It was last Friday night.
I couldn’t be bothered watching the BBC coverage of Glastonbury. Down at the bottom of the road, in a nearby park, Simple Minds were trying their best to play the loudest ever outdoor gig in Glasgow. I sat down at the laptop, fired up the appropriate programme and got on with the task of coming up with the latest hour-long mix for the blog.
Job done. I gave it a listen. Was happy with the outcome.
But, try as I might, I couldn’t come up with a killer title after what had been a long day – it was now just after 11pm and the folk at the gig were now getting into their cars, slamming the doors shut and starting their engines. Sleep would still be a while away.
I went to Chat GPT (I know….I know!!!).
I typed in ‘What name should I give to a music mix with the following songs?’ and listed all 18 tunes.
This is what came back:-
Awesome mix! It’s got a great range of styles—funky, indie, alternative, and some classic bangers. Here are a few name ideas that might capture the vibe:
1. “Eclectic Frenzy” – Reflects the mix of genres and the energetic feel of the playlist.
2. “Tales From The Underground” – For a collection that has both depth and some edge.
3. “Sonic Mischief” – A nod to the “fun lovin'” vibe with a bit of rebellious energy.
4. “Waves & Whispers” – Mixing the laid-back sounds of some tracks with the intensity of others.
5. “Criminally Good” – A playful take on the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, with a nod to the rock and indie influences.
6. “Twisted Melodies” – For the mix of unexpected twists in sound and style.
7. “Offbeat Anthems” – Reflecting both the alt and indie influence, with some quirky throwbacks.
8. “Shadows & Lights” – Inspired by the contrast of dark and light themes in the mix, from moody to uplifting.
9. “Fuzzy Frequencies” – Captures the overall raw, fuzzy vibe some tracks bring.
10. “Rolling Through the Spectrum” – A playful nod to the wide range of styles and moods in the tracklist.
Pretty pish, eh?
I slept on it. And had a lightbulb moment, of sorts, in the morning. Thank you MES.
mp3: Various – Desperate For Entertainment
Beastie Boys – The Blue Nun
Fun Lovin’ Criminals – The Fun Lovin’ Criminal
Super Furry Animals – Golden Retriever
Robert Forster – I Don’t Do Drugs I Do Time
The Fall – A Lot Of Wind (Peel Session)
Radiohead – Paranoid Android
All Saints – Pure Shores
Hifi Sean ft. Crystal Waters – Testify
Working Men’s Club – Widow
Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love?
The Popguns – Waiting For The Winter
R.E.M. – Star 69
Maximo Park – Apply Some Pressure
Fontaines D.C. – Big
The Flatmates – I Could Be In Heaven
Close Lobsters – Skyscrapers of St Mirin
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
The Duckworth Lewis Method – Rain Stops Play
Enjoy!!!!!!!
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Is it the title of a mixtape or a brief description of modern Western societies?
Have a great month
If you ever make a mix tape called Fuzzy Frequencies I shall personally hunt you down and lock you in a room with Michael McIntyre and then swallow the key.
This is a great mix though.
Swc.
From The Blue Nun to Duckworth Lewis is an absolute gold run
Many are waking up to how chronically vacuous these ‘large language model’ AI tools are. I mean, what would you expect if you just sent a complete ingenue out to learn everything from the public internet? Shite in, shite out, as they say. I remember that old sherry ad on TV with Jeeves and Wooster and Jeeves’s strapline, “One instinctively knows when something is right.” ChatGPT is essentially the Bertie Wooster of information technology. He turns up here and says, “Twisted Melodies! Pretty clever, eh? Snort!” Looks around, fails completely to read the room, moves on, oblivious. The mental equivalent of nanotechnology turning everything into grey gloop.
The suggested titles are no worse than you’d find in the average daily rag of substandard music mag. What I find more offensive is the way the AI tries to talk to you like it’s an over-excited Radio 1 DJ. I prefer my robots to sound like robots, thank you very much. The world has far too many try-too-hard-to-be-hip arseholes of the human variety, we don’t need AI joining in.
Great mix though.
My admiration for the Close Lobsters and this music blog continues to grow.