Let's say you're a fifteen year old Oasis fan with a guitar (as I once was). You learn to play by copying Oasis. Either you literally learn to play cover versions of their songs, or, if you're a little more ambitious, you try to come up with your own 'original' songs - though naturally these 'original' songs will very much be in the style of Oasis. That is, they will be derivative.
This is how we all learn. If it's music you start out trying to imitate your favourite bands, if it's art you naturally start out trying to draw or paint in the style of your favourite artist.
The hope is that eventually you find your own style, and this is what truly great artists do. However, it's an organic process, and even the greats are influenced by others. Oasis are a good example, as they wore their influences quite openly on their sleeve: the Beatles, T-Rex, etc, etc.
People claim that Oasis lacked originality, but this is just an untruth born out of that honesty over influences. Had they not had 'something special' about them they simply wouldn't have been as successful and loved as they were. Radiohead, Nirvana, the Beatles themselves, they all had their influences. It's just that most artists tend to be more coy about it. They might obscure their influences, or downplay their true influences whilst inflating more esoteric influences.
Now I'm not saying Oasis were as original as the Beatles (this has become a music article hasn't it), but the fact is, they wouldn't have been an 'A Tier' band had they been just another copycat act. Greatness has something 'fresh' or meaningful about it. It's hard to pin down what this is, but we recognise it when we see it. Wonderwall just works ..we like it. I could write another blog post attempting to explain why it works, but it does, and that's the main thing.
Most AI art tends to look derivative, but most art and music made by humans is derivative too. For every Wonderwall there are a million poor songs that sound either bad, or more likely, just plain boring. It takes a spark (of I know not what) to transcend this. I would think that AI art needs a human spark to excel as well, as, in my opinion, AI is just a very clever tool, or instrument even, that humans can play or play around with. I think you need a human to feel when that spark is there. "Yes, this works." This excites me.
Also, just before I end, it's worth adding for context that 'B Tier' bands can have some originality too.
For example, in a scene (or genre), you might get one or two truly original artists - that is artists with 'their own style'. Let's say with grunge it's Nirvana - they're the 'A Tier'. Then you'll maybe get a few orbiting moons that circle around that major planet - the 'B Tiers'. The supporting acts. They might sound a bit like Nirvana, they may even have a few really good songs that have 'something about them', but nevertheless they remain heavily derivative of Nirvana.
Now what this 'something special' or 'something about them' quality actually is, it's difficult to say. Can anyone ever truly have 'their own style'? What do we even mean by this?
Most people would agree that Nirvana had 'something about them', that they had something 'new'. (I would say the same was the case with Oasis, though this may garner more disagreement.) Either way, Kurt Cobain was once sat with a guitar playing and listening to other people's songs, which inevitably had some influence on his own music. Like the AI he absorbed them, churned them around in some way, then spat them back out. Adding something of his own life and soul in the process no doubt as well.
Again, it's hard to say what originality truly is, but if human artists were sued for copyright for learning and internalising the art of others, none would be left standing.
(Noel Gallagher being influenced by T-Rex
- badda bing)
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