ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2023-24

Realistically, I don’t think there will be any set list change as it costs money to change things, and they have not made any profit yet. For the 1 year anniversary, I expect if the hints mean anything from Ball that there will be a new interview with maybe Frida and the boys for Radio 2.

Thanks abbafanie. We forget that “exciting” in terms of ABBA usually means anything but in the media.

“Mamma Mia!” and “ITV” is a combination that is definitely to be avoided (indeed, even one or the other separately).

The future of ABBA beyond Voyage - ABBA AI?

Just seen this Rick Beato video, and thought it might be of interest to ABBA fans. Although Rick Beato doesn't mention ABBA (but he does The Beatles, Drake, and Kurt Cobain), the not-too-distant future implications are obvious enough. And my first reaction is not to like the implications. But it's going to happen anyway, I'm sure.

I find it fascinating and frightening, too, Gary.

Thinking a bit more about music and AI, music is music, I think - regardless of how it comes about; so even if I knew a new 'ABBA' song wasn't really ABBA, maybe I'd like it anyway, despite myself, and I would eventually find myself not bothered that it was AI.

I've read that the electrical/chemical reactions in the brain present a similar picture whether it be the real thing or something vividly imagined, so maybe hearing such a phony ABBA song/track would sound equally good to many listeners to the actual real ABBA. (Rick Beato says in the video that most of the people who heard it said to him that they preferred the younger, AI-fabricated, Paul McCartney voice to his actual older voice in the same song.)

I can certainly imagine enjoying listening to a 'newly discovered ' '7th Brandenburg Concerto by 'J.S. Bach, AI', for example. So why not a similar attitude to AI-created pop, too, I ask myself?

But maybe this is dangerous thinking, the slippery slope? An unacceptable quantum leap from the Voyage show? But what might be considered worse - or equally good or bad: simulated, phony, visuals of the ABBA members on stage, but based on the real them 40 years earlier, or simulated, phony, new 'ABBA' music, but using the template of their real music?

Very good point, succinctly expressed, Nadia; and I'm sure many, if not most, people will agree with you.

Of course, it wouldn't be fraud if a piece of music was clearly labelled something like "AI-FABRICATED". The listener would then be able to refuse to listen to it on principle if they felt strongly enough about it. The problem would be if future artists, suspecting or realising that AI would come up with something musically superior than they could, might pass off AI as their own creative effort. Depending on how sophisticated AI music-making got, in that scenario perhaps most listeners would be none the wiser. Or, dreaded thought: "This is too good to really be by [human artist] X!"

Maybe AI music is the inevitable extension of the musical patterns, styles, arpeggiators, etc, that have been pre-programmed into synthesisers and computer music workstation programs, and deployed by musicians for a long time now.

Gary’s profound thought for the day: that video for I Still Have Faith In You is terrific. (I hadn’t watched it for a while.) The song is pretty good too!

I'd like to think you're right, clumsylikeaclown , but the algorithms for AI are becoming more complex and sophisticated, including self-learning processes.

I remember years ago, Gary Kasparov, world the chess champion at the time, praising a computer chess-playing program for sacrificing a bishop to open an attack against the opponent's king - "A big day for computer chess", said Kasparov. And things have moved on massively since then. Nowadays, for about £80, you can buy a chess-playing program for a modern laptop that will beat a (human) chess grandmaster.

Of course, music is different matter, even so, I've no doubt at all that in the next five years music composing programs will astonish us with what they can come up with. Even now a computer and coding-literate jazz musician could give pop chord progressions so-called substitute 'colour chords' that could transform the feel of a melody for a pop song. And that's just a small facet of what can be done already.

Abba super fan's Bobby's brother new video, just some fresh air to breath.

LOL. Those Victor-Meldrew-as-a-punk dudes are hilarious. There are plenty of people who still celebrate punk and all the "cool®" stuff the Style Police will permit. Imagine getting in such a tizzy that other people like some of the music you hate? I can only imagine what a joy it might be to be cornered by him, mid-opinion, at a party...

No wonder,this '50 year Abba hatred' video has a lot of 'faulty stuff' and chronicle inaccuracies in there not to mention the use of some apalling phrases and words such as 'hatred','pop zombies','vomiting' and so on..But I just want to comment on something that this man is possibly unaware of,on his effort to explain his 'disaproval' on Abba's longlasting power noting one more solid reason that Abba's success is made of.Apart from all the mega talents and charisma these 4some had,It is what i call their 'friendly ability'.I mean Yes ok,there are also other legendary bands with loyal fan base but Abba belong to a special,rare category in which their fans have a very emotional connection.And in Abba's case this is very deep and longlasting with tight loving bonds.So whatever this guy or others say they should also keep this in their mind.Meaning that many of us also love them as people in an exceptional way and degree and just can't tear them out of our hearts.They consist some sacred part of our life no matter what all haters might say.It's not easy to overtake this.Their phenomenal second coming in 2021 with VOYAGE age was like lifeline oxygene for millions of people,some vital rain after 4 decades of drought in the musicverse.
Maybe Abba's disarming honesty and music purity is one reason why some punks even at the time were much attracted to this group avoiding the need to feel some rivalty.This band have survived all the past insistent critical toxicity and humiliation,a 40 years of discographic gap and is still present and big deal even after 5 decades, for some reason.
It's also called 'LOVE'.And that's the result of gratitute...that's the name of the game.BONO from U2 was so heartfelt while admiting some months ago that he couldn't fight his secret love for them anymore.Similar confessions were also made by BRIAN ENO long time back in that 2010 interview stating...'I Like Abba.I did then and didn't admit it.The snobbery of the time wouldn't allow it.I finally did when i heard 'Fernando'.I could not bear to keep the secret to my self anymore/And then from being sceptic i went over the top to the other direction.I really fell for them'.
Would you believe this?!Cheers everybody.

Oh, and I added that his little "punk bear world" must have been scattered to pieces when he learned that Sid Vicious was a huge ABBA Fan 😂

Blimey, he’s done it again.

"I don't want to," says Andersson, "and if I don't want to, the others won't. It's the same for all four of us - someone says, 'no' - it's a no."

The vibes I get though is that it’s more Benny saying no than any of the others.

I’m not a fan of Eurovision, so personally I don’t find this too disappointing, but surely even Benny could have managed a brief appearance on stage with the others. Not to actually perform anything.

Also not at all disappointed he appears to have ruled out Mamma Mia! 3 as I’m no fan of that either.

Still, I’m more excited about Björn’s comment about “not a reissue as we find that very boring”. There will be at least one reissue though - coloured vinyl box and picture discs for the Waterloo singles.

^^ That’s true… a refusal to perform or even appear live doesn’t mean they won’t send something in. For the 30th in 2004 they sent in Our Last Video (which thankfully turned out not to be). Even if they don’t do anything new, they could show the Waterloo sequence from the Voyage show which would be appropriate as it includes archive footage.

The 50th will possibly be the last major anniversary when all four of them are still alive, so they really have to do something big to mark it.

I don't wish to be a killjoy,  especially as I revealed the Björn interview,  but Benny might will have scuppered any such release too. It may just he yet another gold re release....