ARTIST PROJECT: Fitter, Happier, Illustrated.

MUSIC BY RADIOHEAD. ARTWORK BY NIGHTCAFÉ.

Aug 26, 2022

Humor me just this once, please, dear readers: I humbly present to you a project of mine, consisting of the lyrics to Radiohead’s “Fitter Happier” from OK Computer, illustrated using Nightcafé’s AI image generator. This song is the crux of Radiohead’s groundbreaking 1997 opus; spoken using a computer-generated robotic voice, it blends quite well with the uncanny, backrooms-esque malaise that a lot of AI art seems to have. Notice how the images have absolutely no coherent sense of style or visual aesthetic; this was not my intent. Unlike something such as Goya’s Disasters of War, which is obviously the work of only one artist, the AI images here are all over the place. What does this mean for an artist working with AI to produce art? Is it possible for an artist to have a coherent “AI style” of their very own? I don’t have an answer to those questions, and I would love it if the artists themselves would start discussing their own experience using AI art generators, rather than leaving the task of figuring out what to do with AI to the pundits, bloggers, and tweeters.

So: here you go. Included is a link to the song on YouTube if you want to listen along.

FITTER, HAPPIER, ILLUSTRATED.

Fitter happier more productive — **FITTER HAPPIER MORE PRODUCTIVE**

Not drinking too much — **NOT DRINKING TOO MUCH**

Regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week) — **REGULAR EXERCISE AT THE GYM (3 DAYS A WEEK)**

Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries — **GETTING ON BETTER WITH YOUR ASSOCIATE EMPLOYEE CONTEMPORARIES**

Eating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats) — **EATING WELL (NO MORE MICROWAVE DINNERS OR SATURATED FATS)**

A patient, better driver — **A PATIENT, BETTER DRIVER**

A safer car (baby smiling in back seat) — **A SAFER CAR (BABY SMILING IN BACK SEAT)**

Sleeping well (no bad dreams) — **SLEEPING WELL (NO BAD DREAMS)**

Careful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole) — **CAREFUL TO ALL ANIMALS (NEVER WASHING SPIDERS DOWN THE PLUGHOLE)**

Keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then) — **KEEP IN CONTACT WITH OLD FRIENDS (ENJOY A DRINK NOW AND THEN)**

Will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in wall) — **WILL FREQUENTLY CHECK CREDIT AT (MORAL) BANK (HOLE IN WALL)**

Favors for favors — **FAVORS FOR FAVORS**

Fond but not in love — **FOND BUT NOT IN LOVE**

Charity standing orders — **CHARITY STANDING ORDERS**

On Sundays ring road supermarket — **ON SUNDAYS RING ROAD SUPERMARKET**

No killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants — **NO KILLING MOTHS OR PUTTING BOILING WATER ON THE ANTS**

Car wash (also on Sundays) — **CAR WASH (ALSO ON SUNDAYS)**

No longer afraid of the dark or midday shadows — **NO LONGER AFRAID OF THE DARK OR MIDDAY SHADOWS**

Nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate, nothing so childish — **NOTHING SO RIDICULOUSLY TEENAGE AND DESPERATE, NOTHING SO CHILDISH**

Slower and more calculated — **SLOWER AND MORE CALCULATED**

No chance of escape — **NO CHANCE OF ESCAPE**

Now self-employed — **NOW SELF-EMPLOYED**

Concerned (but powerless) — **CONCERNED (BUT POWERLESS)**

An empowered and informed member of society — **AN EMPOWERED AND INFORMED MEMBER OF SOCIETY**

Pragmatism not idealism — **PRAGMATISM NOT IDEALISM**

Will not cry in public — **WILL NOT CRY IN PUBLIC**

Less chance of illness — **LESS CHANCE OF ILLNESS**

Tires that grip in the wet (shot of baby strapped in back seat) — **TIRES THAT GRIP IN THE WET (SHOT OF BABY STRAPPED TO BACK SEAT)**

Still cries at a good film — **STILL CRIES AT A GOOD FILM**

Still kisses with saliva — **STILL KISSES WITH SALIVA**

No longer empty and frantic — **NO LONGER EMPTY AND FRANTIC**

Like a cat tied to a stick that's driven into frozen winter shit — **LIKE A CAT TIED TO A STICK THAT’S DRIVEN INTO FROZEN WINTER SHIT**

The ability to laugh at weakness — **THE ABILITY TO LAUGH AT WEAKNESS**

Fitter, healthier and more productive — **FITTER, HEALTHIER, AND MORE PRODUCTIVE**

A pig in a cage on antibiotics — **A PIG IN A CAGE ON ANTIBIOTICS**

6 Comments

G. M. Baker

Writes Stories All the Way Down by G. …

Aug 26, 2022Liked by William Collen

Oh dear. What strikes me is not just the lack of any consistency of style, which you noted, by the lack of any sense of objects. It's not like it is playing with object, distorting them deliberately. It just doesn't know what an object is, what shape it is, or how the pieces fit together.

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1 reply by William Collen

T. C.

Writes Inverted Gentleman Reviews

I like it. Looks like something that the transporter in Star Trek coughed up. Or Reanimator or From Beyond.

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