Developers of the long-promised songwriting and band creation software tool Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll may be beaten to the punch by Pete Townshend. In late April, Townshend will introduce the Method software for composers.
“You enter data about yourself, you share some stuff about how you feel, and you get back a piece of music,” Townshend told the gathering. “There was no computer in 1971 big enough or powerful enough to do what I wanted it to do, and of course, there was no Internet.”
Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll developer Michael Fingeroff is not worried. “The Method sounds like an interesting tool, but what we have in development will take into account the personal data and feelings of rock visionaries dead and alive.”
To illustrate his point, Fingeroff added, “Let’s see the Method compose new songs by a supergroup, for instance, consisting of Hendrix, Bonham, and Entwhistle. With Strat-o-Matic Rock ‘n Roll, this will be a reality.”
Is this where the term “gearhead” comes into play? 🙂
Quick, someone call Lou Reed! Finally, his music will sound the way it was always meant to sound!
Bravo, Townsman Scott! That is a contender for Post of the Day.
Very, very funny!:D
By the way, I treat this new piece with tongue in cheek, but the true-believing rock ‘n roll geek in me truly admires Townshend’s efforts and his long history of self-aware rock ‘n roll creation. Love even half of what he’s put out or not, the guy has treated his work like an art form and like a job. The Who typified the give and take of a hierarchically structured group of writer and performers that cannot avoid mixing it up and making something new out of the leader’s best-laid plans. The little clip I added from the Who’s Next Classic Albums episode I caught on VH1 Classics last week illustrates some of what I have tried to get at regarding the opposite situation, the free-flowing, everything’s cool-type of band that I typically don’t like.
Granted, I’m making broad leaps, assumptions, and generalizations.
Incidentally, I only recently stumbled upon a free copy of Endless Wire, and while no masterpiece, is not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. It kind of sounds like one of Pete’s Scooped anthologies of demos, only with Roger singing lead. The only really awful song is “In the Ether” with Pete singing in this abysmal Tom Waits impression — worth hearing once for train-wreck value.
Some rock n’ roll news – STAX is starting up again, and Isaac Hayes will be first to tour with a new album as reported by NPR on the SXSW website.