Challenged by a friend last week on why I’d never done a Christmas song, I protested it wasn't really me, and besides I didn’t think I had it in me to write suitably Christmassy lyrics. "No problem”, he said, "we’ll get ChatGPT to do it for you!", upon which he instructed the AI to generate Christmas lyrics in the style of Steven Wilson. Which it proceeded to do so. By the yard, in fact, I was shocked at how instantaneous and easy it was to guide it ("don’t actually mention Christmas" we said to it, "make it feel more lonely”…etc)
I’m still not entirely sure what I think about AI, the knee-jerk reaction is to consider it a threat to a musician like me, but it’s clearly not going away, so this is my experiment to try embracing it and using it as a tool in the creative process. And of course also to have some fun doing something I would never normally have thought about doing, the archetypal seasonal song. December Skies is the result, swiftly recorded last weekend and written in collaboration with an Artificial Intelligence version of myself. I wonder what people will make of it. I wonder what I make of it.
In keeping with the artificial intelligence theme, the visualiser for December Skies has also been generated using a purpose built AI system created by Miles Skarin. The video is based on imagery drawn from some of my previous videos then placed into 2D and 3D backdrops.
Music by Steven Wilson, guitar solo and backing vocals by Randy McStine.
December Skies (lyrics by ChatGPT).
In the hush of a long winter’s dream
Through a window the candlelight gleams
Veiled in whispers the stillness of night
On a canvas of stars in the sky
All the world sleeps on in silence
Wrapped in a blanket of snow
But when the morning awakens
The beauty of life starts to flow
December skies will carry me home
In the forest where moonlight it shines
The grip of the frost on the pines
Then the air weaves the warmth of a song
Still the heartbeat of winter goes on