Charlie makes a convincing case that the AI-assisted efforts of Paul McCartney — whose musical genius is stipulated — to revive and release a John Lennon demo as a Beatles track are misguided:

Paul McCartney has described the project as “the last Beatles record.” It is no such thing. Whatever McCartney did or did not do during the recording process, the result cannot possibly be “the last Beatles record,” because the result is not a record by the Beatles. The Beatles existed as a recording group between 1962 and 1970, after which they broke up and stayed broken up. In 1980, one of the band’s members, Lennon, was murdered in New York City. In 2001, another member, Harrison, died of cancer. As of today, only two of the Beatles — that’s just half of the group — are still alive. As was true in 1995, and as will be true in 2045, too, there can be no “more” Beatles records because there is no more Beatles. It is an impossibility.

Indeed.

Moreover: Why go through all this trouble when there’s already an unreleased track by the actual Beatles in their prime? I speak of “Carnival of Light.” Recorded in a single take during a 1967 session for “Penny Lane,” “Carnival of Light” is an experimental, avant-garde, lyric-free sound collage along the lines of 1968’s “Revolution 9.” It is mostly McCartney’s baby. Few outside of the band have ever listened to it; those who have compare it to the work of other out-there groups of the time such as Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. For years, McCartney, who owns the master tapes for the song, has teased fans about its possible release. Stop teasing us, Paul. Instead of using AI to engage in a suspect recreation of a Beatles song, let fans hear a genuine, lost article — however weird it may be.