🎙️ Songs That Don’t Suck: AI, Ethics, and the Folk-Rock Banjo Uprising
Welcome back to another episode of Songs That Don’t Suck, where your host Mark Bradbourne does the heavy lifting—sifting through hundreds of new releases to find the rare gems worth your time. But this week isn’t just about good tunes. It’s about a very big question posed in a Medium article by Sven Welt:
“AI will kill music… but do we care?”
Mark cares. Deeply. And after this episode, you just might too.
🤖 Will AI Kill Music?
Sven Welt’s thought-provoking article triggered Mark in the best way possible. The premise: what if AI could generate 10,000 “new” Beatles songs? And more importantly, would we want them?
Mark breaks it down:
- AI lacks human creativity—it can only predict patterns based on existing data.
- While humans are inspired by real-life experience, AI lacks any lived reality.
- Future listeners might live in isolated “musical bubbles,” generating bespoke tracks from AI without ever sharing a cultural moment.
💬 “AI feeds off our art—and when the creatives stop creating, what’s left?”
Mark’s not just ranting—he’s rallying. To Gen X and Millennials who remember saving up for physical albums and memorizing liner notes, this is a call to action: value music. Support artists. Push back against mediocrity-by-algorithm.
🎶 This Week’s Songs That Absolutely Don’t Suck
Despite the heavy AI talk, Mark delivers his signature weekly lineup of handpicked tracks—and it’s a genre-bending joyride.
1. Bridge City Sinners – “Midnight to Vice”
🎻 Dark Folk | Southern Gothic | Vaudeville Vibes
A listener recommendation (shoutout to Deborah!), this track feels like a ragtime-folk fever dream. Trumpets, clarinets, banjos, and sultry vocals make it sound like Hadestown’s gritty cousin.
“Honestly, it’s almost vaudevillian—and I’m here for it.”
2. Lev UFO – “Bills”
🎸 Alt-Funk Rock | Bizarre String Tones | Groovy as Hell
Think early Beck meets a Russian banjo. Mark suspects some hybrid of a baritone guitar, deep banjo, or maybe a bass balalaika? Either way, it’s weird, it’s rhythmic, and it slaps.
3. The Castros – “Drugs Don’t Sway”
🎤 Indie Pop Rock | Arctic Monkeys Adjacent
Skanky guitars and dynamic song structure reminiscent of early Arctic Monkeys. A little poppier, a little buried in the mix, but definitely playlist-worthy.
🎧 “Keeps things interesting with contrasting feels—really dig the groove.”
4. Ash Ravens – “I’ll Be Over You”
🪕 Folk Rock | Bouncy Harmonies | Crowd Pleaser
More banjo! More energy! This track screams “festival singalong.” Mark compares them to Carbon Leaf and dreams of seeing this one live with a swaying, singing crowd.
5. House of Protection – “Pulling Teeth”
🔥 Post-Hardcore | Spoken Word Meets Screamo | Guest Rec
With a special intro from Rico of Rock and Roll Autopsy, this track is an emotional mosaic. Big wall-of-sound guitars, spoken word verses, and sincere lyrics make it a standout.
🎙️ Rico: “This feels intense in every section—cohesive, loud, and worth your time.”
📢 Final Word: AI Ain’t Art—Yet
“Millennials and Gen X remember when music was worth something. That’s why we care.”
Mark reminds us that this podcast is more than playlists—it’s a love letter to music made by people. Not predictive models. Not code. Real instruments. Real stories. Real voices.
📸 …and I quote…
❝ AI will kill music—but I care. And I think you care too. ❞
— Mark Bradbourne, Songs That Don’t Suck 🎧
