What happens when computers make technique irrelevant? AI people. The end of the Uncanny Valley. The role of the magician in performance. Porn. Straight to the Lizard Brain. Neuromancer. Making Sexy Time.

Roger CortonSo what’s on the agenda today?

JCHthispersondoesnotexist.com

RCThat is really something.

JCHTo be clear, all the images you see there are artifically generated. They are not real. I don’t think a lot of people get it until it’s explained because it’s so ‘real’. We’ve crossed that Uncanny Valley.

RCI remember that rant! That was back when CGI characters still had that weird look. Like Jar Jar Binks (laughs). Now, you literally cannot tell. But what does it have to do with progressive rock?

[…]

The dam breaks. Superman, John Williams and The Crystal. I Dream Of Jeannie. Phil Collins: best progressive rock drummer ever? Battle Of Epping Forest. Exercises vs Idiomatic. 7/4 Rules. The pit of despair or the zone of eternal darkness? No more snippets. Artists only.

Roger CortonLast time you were fighting with, can we say, writer’s block?

JCHIt got better.

RC(laughs) Just like that.

JCHJust like that.

JCHAnd by the way, calling it “writer’s block” doesn’t capture the awfulness. But there’s something even worse.

RCOh no.

JCHI call it, the “post-orgasmic rage”.

RCOf course you do.

JCHWhen the dam breaks, it’s immediate. It sneaks up on me. And then there’s the moment where […]

A new way of working on a new album: It’s all down hill from here! The Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Galloping Gertie. Mussorgsky and Pictures At An Exhibition. Miles and Sketches Of Spain. Jupiter and Shitty Donuts. Moby Dick and Ahab.

Roger CortonWait, there’s a new album?

JCHOh, hell no. But there is a cover.

RCWhat? You have a cover, but no album?

JCHExactly.

RCWhy are you showing this?

JCHWell, this is another composing technique.

RCSay what?

JCHI kept having these ideas and wondering how they all fit together. And then I saw this picture and something just hit me. This is it. I don’t know what it means, but this is it.

RCOK. The image fits all your ideas.

JCHNot exactly. But I knew it was part of […]

Solid State Siren v2020. Why are we talking about another ancient record? What does this have to do with the new stuff? Mr. Natural? Dr. Evil? The Melvins? You notated everything? Compression is the secret sauce. Maybe your tools do matter. The tone changes how you play. Rosanno Sportiello and Late Night Muted Piano. Making beer out of oatmeal during a pandemic.

Roger CortonYet another “Version. Twenty. Twenty.” The Solid State Siren.

The Solid State Siren v2020

JCHI like that. Can you do it in that Movie Trailer Voice Of God? “Lockdown! Twenty! Twenty!” Dunh, dunh, dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnh. (laughs).

RCYou just did. Happy Independence Day!

JCHI don’t feel very independent right now.

RCI know what you mean. I can’t tell one day from another.

JCHYes. So to get to the point, why do I keep bringing up old material? I mean. Is it even worth doing a new rant? […]

Home v2020. Why are we talking about another ancient record? What does this have to do with the new stuff? Gentle Giant. Tchaikovsky. Odd time signatures that don’t sound odd. Sloshy things. Glenn Miller Disease. Boxing the compass.

Roger CortonWhy are we talking about Home? New release? Didn’t we head down memory lane last time?

Home v2020

JCHAs we discussed last time ya gotta go back to go forward.

RCThat isn’t what we talked about at all.

JCHI wouldn’t know. You know I never listen to me.

RCMe either (laughs). But seriously, why do a new CD? It ain’t for the money.

JCHOh, I dunno. It’ll make maybe one mortgage payment. It’s a much better mix now. And then there’s the notion that I drifted.

RCOK, a lot to unpack there. Money first.

JCHAlways. Of course, I do versioning.. as with software. I get […]