Peer-to-peer file sharing platform Soulseek has an interesting problem: it’s reportedly being swamped by AI-generated cover songs featuring the vocal stylings of none other than Homer Simpson.
Soulseek works in a similar way to file sharing programs of old, wherein users choose folders of files to share with the wider network, often containing music (via Vice). Currently, it’s said that “well over” 2,000 different Homer cover songs are in circulation thanks to the work of an unknown online prankster, which are then being reshared throughout the platform.
The track titles, artist names and meta data look exactly the same as the actual songs users are looking to download, so a folder full of hard-to-obtain bootlegs may in fact be a collection of exactly such tracks—just with the big yellow dunce layering his AI-generated dulcet tones over the top.
Speaking of which, an online radio station called D’oh FM (powered by Duff Beer and broadcasting live from Springfield, of course) appears to be playing a selection of the highlights. It’s not clear if this is the work of the same prankster who’s been polluting Soulseek’s network, but it’s certainly made my morning more entertaining.
I suppose you could make the argument that, in this modern day of auto tune and AI-enhanced vocals on many popular tracks, splicing in Homer Simpson’s vocal stylings over the top is just as artistically valid as anything else. I also just realised that I used the phrase “many popular tracks” rather than referencing actual genres, which makes me sound, ooooh, about 100 years old.
(Image credit: Reubs)
Which probably explains why I’ve missed the meme of AI-generated Homer Simpson tracks worming its way through the internet’s hivemind. However, in this case it appears to be mucking up one of the common uses for Soulseek, which is to find and provide access to “rare, underground, and independent music directly from other users’ shared folders”.
That’s according to Vice, anyway, and it’s far more hip and current than I could ever hope to be. It all takes me back to the days of Napster, Kazaa, and many other file sharing platforms that you and I definitely did not experiment with in our youth. LinkinParkNumb.exe really should have been a giveaway, shouldn’t it?
