This is how it begins (Sept 21, 2023):
“I have this intriguing idea for a project centered around Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. I believe she lost the rights to it at some point and subsequently re-recorded it. In homage to this situation, I plan to re-record 1989 using an AI tool that I’ll train with my own voice. Afterward, I’ll replace the lyrics in the original version, not Taylor’s rendition, and release it on YouTube, possibly elsewhere, though it may raise some legal concerns.
One question that arises is whose copyrights am I potentially infringing upon? I am willing to compensate for the usage, much like Ryan Adams, who was presumably did when he recorded Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, and certainly, for the father John Misty recordings of Ryan Adams’ 1989 album. This project involves numerous layers, making it beautifully complex.”
History:
Several years ago, I became enamored with the parody covers performed by Josh Tillman, also known as Father John Misty, singing renditions of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album. This fascination coincided with my growing appreciation for FJM and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It didn’t hurt either that the video featured Aubrey Plaza in a striking role.
I even managed to incorporate a discussion of Taylor Swift into one of my lectures for my Intro to Digital Media Arts class. I admire the sense of appropriation displayed by Ryan Adams when he covered the entire album 1989. While it may not be entirely fair to Ms. Swift, who has faced numerous challenges in her career, she always seems to handle them with grace. I often jest about Ms. Swift, but I hold her in high regard as a performer deeply dedicated to her audience and her craft.
What do I mean by “mishaps?” Well, there was that infamous incident with Kanye West, where she was interrupted, and the entire conversation about her work got derailed by ego. Then, there were the master recordings of her first six albums, which ended up in the possession of her record company and were regrettably sold to hedge funds, even as she attempted to buy them back herself. The silver lining in these two incidents is that she is now worth more than Kanye West, and she has re-recorded her early albums “Taylor’s Way.” It’s a tale of poor judgment on Scooter Braun’s part, betting against her for a quick profit on her workf. The re-release of her albums not only made her a substantial sum of money but also granted her complete ownership of the new master recordings.
Now, let’s talk about the album 1989, released in 2014 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_(album). It’s far from an unremarkable album, featuring several chart-topping hits and selling millions of copies. This album played a pivotal role in Taylor Swift’s transition from a country singer to a pop sensation, spawning numerous big hits.
The song Blank Space has a delightful lilt to it and a terrific story laden video:
In 2015, Ryan Adams released his own version of the album 1989 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_(Ryan_Adams_album)), providing a track-by-track cover of Swift’s album of the same name. This reinterpretation was well-received, particularly by Swift herself, who regarded it as a fresh perspective on her work by a respected musician. Adams considered the album to exist in its own alternate universe, filled with joy and inspiration. I view this as a form of artistic appropriation and reinterpretation, akin to the work of Marcel Duchamp.
Adams song was apparently a hit with Swift who was pleased to have her work covered by someone she respected and grew up with. I find the cover and the change of lyrics (regendering it) to be a little off but the work of the whole album gains a certain amount of respect from me.
Josh Tillman, known as Father John Misty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_John_Misty), initially embarked on re-recording (in a parody fashion) the Ryan Adams tracks, taking them in the style of the Velvet Underground. However, he had a dream visitation from the spirit of Lou Reed, who urged him to cease the project. Consequently, he abandoned it. What Tillman did manage to record though is haunting and beautiful. The obvious parody of it, and in the style of the Velvet Underground sells me completely on the artistry. Tillman recorded Blank Space, and Welcome to New York by the time he received the revelation that derailed the effort to complete the 1989 album. We are poorer for this.
This leads me to 2023 when I am teaching a course on AI tools for artists and the above idea hits me. I spent an entire weekend working over and listening to the album 1989. I can’t say that the music has really stuck to me in an appealing way, but many of the tunes are quite catchy. I recorded and trained an AI algorithm on my voice (I read The Raven by E.A. Poe to stay on brand). The plan was to cover all of 1989 in the weekend and release an entire album, but guess what? AI is not that sophisticated, yet. And vocal effects throw it off, I hadn’t realized that there are quite a lot of vocal effects and background singing going on in much of the album.
But I am left with Uncle James Misty, my parody of Father John Misty because I am actually an Uncle James (drive me nuts, but it is what it is). So this is my parody of Josh Tillmans parody of Ryan Adams cover of Ms Swifts song Blank Space. Please enjoy and if I am able to continue this project, I’ll continue to post here
a musing 