge” and loved for its edgy authenticity!
Check out Angine De Poultine, a two-person band unlike anything I've ever seen. Here's a live gig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ssi-9wS1so&list=RD0Ssi-9wS1so&start_radio=1
IMO their music respects and incorporates the best of early blues, Gregorian chants, and Indian ragas. Every time I listen I hear something new and like them more.
I was going to break down what they do (not what they play), but watch and listen for yourselves. All I'll say is that the guitarist/bassist/effects guy boggles my mind, the drummer slaps, and even their costumes are part of the music.
As long as we have bands like them, all is not lost.
When I first saw them (the song was "Fabiank") I was transported back to (and I'm tipping off my age here) when I first saw Devo on Saturday Night Live come out and do that cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction." The second tune later in the show was "Jocko Homo" and my brain was screaming "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WITNESS!!!"
Fantastic stuff.
the comments section for that youtube elevates the actual video beyond spectacle to a total integrated art form.
Angine de Poitrine to be precise. As I learned from Rick Beato the guitar is tuned in microtones.
Thank you! This is great. They are on Bandcamp.
You gotta get off Spotify, my guy. Not only is it filled with AI slop, but it’s also airing ICE recruitment ads. Bad news all around.
A few years back I had the privilege of helping install a large scale kinetic work of art in a hospital. The work included classical figuration, old-school boat-building techniques, and a custom winch system installed with the help of a rope-access crew that spend half their lives climbing mountains. To this day we get letters from patients who find the work therapeutic as they navigate their healing journeys. Real work makes a real difference in lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBShqgyvuNM
I also love Matthew Crawford's take on learning from tradition: "The point isn't to replicate the conclusions of a tradition... but rather to enter into the same problems as the ancients and make them one's own." - From The World Beyond Your Head
I think a lot about Crawford's chapter on the pipe organ makers a lot, particularly in regard to what people and companies are doing with AI.
Live performance. Even not particularly good live performance, if it's an authentic effort, is better than most corporate generated music let alone AI generated music. Go drop ten or twelve bucks, see someone new and local. Get out there
Ii have been playing the cello in the local orchestra and singing in a choir. Live performance does interesting things to me! And the people are super interesting.
Going to local musical events is pretty much a loser, though. There is no end to the boring stuff that is generated by living beings under the influence of minimalism etc.
The minimalism thing sounds a bit grim. While not a drinker, my local listening tends to be in bars and small theaters. Please keep playing and singing.
Brilliant analysis. I would add that our obession with identities of all kinds, on both the Left and the Right, work against the idea of a shared common humanity. As you put it Michaelangelo understood that the human condition was timeless, and I'm sure, that the whole point of art was to communicate what it means to be human. Placing identities before the human condition, and insisting that these identities have inherent existence, erases the idea that we have anything important to share with each other.
I've been working on a project for a couple of years putting Tang Dynasty poetry to music. I'm sure some would say this is cultural appropriation. But I do it because, for me, music unlocks the power of these poet's insights into the human heart. To suddenly feel that Du Fu or Bai Juyi have something to say to me in 2026, is mind-blowing. It's affirming of my own humanity.
Whether it comes in the form of a new Romanticism, I think the next artistic movement, if there is to be one, will once again take humanity as it's subject -- not isms or identities.
Paul Anka bought the music rights from a French composer and wrote the lyrics for My Way.
Dean Martin released the biggest hit of his career, Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime. This song was originally written in the 1930's. Just two examples of why originality has been replaced by past hits re-released for a new generation. That's why, when I hear a song, I'm more interested in the composer than the singer. The composer is the creative force that often goes unrecognized.
I keep listening to Van Morrison, who draws deeply on the black American music of his youth. Ray Charles helped him believe in his soul back in those days. And still does apparently.
Dear Ted,
Thank you for this article. It clarifies a number of issues with the arts which ought to be considered by all of us creative folk.
The one obvious option for all of us it to simply step away from the internet. For instance, in your own case, reviewing music: only listen to live performances, LPs or recordings external to the internet. You would avoid almost every fake.
For all of us, the option of stepping back into the real world, using traditional tools, traditional outlets for our creative ideas - print magazines and catalogues, word-of-mouth - galleries of any kind, whether pop-up galleries, sheds, bridges, tents - traditional means of communicating our ideas.
Not that I am rendering technology null-and-void, nor am I proclaiming tradition as the only way forward: both things can stagnate without the intention of originality, without ethic, without the need to evolve, without diverse human input, without integrity.
Our need for connection on root levels, the need for our core beings to communicate directly with each other, drives all of our activity as communities, whether it be on the level of survival and everyday needs, or for creative and philosophical pursuits, or on our spiritual or scientific journeys; our minds evolve with one constant: the need for interaction with other minds. Hence, the success of the internet as a tool for, or mode of, communication. Which, I believe, is its most redeeming feature.
Stepping out of cyberspace would allow us to refresh our vital sense of organic life and help us to realise that there are other options, not only the traditional ones, but other, new options which we have not yet discovered, for the continued evolution of our ability to communicate and enrich our connections and communities. Creativity can be stifled by such an intense and oppressive machine as the internet - it is being stifled! Set it free.
That's my take on the present problem we are facing. And it's my present choice. I am creating for the sake of it, because I love it, because it gives me peace, allows me to meditate, because I am caught up in it. I have no urge to be paid for it. People do pay me, but that is not my primary reason for creating. I do not create in order to advertise, or to make content, or to support a platform.
Live art will never be replaced by machines.
Art lived will never be replaced by machines.
Step back into the living world and everything will suddenly exist the way we need it to.
Hoping that life is treating you kindly,
Sincerely,
Graeme
For almost Twenty years I have been hoping people will discover a new novelty, people actually playing their instruments live. No tracks, no miming, no lip synching, no auto tune etc. When I do solo saxophone gigs NO TRACKS show the melody, harmony, rhythm Don't be lazy be live.
Using a film reference, Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame, once pointed out that "Hollywood started going downhill, when they started paying directors and actors more than writers.".
People go to a film, play, opera, ballet, whatever for the storyline. The spectacles are nice, but it is always the story that carries the play, film et. al.
Yes, a lot of stories are just reincarnations, what matters is if they work, if they bring the story alive again, in a new casing. That is what people are looking for, the same goes with music, it has to flow.
I have largely ignored the superhero movie genre, but I did really enjoy the homage to Midnight Cowboy in the recent Wonder Man series. I think it might qualify as trying to "find universal wisdom in the past because of the timeless qualities of the human form and the human condition." Inspired me to re-watch Midnight Cowboy.
Pop will eat itself.
great band.
I just wanted to acknowledge how fantastic the comments section is for this substack. Most of the time I think the internet should just get rid of comments, but I always love the discussion here!
Terrific observation. I suspect that every culture grapples with this question differently. So you can watch the first ten minutes of a Hollywood movie and you can pretty accurately write the rest of the script before you watch the rest of the movie. But some European movies still retain the power to surprise.
Architecture has declined more universally. Historic preservation only began when nothing replaced something. No one was upset when an art nouveau building was replaced by an art deco building because each style carried its own unique grace. But when subsequent buildings weren’t just glass and steel, they were ugly, so the scramble to preserve the old occurred because modern architects have lost the ability to create new beautiful things.
Unfortunately many old and beautiful buildings are still being destroyed.
Yes. NYC is lucky that they have a relatively good law but many cities have weak laws if any.