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called“ Setting Yourself Up For Love,”, one of the tracks on the record, and thenthe third single will be“ Teenage Robots,” and then I don’ t know— there are two or three more after that, because these days, you put a single out, then two weeks later you put another track out, so we’ re doing that.“ On a Rocka” has been out for about three and a half weeks, and then we’ re putting out“ Setting Yourself Up For Love,” then after that“ Teenage Robots,” etc, etc. And I think the last track we’ re putting out gets into the wrong hands, I think, as well.
IE: If not AI-inspired, is“ Setting Yourself Up For Love” self-referential? And are you currently in love? DA: Well, the thing is, when I do this cut-up idea, it takes the whole writing process away from me as an individual. I don’ t have to sit down anymore and go,“ Okay. How do I feel about this, that, and the other?” When you start doing the cut-up thing,
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Daniel Ash, 2025 would be“ Boy or Girl” before the album comes on the 31st( of October).
IE: In“ Teenage Robots,” you sing about“ Teenage Robots … teenage lies.” But a robot isn’ t supposed to lie. DA: Okay, that song is basically about kids these days and how everybody’ s completely addicted to their phones, and we’ re all living with AI now. So it’ s a statement, and an observation, about that. We can’ t help thinking sometimes that we’ re creating a generation of zombies.
IE: Has AI entered your life in any way? DA: Uh, it’ s started to. But I’ m not a big fan. I just think that the negative side of it, by Christmas this year is going to be taken over to such a degree. And the people that I’ ve seen being interviewed who actually invented the whole thing are not sure where it’ s going to go because it could actually take us over. And that’ s a bit of a concern. There’ s that Porno For Pyros ' song,“ We’ ll Make Great Pets,” which I think could be the case in the future. And we’ re right on the verge of( AI) really taking over, but one of the last things I saw was specifically tied to December of this year, when it’ s really going to be the case where you won’ t know what’ s real and what isn’ t. So the Big Machine could take us over, and we might become obsolete. It’ s going to be very weird. Some people say that, as we’ re speaking right now, this could be considered The Good Old Days, compared with what’ s going to go on. But I mean, you can go back to when TV started, and people said,“ Oh, everybody’ s indoors! They’ re watching their TVs, and nobody goes out anymore!” That didn’ t happen. People would still go out. But with this AI thing, it’ s just completely Next-Level weirdness. And there are concerns if it
it takes you into places that you wouldn’ t necessarily go. And the subject matter can be whatever— it dictates itself in a way, especially when you start out, and you’ re just putting these lines together that sound good, and then the song writes itself then. You— or I— just start putting sentences together that look good and make sense, and the whole thing just builds. So, the way I see it, the subconscious is working, not the conscious mind. The subconscious takes over, so the responsibility is taken away from you, and the effort is taken away from you, and the subconscious takes over in order to write these lines. So by the time you’ re finished, you’ ve got a song that you didn’ t know you were going to write, as far as he subject matter went. So the way that one developed, just like they all do, is, it just took on a life of its own.
IE: Are there any problems you’ ve ever faced that a long ride on one of your motorcycles can’ t solve? DA: Good question! Going for a ride? So far, so good. That’ s all I can say. It’ s fixed me so far, and it pretty much fixes me for everything I can think of. I mean, I really hope that there isn’ t something that I’ m going to have to confront where going for a ride WON’ T fix it. But without sounding really superficial, I mean it works on a spiritual level, on all levels for me, it’ s my Transcendental Meditation, for sure, riding a bike. So I hope everybody has their thing, something that can get you away from being in your head all the time. And also, I would say to everybody, Get the hell away from your laptop and your phone and go for a walk or something, at least and smell the coffee.
Tom Lanham november 2025 illinoisentertainer. com 39