Randy Travis feat. AI “Where That Came From” – Weird or Cool?

The legacy of Randy Travis will go on forever and ever (amen) because he’s been the embodiment of country music for many, many years. If it’s often about drinking, breaking up, or losing a dog, Randy has sung about or lived through all of those things publicly. I guess it makes sense that he’d be part of the new frontier in music as it clashes with artificial intelligence. Case in point: His new song that was created with AI.

A lot of people are conflicted, as I am, about this AI-generated song because on one hand, it’s great to hear his familiar and comforting voice again… but on the other hand… is this use of AI going to be the beginning of a messy relationship between music, music fans, and artists?

I guess I’ll answer that question with another question: When is the last time a part of technology was created but WASN’T abused? Never. Never is the answer. So AI might be cool in some ways, but it’s going to be completely exploited, misused, and corrupted. Thinking about this more, I was reminded of cassette tapes. In the early 1990s I used my parents stereo system to record songs off the radio. I’d sit on the floor for hours listening to music, waiting for my favorites to come on, making a mixtape to listen to on long family trips to Florida. Cassettes, stereo recorders, both made with good intentions but abused by a nerdy high school freshman. That’s just one example of technology meant for good that was used in an unintentional way that might be considered hurtful or wrong. Artificial intelligence will be no different.

With that said, it’s remarkable how well they recreated Randy’s voice for this new song. But something about it doesn’t sit right with me. He never sang the song. It’s not his real voice. It’s nice that he gave approval and was involved, but I think this YouTuber has nailed part of the issue right on the head:

We’re in the wild west of AI which means a lot of things are going to be destroyed and people will be hurt on our way to find gold… and soon the robots will say I don’t need you anymore… while the anti-AI crowd will be saying… I told you so…

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol’s Fab 5 – Judges Are Annoyingly Positive and Who Wins It All?

There are only a couple of weeks left in this season of American Idol! It’s gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday the judges were kissing up to Juan Pablo’s daughter (who was a terrible singer, mind you) but now there are only 5 contestants left – Abi Carter, Triston Harper, Emmy Russell, Will Moseley, and Jack Blocker. Each has their identifiable voice and defined style and while I picked Jack to become the next American Idol, I think the real battle for the top spot is between Emmy Russell and Abi Carter.

And Then There Were Five. Once again, the judges were all flowers and blue skies in last night’s episode. Gone are the days when the judges were more like… well… judges.

The absurdity of the judges being so positive peaked last week when Lionel Richie told a contestant that if he kept fooling around (and singing so great), he might win this thing. That contestant was eliminated at the end of the episode. Either the judges are completely out of touch or they aren’t sharing their true feelings.

But I’ll share my true feelings… Emmy is going to win American Idol. Second place to Jack and third goes to Abi.

Who are your favorites and who do you think will become the newest American Idol winner? Share in the comments…

-Out of the Wilderness

Surfing on Florida’s Gulf Coast!?

It doesn’t happen often that the Gulf coast of Florida has waves big enough to surf but at St. Andrews State Park recently, the conditions made it possible and surfers made the best of it. I can’t say enough positive things about St. Andrews but I’ll save that for another post. For now, let’s get to the last images of surfers sitting on top of the world and if you missed it, here are the first sets of photos — St. Andrews surf 1 and St. Andrews surf 2.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Triathlon is Here… and So Are My Nerves!

I keep thinking of that Taco Bell commercial starring Joe Keery, a horror about nacho fries… and no, the scary part isn’t the upset tummy Taco Bell is bound to give you. The climax of the ad goes like this, the guy is haunted by nacho fries but he exclaims, “You don’t consume me, I CONSUME YOU!” Replace nacho fries with tomorrow’s triathlon and I’m that guy. The race has been consuming all of my thoughts.

The race is tomorrow and this whole week I’ve been a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The nerves! I’m most anxious (or looking forward to the most?) the swim portion because that’s hopefully where I’ve improved a lot. I’ve also set goals for myself and I *think* they’re realistic. It’s a 600-yard swim I’d like to finish in 13:30, a 16-mile bike in 53:00 and a 5K run in 22:30. Accounting for 3:15 of transition time, that brings the total to 1:32:15. So naturally I’ve set my goal to finish under 1:30:00… as well as placing in the top 20 overall and top 3 of my age group. It’s hard to tell which of those could come true so I think that’s what my nerves are about. I don’t remember this level of anxiety in the last races and I’m not really liking it this time around, if I’m being totally honest. Now I know what that Taco Bell craving feels like. Thoughts of the race are keeping me up and night and I know that that isn’t good for my health… just like Taco Bell! 😜

Adding to the internal drama, an email to participants revealed that the water temperature is over 81° so wearing a wetsuit is at each racer’s own discretion. Oh great, telling an indecisive person to make another decision! Thankfully, I’ve joined a group of triathletes that have oodles more experience, talents, skills, knowledge than I do so maybe I’ll just do whatever they do.

Updates coming soon…

-Out of the Wilderness

Emmy Russell Goes Viral – American Idol

People’s version of what “going viral” means varies but it’s generally used when something becomes popular quickly and organically. A picture of a blue (or black) dress, an odd answer during a Miss America pageant, or a guy becoming happily hysterical about a double rainbow. Those are actual things that were viral in the last decade or so. For this season of American Idol and maybe the entire series, the most viral video of a performance since William Hung’s “She Bangs” has got to be Emmy Russell singing her grandmother’s song, “Coalminer’s Daughter.” At the time of this post, just under 4 days since it aired, the YouTube video has over 810,000 views.

If any contestant is trending at the right time, it’s Emmy. Something about her sweet demeanor and her storytelling voice gained traction since her first audition.

I’m a man of my word so I’m sticking with Jack Blocker as my #1 pick and McKenna Faith in the top 3. But…. but….. but………….. Emmy is peaking at the right time. As Lionel mistakenly said to Kayko 🤔… “If you keep fooling around here, my friend, you’re gonna win this thing.”

If Emmy keeps fooling around, she’s gonna win this thing. Quite an accomplishment for a coal miner’s great granddaughter.

-Out of the Wilderness