If someone had told me in summer of 2021, when I started my bizarre story Odes to My Triceratops, that I would end up producing a fifteen songs-long album of studio-quality music out of its silly lyrics, I would have vomited out of happiness. I have become a jaded old man, I guess. Anyway, you can download the album right here:
Please tell me if you have any trouble downloading it. It would be quite sad if I intended to make it available only to screw up the delivery.
Anyway, this album features the fifteen songs included in the first part of that story (out of three). It’s a sort of a concept album that follows the troubles, particularly romantic ones, of amateur songwriter William Griffin from the years twelve to fourteen or so, as he enjoyed his youth with his blind next-door neighbor Claire Javernick and his best friend, the sentient triceratops named Lorenzo (featured in the banner of this site). William isn’t all that bright, nor all that talented, but that won’t stop him from producing as many songs as humanly possible in the hopes of processing his turbulent feelings.
I wouldn’t have been able to produce these songs if it weren’t for the magnificent AI service Udio.
Songs contained in this first album Odes to My Triceratops, Vol. 1:
Lorenzo
Lemonade and Willies
My Friendo Lorenzo
Better Dead Than Blind
Claire With a C
Fairy Tale Too Real to Be
I Am Your Stegosaur
For Claire, Who Can’t Read
Let Me Eat Your Stuff
Part Goldfish
No Magic Potion
Wait About a Month for Love
Helpless and Pure
Please, Play With my Guitar
The Burning Heart Inside Your Throat
Quite a few hits in this album. Check out the song “Fairy Tale Too Real to Be” right here, for your listening convenience:
I hope you are enjoying my forays into Udio‘s AI services so it will generate songs according to my absurd specifications. You better have been enjoying them, because I’m about to clobber you with five new songs, a few of them excellent.
They are based on the song lyrics included in my bizarre free-verse narrative titled “Odes to My Triceratops.”
First one is a grunge track called “Lorenzo.” Possibly my favorite of the bunch.
Next up, a soothing traditional folk song titled “Lemonade and Willies.”
Now check out this lovely lullaby titled “My Friendo Lorenzo”.
Listen to this uplifting song about three friends having fun, titled “Claire With a C”:
Finally, an energetic garage rock song titled “Fairy Tale Too Real to Be.”
As I was trying to figure out what free-verse poem of mine to use as lyrics for the magnificent AI-music generator Udio, I realized I had completely forgotten about my “Odes to My Triceratops,” even though Lorenzo the triceratops is featured conspicuously on the banner of my site. That bizarre narrative includes the lyrics of about three-dozen fake songs created by an amateur songwriter named William Griffin, as well as some written by his blind next-door neighbor called Claire Javernick. Why not just turn them all into actual songs?
Here’s the first one, titled “Better Dead Than Blind”:
The lessons I’ve learned from my brief time generating AI songs are ones that musicians have likely also taken to heart: first, if some part of the lyrics doesn’t translate well when sung, just drop it. Also, the main goal is to create a song that you’d love to listen to over and over. I’ve succeeded in doing so with the following song, based on my oldish free-verse poem “A Visit From Truck-kun,” an ode to isekai (that requires a severe rewrite, probably even a reimagining).
Isn’t that fantastic? My two regrets: the annoying typo at the beginning (having written “tell” instead of “tells” in the lyrics). Also, that I couldn’t extend the song again to give it a proper intro.
Anyway, the song was generated using the Udio service, so far the best AI music generator.
I’m reminded regularly of chapter 69 of my ongoing novel We’re Fucked, because I get random hits from visitors who likely expected something different from the search that led them to a page titled “We’re Fucked, Pt. 69.” Sorry, fellas.
Anyway, in that chapter, my deranged protagonist Leire comes up with an idiotic poem about feeling like a monster. The magnificent music-generating service Udio has transformed, with some help, Leire’s poem into a shitty 90s pop-rock song. Enjoy it if you can.
This song-generating business is addicting. I adore music, and I listen to it daily to shut out the world or get in the mood during freewrites. I can’t imagine the masterpieces we’ll be able to generate in a year or two.
Before I finally go to sleep at three in the morning, check out this absolute banger I’ve put together with Udio, so far the best AI music creator I’ve ever come across. This following song sings parts of my free-verse poem titled Sasquatch Goddess:
That one’s going straight into my tablet so I can listen to it during my commutes. It’s probably a good thing that Udio doesn’t allow you to extend the song more than thirty seconds beyond that point, because I was considering generating music for the entire poem.
Anyway, very strange and interesting end times we’re living in.
Tonight, shortly after I returned home from my afternoon shift, I came to know about this lovely AI music generator called Udio. Because apparently I had nothing better to do other than sleep, I used some parts of my oldish free-verse poem titled Dinosaur Apocalypse to generate the following song that in general terms could be considered music:
I’m not sure why I chose to extend that song from the original thirty seconds, given that many other mini songs the AI created from my instructions were far more pleasant. But I’m beyond questioning my actions at this point of my life. Anyway, check out that site; there’s lots of surprisingly great music being generated. If you’re one of those rabid anti-AI people, nobody can help you: AI is here to stay and will likely become more intelligent than the whole of humanity in a couple of years or so. Just enjoy the ride until AI kills us all.
A couple of weeks ago I came across this Japanese songwriter that, according to a quick google, released her first album in 2010, aged only 19. Her stuff is the closest thing to musical ASMR regarding the way it affects my brain. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by this world (which happens often), or I want to believe in beauty beyond what I can perceive, I put on my headphones and listen to Ichiko Aoba’s gorgeous music.
Check some of her stuff out:
You can quickly figure out the lyrics to her songs by googling the title in Japanese plus “english lyrics”. For example, these are the lyrics for the song above:
Spring, which the two of us waited so long for. Let’s walk where the gentle breeze takes us. Let’s give flowers we’ve never seen before Whatever names we want.
Summer, when you were born. Let’s talk beneath the trees, sunlight streaming down. Let’s adorn your soft hair With the light prancing the water’s edge.
Spring, summer, fall, winter. How many more Of these dates that come and go Will I get to count?
All the dates That are yet to come Exist so I can offer them To you.
Fall, when the two of us met. Let’s walk, dragging long shadows behind us. Let’s kiss like we did back then On that hilly road at twilight.
Winter’s here for a second time. Let’s quietly listen in On chilly, foggy nights. Let’s fall asleep keeping each other warm.
Spring, summer, fall, winter. How many more Of these seasons that come and go Will we reach?
Stay here next to me. Stay here forever Until that one day When the end, A blink, comes.
My current favorite song of hers is the following one, which is twelve minutes long:
Never ever forget, I never ever will. Here in this town, which is just a bunch Of cold, uneven rocks next to each other, The dim sun is shining ever so lightly on me.
Famous but nameless, unable to do a single thing And scorned by everyone in town, I lived all alone.
If I were one of those people who’ve forgotten the morning light, I would do nothing but look up at the sky. I’m a sham. I’m a fool. I’m a laughingstock. I’m an outcast.
We’ve spent so much time in darkness, And time has been so dark, That people have even forgotten that dawn eventually does come. We’ve stopped voicing our complaints And talking about our dreams with each other, But you and you alone, You’re the only one in the whole town Who’s never forgotten the light, who smiles at me.
Ah, you’re so precious, You and your adorable smile. You lit up the darkness of my heart And warmed me up.
I wouldn’t need anything else If I had you here at my side, If I could just hold you tight.
You precious thing, you.
Let me show you something nice. I can’t do anything, But I used everything I had to put together something.
A clockwork universe.
Keep it a secret from everyone, keep it a secret from everyone.
A sturdy steel frame and elaborate gears and an artistic depiction of the stars. Keep it a secret from everyone, it’ll be our secret.
The clockwork universe keeps turning and turning. Slowly, quietly. I used to wish that every day would be like this. Without you all I did was cry, an empty shell. The universe rusted together, the stars lost their dreams, And now all I do is look down.
The clockwork universe keeps turning and turning. Slowly, quietly. I used to wish that every day would be like this.
I’ll never ever forget, don’t you ever forget. Here in this town, which is just a bunch Of cold, uneven rocks next to each other, The dim sun is shining Ever so lightly on me.
Midway through my ongoing novel, “We’re Fucked”, I started linking songs in the Author’s Note section that often comes after the chapter. I wanted to have a convenient list at hand of the songs I have already mentioned, so I created a YouTube playlist: here’s the link.
Nobody has actually mentioned anything about the songs I’ve linked, so I don’t know if anyone has even noticed them or listened, but in any case, the playlist contains the fifty-six songs mentioned so far, and I’ll keep adding new ones as I write the following chapters.
Today I could have either developed the scaffolding of the next scene of my ongoing novel, or I could have played the guitar. For now I’ve done the latter. Maybe a mistake, because the booster shot caused me some lung issue and after singing it’s gotten harder to breathe.
As usual, I uploaded to YouTube the whole session of me playing the guitar and singing poorly. The link is below.
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