triciathetree wrote:

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lipglossed wrote:

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I'm still not sure about the video I can see what they're trying to do, obviously, but all the same, they have still have used AI to do it. I understand it conceptually and how it ties in to past Pulp subjects (like the tongue-in-cheek 'Bad Cover Version' music video or the fake airbrushing of the His 'N' Hers and This Is Hardcore covers). I know it's an ironic statement, but I dunno, it feels slightly cheapened to me? Especially given what we know about the power-guzzling nature of generative AI. It's an attack on AI but they have still ultimately gone and used it to do so.
I don't think it stands next to previous Pulp videos in terms of quality.

But these are minor grumbles in the scheme of things, and I'm so enthused about this song and the new album!!!

-- Edited by lipglossed on Thursday 10th of April 2025 02:18:50 PM

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 Agreed I feel conflicted about it. I appreciate the message but its still using AI at the end of the day for sort of an overall lazy video 

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 Same here, not a big fan

lipglossed wrote:

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The actual album cover isn't AI-generated is it? Hope not, I think it's the image that he fed into the app to get that part of the video...

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 It looks unperfect enough to not be AI. 

lipglossed wrote:

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I'm still not sure about the video... I can see what they're trying to do, obviously, but all the same, they have still have used AI to do it. I understand it conceptually and how it ties in to past Pulp subjects (like the tongue-in-cheek 'Bad Cover Version' music video or the fake airbrushing of the His 'N' Hers and This Is Hardcore covers). I know it's an ironic statement, but I dunno, it feels slightly cheapened to me? Especially given what we know about the power-guzzling nature of generative AI. It's an attack on AI but they have still ultimately gone and used it to do so. Didn't have that on the cards.
I don't think it stands next to previous Pulp videos in terms of quality.

But these are minor grumbles in the scheme of things, and I'm so enthused about this song and the new album!!!

 

-- Edited by lipglossed on Thursday 10th of April 2025 02:19:27 PM

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Remember Jarvis' heritage though making the amazing old Warp videos.  To me the grotesqueness of this was quite a call back to say the Aphex Twin/Come to Daddy sort of stuff

Incredible song. What a wonderful thing to wake up to!

I really don't have a lot of time for it. Sorry. I mean, I too can recognise it as irony but that doesn't give it a pass. The press release for the single reads more like he was simply fooling around with AI for shits and giggles. Knowing the hideously wasteful environmental impact of AI, and the fact it's putting tons of artists out of work right now, hopping on the bandwagon as a means to decry it just feels cheap, slapdash, and unworthy of Pulp. It's Facebook boomer-humour, not a genuine or earnest sentiment. Yes, the results are preposterous and soulless, but of course they're going to be - yet anyone who thinks the opposite isn't going to see this video as soulless either, are they? It's not an effective satirisation because the pro-AI people are just gonna go "Look, Pulp used AI for their video!" It's not a particularly sophisticated artistic statement.

I'm sorry if this all seems a bit po-faced, sense of humour failure or whatever... I know it's all meant as tongue-in-cheek, I know the results are laughable, but for me - and this is strictly IMO - it kind of cheapens the wonderful single put out, this amazing, reflective, moving song, that instead of accompanying it with a more sincere or earnest visual (hell, why not just show us the original photoset set to music?), or something a bit cleverer that interrogates the AI a bit further, they've gone with... this. And I know it's meant to look bad, but maybe the first Pulp single in twelve years should have a video that looks good! Why the self-deprecation?

It'll age incredibly poorly besides Pulp's other videos. And they didn't need to go the whole hog and give us 'This Is Hardcore 2.0' - think about the moving photoset that accompanies 'Glory Days' live, why not just use something like that? They didn't need anything high-effort or complex, but this feels like the lowest common denominator. Firing up an AI to laugh at the results is ultimately still using the AI. I'm sorry, but self-aware drivel is still drivel. 

(Not meaning to jump down your throat, Pip! I just needed to rant I think.)

-- Edited by lipglossed on Thursday 10th of April 2025 06:10:57 PM

weej wrote:

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I agree with you lipgloss, but what I have to remind myself quite often is that lots of people (including most of the artists I like) are not as chronically online as I am - the zero tolerance stance on AI is something fairly recent, and even a year ago lots of people taking that stance now were happily playing with it like this. Using AI to mock AI is like a joke which we're all tired of now, but things take longer to filter through if you're not on Twitter / BlueSky all the time.

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 That's a fair enough point. Will have to admit I'm probably even more chronically online than you.

I agree the use of AI is disappointing. I wish they'd done a regular music video instead of this, but it is what it is. I'm glad I listened to the song first before I watched the video, because it probably would've impacted how much I enjoyed my first listen. I'm just trying to put it out of my head and not let it affect how excited I am about the song.

Is it that disappointing ? Like every revolution, sure its gonna take some work away.

But my view on the matter is that like fake pop music vs indie music, there will always be a market for non AI music, videos... etc. Because people still want to connect with reality. Maybe not this generation, but the next could take the next turn. Look what happened with vinyls, and cassettes. And Organic food, and analog albums vs digital.

If there was a way to tackle the subject, that was the way to do it. Its smart. Could have been different or better.

But there's still hope for a music genre with non AI in it. We will have movie category "Non AI" just like "Comedy" or "Thriller". There will be a "Non AI" music category soon enough too. And it will still make tons of money.

triciathetree wrote:

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weej wrote:

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I agree with you lipgloss, but what I have to remind myself quite often is that lots of people (including most of the artists I like) are not as chronically online as I am - the zero tolerance stance on AI is something fairly recent, and even a year ago lots of people taking that stance now were happily playing with it like this. Using AI to mock AI is like a joke which we're all tired of now, but things take longer to filter through if you're not on Twitter / BlueSky all the time.

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Still dont love it but this Is very true. Many people my age dont even know the environmental impacts of AI because they simply arent online enough to know and just view it as a funny tool. I was discussing this with a friend and again, not an excuse but Jarvis IS in his 60s and undoubtedly not online a lot

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 Yeah, that's also a very fair point.

I don't want my negativity to swamp the thread when we've got such an amazing song and I'm so bubbling with excitement that Pulp are back and getting a new album! Like, if any of Pulp are reading this, I know I've been really harsh on the video but I love the song so much !!

I've been repeating this song since morning and will continue for a couple of days. lovely!

-- Edited by lucyduck on Thursday 10th of April 2025 07:48:31 PM

Video aside, I'm really so in love with this song. It made me cry a bit my first listen. I saw it live in September so it feels really special that it's the first single. I knew I was going to love the studio version, but it still blew me away. I still can't believe we're getting new Pulp music!