We live in an age when technology has changed how we live our lives more than at any other moment in history, and it can be fun speculating on where it will all go. Grimes knows this, and takes a fantastical view of the future and the world which is one reason she creates so much good music. But after musing on the role of AI in art she seems to have ruffled a few feathers, and got called a fascist.

 

So, context. Here’s Grimes on Sean Carroll’s podcast Mindscape: “I think live music is going to be obsolete soon… It’s kinda like Instagram or whatever… People are actually just gravitating towards the clean, finished, fake world. Everyone wants to be in a simulation. They don’t actually want the real world. Even if they think they do and everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, cool, live music!’ if you actually look at actual numbers of things, everyone’s gravitating towards the shimmery perfected Photoshop world.”

 

She’s looking forward to this because she hates playing live, and it’s all a fair point. But it’s really triggered a few people: Zola Jesus called Grimes a “voice of silicon fascist privilege”. While musician and ex-boyfriend Devon Welsh dropped in with “silicon valley fascist propaganda.”

 

Okay then.