Bi-Weekly-ish Newsletter #52 w/ 👖🌟Calvin Klein, 🎤🖤 Nick Cave, 🤖🎧Daft Punk, 🎸🌟Larry Collins and 🎵💻MXT.
Dear reader,
Edition number 52 and the first one of 2024.
I hope you all got back from a nice between-Christmas-and-New-Year's interbellum and got to be the worst version of yourself for those few days. I know I was, and I know I'm ready and excited for 2024.
This edition is once again filled to the brim with a mixture of music, tech, and culture, with an unintended but nonetheless prevalent overarching theme of what creativity might entail in the age of AI, as I sprout some thoughts on the last Calvin Klein ad, have ideas on a letter Nick Cave wrote on the use of ChatGPT for lyrics, and how Daft Punk is the epitome of authenticity. All this followed by a celebration of the life of master guitarist Larry Collins who passed away and a little promo for an event I'm attending next week.
Enjoy!
1. Calvin Klein: Surface Appeal vs. Deep Insight
Advertising Aesthetics and Authenticity Argumented
The latest Calvin Klein campaign has everyone in the creative and advertising worlds getting their panties in a bunch (pun intended). The brand has released a new ad featuring Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in a Television Series for his role in "The Bear," actor Jeremy Allen White.
The commercial is a visual feast: White, showcasing his peak calisthenics body, is seen walking around New York, casually undresses, and seamlessly does pull-ups in his well-bulged white Calvin Klein undies. He then lays himself out on a couch atop a building against the stunning backdrop of New York during golden hour. All this while Lesley Gore's rousing feminist anthem, "You Don't Own Me," plays in the background.
Despite the undeniable visual allure, the ad receives quite some negative feedback as it seems to skim the surface, shying away from embedding any truth or insight. BBH founder and ad Godfather Sir John Hegarty, in a recent LinkedIn post, observes:
"If this ad was expressing some kind of truth, or insight this would be a true classic. Creatives in the fashion industry should re-familiarize themselves with the dictionary definition of an idea: 'A thought or plan formed by mental effort. Note: 'mental effort.'"
To follow this up with a line, I plan to use every chance I get from now on:
"Art without truth is just decoration."
As much as I like that statement, maybe he's overlooking something vital here. Perhaps we've reached the advertising equivalent of "a show about nothing"; "a campaign without an idea!"
In an age increasingly dominated by influencers, where aesthetics more often than not trump substance, truth, and insights, perhaps Calvin Klein is intentionally mirroring this 'surface over depth' trend. Besides, if advertising aims to get products noticed, you can't argue with the results.
*Last minute add. The “idea” for the 1992 CK ad with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss apparantly was that “the best protection against AIDS is to keep the Calvins on”😳.
2. Nick Cave's Creative Clash: AI and Artistry
Challenging ChatGPT: Cave's Contention on Creative Craft
Nick Cave wrote an emotional letter for his Red Hand Files series in August '23. The letter addressed two fans' questions about songwriting and the role of AI, specifically ChatGPT. It gained more attention when Stephen Fry read it at Letters Live in November '23, and was later animated and released last week by the excellent YouTube animators Afterskool, video linked below.
Nick Cave is not a fan of ChatGPT. He labels it the devil and argues that the struggle inherent in creation imbues art with intrinsic meaning. This struggle is essential, he contends, not just for the creator but also for the audience engaging with the creation. In his view, an object created without suffering is just that – an object. And here, he echoes a sentiment similar to Sir John Hegarty's: "Art without truth is just decoration." According to Cave, as interpreted by Fry and animated by Afterskool, ChatGPT overlooks the notion of creative struggle, instead hastening the commodification of the human spirit by mechanizing imagination.
My admiration for Nick Cave is boundless – to the point where I'd like to shout my affection in all caps: I LOVE NICK CAVE!
His ability to endure and channel suffering into his art, creating works that inspire, emote, and exude an undeniable coolness, elevates him to an almost religious figure. Considering his personal tragedies, as highlighted in this New York Times article, and how his fans have been his salvation, Cave embodies the essence of an artist where struggle, suffering, redemption and truth collide.
However, I disagree with Mr. Cave and would even go so far as to "j'accuse" him of one-dimensional and conservative thinking regarding what creativity is and determining what constitutes a good, meaningful creative process for others. Yes, for some, ChatGPT may be a shortcut that avoids the pain he deems essential for meaningful art. Although I personally always prefer engaging with art and music that has been created from this perspective of struggle and emotion, dictating that as the only valid form of creativity for others is wrong. I argue that creativity's beauty lies in its diversity and the freedom of each individual to define their personal process.
Recall the 1970s when the Musicians Union in the UK campaigned against new technologies like drum machines and sequencers, fearing they'd replace musicians and calling them "fake" and urging to keep music “live”. Yet, did music lose its meaning? Or did these technologies open new avenues for artists to express themselves meaningfully? I see a parallel with ChatGPT and other AI tools.
What constitutes meaningful art shouldn't be dictated by Nick Cave, myself, or anyone else – it's the creator's prerogative. If an individual chooses to use the tools at hand to make that expression easier or more in line with what they aim to express, all power to them. It's probably not made for me, but I don't have to listen. Instead, I'll put The Birthday Party on repeat for the 1000th time.
3. Daft Punk in Disguise
Performance Puzzles: Pondering Presence and Persona
And speaking of things I LOVE!
Daft Punk has been a fascination of mine ever since my then-girlfriend, a couple of decades ago, got us tickets to see their pyramid show. It might have been the XTC, but everything seemed to connect that night. Scratch that... It most definitely was the XTC.
Their mysterious presence grew even more intriguing to me when they attended the Emmy Awards show in 2014, where they won Album of the Year. At the show, the robots dressed in white were sitting in the crowd, but later, it was revealed that the human members of Daft Punk were nonchalantly sitting behind the robots.
All this made me wonder about the importance of authenticity and presence and how blurry the lines between performer and performance can sometimes get. I am 100% sure that I attended the Daft Punk concert at the Heineken Music Hall on July 4th, 2007, but there's no concrete proof that Thomas Bangalter or Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo did as well, and whether it would even matter.
In 2015, as I was organizing the annual Cannes party for my old company, I looked into booking One More Time, a Daft Punk tribute act, complete with an AliExpress-grade pyramid and light show. Based on the belief that presence wouldn't matter, and amidst the glitz and the universal love for Daft Punk's music, the audience might not have been concerned about whether they were seeing the real deal or not. I even explored the feasibility of secretly having the "real" Daft Punks perform inside the AliExpress pyramid, unbeknownst to the audience.
However, a video surfaced last week showing the inside of the real Daft Punk pyramid. The complex setup of synthesizers, drum computers, mixers, and sequencers was astonishing. Seeing the sheer volume and intricacy of the equipment made me second-guess the idea. It became clear that replicating the true essence of Daft Punk's performance would be more complex than I had imagined. Take a look at the video below to see what I mean.
4. Remembering Rockabilly Royalty: Larry Collins
Guitar Greatness: a Genre Giant Glorified
Larry Collins of the Collins Kids passed away at the age of 79. Larry Collins was an absolute rockabilly-country legend who shredded a double-neck guitar like there was no tomorrow.
The Collins Kids, comprising Larry and his sister Lorrie, were an absolute teenage sensation in the 1950s and '60s. Their musical career waned until the early 2000s when new rockabilly aficionados rediscovered the band. In 2008, I traveled to Spain with my Rotterdam friends, The Ragtime Wranglers, who are legends in their own right in that scene. They were the backing band for the Collins Kids on all their European concerts. The show was terrific, and I remember realizing I was witnessing true living legends.
Lorrie passed away in 2018, and Larry died last Friday. The video below shows a 15-year-old Larry performing live with Joe Maphis and absolutely killing it on his double-neck Mosrite guitar in 1959. It's the best thing you'll see all day.
5. MXT: Where Music Meets Innovation
Transforming Traditions
New Year, new conference season. Next week marks the first one called MXT. MXT is a music-meets-tech event organized around the ESNS festival in Groningen, the Netherlands.
I am excited to be part of a panel/workshop where we will discuss the future of sync and how technology and emerging companies are changing the way we do business. I will be discussing Ringo (Beta out now! Feel free to contact me if you're interested). My friend Rémi Agostini will share insights from his company, Mewo.io, which is drastically improving the creative sourcing process for music in media. All of this under the guidance of my multi-talented friend Nitzan Hoffmann, who's working on countless music supervision projects, and FXR.
If you're around, come say hi, and let's meet for coffee, (alcohol-free) beers and egg balls. Looking forward.
Thanks so much and remember…
Marcel