A rock legend rethinks the machine’s role in music.
Nick Cave, once a vocal critic of artificial intelligence, has reconsidered his stance after filmmaker Andrew Dominik used AI to create a hauntingly beautiful video for Cave’s 1985 song Tupelo.
The clip, celebrating the track’s 40th anniversary, animates archival photos of Elvis Presley, weaving a surreal, mythic tribute to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Initially skeptical (having previously dismissed AI as a “grotesque mockery” of human creativity), Cave admitted he was moved by Dominik’s work.
“The AI-animated Elvis seemed resurrected,” he wrote in his Red Hand Files newsletter. “It was soulful, shocking, and deeply affecting.”
Though still wary of AI-generated lyrics and commodified music, Cave now acknowledges AI as a potential artistic tool.
His change of heart comes with a philosophical reflection: “The ability to change one’s mind is the very definition of strength.”
The video, blending technology and myth, may mark a turning point in the debate over AI’s role in art.
