For the past few years, the once-transgressive rock legend Nick Cave has used his Red Hand Files newsletter to document his evolving view of the world and the mellowing that comes with age. He has now mellowed on a subject that still pissed him off a few years ago: The spread of generative AI. In 2023, for instance, Cave described AI as an "emerging horror," though he insisted that he wasn't too worried about it because it sucks too badly to replace him. But now, Cave has changed his tune on generative AI, sharing a new AI-generated video for his 1985 Bad Seeds classic "Tupelo" and writing about how he has changed his mind on the issue.
Every Red Hand Files post is framed as a response to a fan's question. In the latest edition, from this morning, Cave answers someone named Foley, from Anchorage, who asks, "Is changing your mind about things a sign of weakness?" Cave would like you to know that it is not a sign of weakness, and he goes on to tell a story about how a friend and collaborator, the Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik, recently surprised him by making a new video for "Tupelo." (Dominik has directed a couple of Nick Cave documentaries, and Cave and Warren Ellis scored his movies The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Blonde.)
Cave said that he was skeptical about Dominik's use of AI, linking back to his older writing on the subject, but he says that Dominik told him, "Jesus, suspend your fucking prejudices and take a look!" Caved did, and he liked what he saw. Here's how he describes the response that he and his wife had:
To our surprise, we found it to be an extraordinarily profound interpretation of the song -- a soulful, moving, and entirely original retelling of "Tupelo," rich in mythos and a touching tribute to the great Elvis Presley, as well as to the song itself. The AI-animated photographs of Elvis had an uncanny quality, as if he had been raised from the dead, and the crucifixion-resurrection images at the end were both shocking and deeply affecting. Susie and I were blown away. As I watched Andrew’s surreal little film, I felt my view of AI as an artistic device soften. To some extent, my mind was changed. “It’s a tool, like any other,” said Andrew.
If you're curious, you can check out Andrew Dominik's new "Tupelo" video below. But I'm not watching because fuck that shit.
