AI Experiment 01

So, January 5th came and after work, I relaxed and could not help but play with Colorify’s AI cover maker again. And this time I downloaded any I decided to keep. And I do not know if this is going to be a regular thing or not. But I have to say, toying with an AI generator is a lot of fun. So, maybe this can be a regular thing? Maaaybe? 😁

Now, what did I do with Colorify AI this time?

Well, I am a huge fan of the rock n’ roll band Blue Öyster Cult. I could dedicate whole blogs to talk about an album they produced. One of my favorite things about BÖC is how surreal and thought-provoking the lyrics to their songs are. And so I decided to copy and paste lyrics from some of my favorite songs by BÖC and put them through Colorify AI.

And HO! boy, the results I got from this experiment were . . . interesting.

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AI Experiment 01: Colorify AI VS. Blue Öyster Cult Lyrics

Goal: Produce twelve covers using the first result after adding twelve BÖC song lyrics to Colorify’s AI description input.

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I went with the Fantasy/Sci-Fi style for all the covers because that style fits BÖC. And for the most part, Colorifly did produce some really interesting covers. However, full disclosure, when inputting my favorite BÖC song’s lyrics in, the first result was a bit . . . dull. Then I tried it a couple more times and settled on something more interesting. So, 11 out of 12 of the images are the first try. My favorite song got special treatment, because why not?

Anyway, there is some rhyme and reason behind the order. The song’s popularity and how much I like the cover were factors. Overall, this is for fun and laughs, so let us get ready to enjoy more AI randomness! I will also include which album the song is from, because why now?

Number 12

“Take Me Away” from Revolution By Night

So, this song is all about someone obsessed with alien abductions and wanting to experience one. I am a little disappointed the cover does not have anything with UFOs or aliens. In fact, it looks kind of medieval and somber. The view of the moon and the cliff side city is pretty badass. But I do not know about that choice of hat for the person at the bottom there.

That hat looks kind of . . . suggestive 🍆

Overall it really is not an interesting cover. That is why it is on the bottom. And be prepared, we are going to see a lot more moons.

Number 11

“Dancin’ In the Ruins” from Club Ninja

Well, there are ruins. But with how many times the title is repeated in the song, there is no dancing. The lyrics to this song have some interesting imagery but this is really dull. And why are their railroads? I am a bit disappointed with this but at least it is eerie and post-apocalyptic. It had just enough to convince me to put it at second to bottom.

Number 10

“Shooting Shark” from Revolution By Night

There are a lot of lyrics to this song. So much so that pasting them in actually reached the limit. And the limit came right at the mention of the “shooting sh”—yeah. If you read the lyrics, yes, “train” is used several times. So, I should not be surprised that the cover features a train. But there are so many other metaphors and images in the lyrics. The train does look really cool though. The orange light and billowing smoke adds a lot of character. But no shooting sharks, so sadness overall.

Number 9

“Perfect Water” from Club Ninja

No surprise that the cover generated from a song called “Perfect Water” . . . is water. I am kind of impressed with how nice, smooth, and shiny the water is. It is like something out of a Bob Ross painting. It has so little interesting going on though. Besides a little splashing. The reason I put this one above the others at the bottom was the perfect addition of the title “Perfect Water.” It looks like it could be the cover used on a single for vinyl.

And I do have to applaud the AI for not generating word salad for the title, like it does some time 😝

Number 8

“Fire of Unknown Origin” from Fire of Unknown Origin

Okay, now we are getting badass here. I am disappointed that there are no fires. But the background looks like a nuke went off, so I guess that counts. Damn though, that image of “Death” walking towards the reader is amazing. I love the bat wings, the flowing dress, the shadows over the face, all of it is absolutely awesome.

What marked this one down for me is the word salad all over the place. I understand “Death” and “Away” but the rest of it might as well be another language. Also, for some reason, it is presented as a book on a white table. Which is random.

Number 7

“Black Blade” from Cultösaurus Erectus

Hell yeah! Now that is a cover! And look at what is front and center! A black blade! That sword is so gothic and DANK! I love it. And the figure in the background looks like an angel of death, ready to sweep vengeance and mayhem upon the lands. The red flares around the wings and the lightning in the background is so freaking good! And that title at the bottom, “Ta Sinens” makes no sense but it sounds awesome.

Question though . . . why the random forest at the bottom. And why is there a moth above said forest. An odd and random addition to an overall sweet cover.

Number 6

“Joan Crawford” from Fire of Unknown Origin

This legit looks like a murder mystery novel. I do love the yellows in contrast with the blacks. Now, why is there an Eiffel Tower? I cannot say, because the song makes no mention of such a thing. And we have our second moon, HOOT! I like the trees, they are so eerie and suitable for a horror novel cover.

Now the real mystery is who these two people are? The woman has to be the lead, a Nancy Drew-esque protagonist trying to solve some dark mystery. And with all the yellow, I am assuming the guy with her has to be the King in Yellow. I have no idea what this novel is about but by the image alone, I would so read this book.

Number 5

“Veteran of the Psychic Wars” from Fire of Unknown Origin

This is my favorite BÖC song. I could spend a whole blog talking about this song. But for now, let us discuss why I settled for this image. Because, as I had stated earlier, this was not the first result for “Veteran”.

The first result was just a whole lot of word salad with the red image of a woman’s face. Kind of generic, to be honest. Then the second result gave this shadowy figure with chubby fingers, blaaah! And the third was nothing I bothered to remember.

So a fourth try gave this striking image of a dude on a stage with all these lanterns in the background. This I like and found interesting enough to keep. The word salad is random and kind of distracting, especially with all the “M”s with the lanterns. But the dude with his arm out, I can almost imagine him singing like he is in an opera or something.

I would love to hear opera singers belt out “Veteran”. That would be beyond badass.

Number 4

“Astronomy” from Secret Treaties

This has to be the most surreal cover of the lot, IMO. I am impressed that elements of the lyrics are in the cover. There are doors, there are clocks, and there is the moon which can be “a light that never warms”. And windows are mentioned, one of the doors is half windows. This cover is just so strange but the song itself is so bizarre and trippy, it does match. I have to say, of most of the songs to covers, this one comes close to being representative of the lyrics.

However, number 3 fully represents its lyrics to the extreme . . .

Number 3

“Godzilla” from Spectre

So this, spoiler alert, is the most cohesive and legit of all the images. I would have rage-quit if Godzilla was not on this cover. And there is a bus too! And all that kanji I assume is the little bit of Japanese spoken in the song. I think this one worked out so clearly because there are very few lyrics to the song. So the AI had only so much to work with, much to its benefit.

I think the other results got all muddled because there are so many things going on in each song’s lyrics. Too much input can result in a confused AI that pops out some hallucinations and randomness.

Can we talk about Godzilla? He is a bit comical looking, right? He’s got this shit-eatting grin on his face. Like his rampaging through Tokyo is “just a prank, brah.” I am happy with this one. It is by far the cleanest and most relevant to the lyrics of all. It looks like a poster, legit!

There are two more and they are BÖC’s top two songs that most people have heard.

Number 2

“Burnin’ For You” from Fire of Unknown Origin

Is this a cover for some cheap video game made back in the 1990s? “For You” has to be a mystery game, right? Made using the old Gold Source Engine, LOLz! I do like the car with the eerily lit house. And “home” comes up a lot in the lyrics, so I am not surprised to see a house in the cover. And we got another moon!

Honestly though, I am legit surprised no one is on fire. The title is “Burnin’ For You” and it is repeated over and over in the song. And no burning? But, as someone who has experience with burning, maybe it is for the best.

I just love the whole imagery of a home lit at night with a mysterious car in the driveway. And “For You” at the bottom makes it feel like a romance/thriller/mystery that is about to go off the rails. Whatever is going on in that house, we are burnin’ to know, right? 😁

Number 1

“Don’t Fear the Reaper” from Agents of Fortune

So when I decided to first do this little AI fun with BÖC lyrics, I of course used this song’s lyrics first. It is BÖC’s most well known song. It is the BÖC song. So, as a test, I copied the lyrics and pasted them into the AI’s input. And the result was this beautiful cover:

This! THIS! This convinced me to do this experiment. I realized upon looking at this image that I had to do more BÖC songs. This cover alone activated my intrigue and barreled me into this adventure. And what an adventure it has been.

That cover is so damn awesome I cannot even imagine any other result doing justice with “Reaper”’s lyrics. This is so freaking amazing that I struggle to put words together.

The death angel from number 8 is cool. But this is her older and more serious and badass sister. Those angelic wings are so sinister with the red lighting. And she is just standing there on that hill, with that dress, ready to do something epic. And on top of all of that, no word salad or random derpy additions.

Just a death angel, on a hill, against apocalyptic red skies. What more could anyone ask for?

Honestly, I want to hang this on my wall. This is up there with “Realm of the Cyber Brain” for something close to a work of art, made by AI 🫢. I look forward to using more lyrics in the future. And not just BÖC. This has opened the door to so many more adventures with song to image fun. Because why not?

Good Luck and Don’t Fear the Crimson Death Angel,

—BUCK