Early on in October, the internet buzzed with a cover of Aegis’ “Halik” by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. The recording was uploaded to his official YouTube page shortly after the announcement that the PLUS63 Festival, which Weezer was supposed to play at, was canceled.
Cuomo has a reputation for being scientific about the craft of songwriting. Still, it’s eerie to hear how legitimately gigil he is when he sings, “‘pagka’t ikaw ang tanging laman ng aking mundo / aking puso / aking buhay.”
It boggles the mind to imagine how he studied Filipino phonetics to get this close. The recording left some folks, myself included, with the initial impression that this may have been generated with the help of AI. After all, Cuomo has also been publicly vocal about his fascination with coding, using algorithms to help guide him in songwriting. But Cuomo has also released covers of songs in Indonesian and Japanese, meaning that his linguistic explorations have been ongoing for years.
All in all, it’s just another day in this uncanny valley. The lines between human and computer in creative work have been blurred for some time now, and it’s simultaneously exciting and daunting. Technology is sophisticated enough to make us question ourselves. Whether a song was made with or without AI, does it matter if it still brings you to tears?
Existential dilemmas aside, this month’s line-up does not include that cover. Sorry, Cuomo. Close, but no cigar. After all, there are plenty of other exciting releases that came out this month for you to lend your ears to.
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