I grew up on The Beatles.
OK, I came a little late I guess, as The Beatles broke up when I was in the second grade, and truly it wasn’t until the fifth grade that a classmate introduced me to the Red and Blue albums… But I fell in love with their music. I couldn’t believe that they were not together anymore, and like many young teens my age, I kept hoping that they’d reunite until Lennon was murdered.
I never stopped loving their songs.
What I did not expect was that I’d be listening to a new Beatles song almost 50 years later, in 2023.
I admit I was skeptical at first. I expected something that would bear a vague, soulless resemblance to what The Beatles used to be, a cheap attempt to cash in on their fame one very last time.
Instead, I was listening to an authentic Beatles song. One of their best, as a matter of fact. And I was looking at a video that brought Lennon and Harrison back to life, cheerful, funny, joyous, happy…
Bless Peter Jackson. There are “deepfakes” and then there are “deepfakes”… and I cannot think of a more appropriate, more respectful use of AI, bringing legends of the past back to life, as in this video.
I have listened to the song and watched Peter Jackson’s masterful creation at least five times in a row. And every time, I was almost in tears.