things I've been enjoying recently that feel anti-AI (vol. I)

hopefully the start of a series

If you know anything about me, it’s probably that I hate generative (or as I prefer to call it, degenerative) AI with every fiber of my being, and that I am also regularly disappointed by mainstream media offerings. In the future, I may write an article about things that while not generated by AI models, feel like they have been, and contribute to a culture of slop. But until then, I’m going to be a little positive and highlight some things I’ve enjoyed recently that I have found to be original, creative, entertaining, thoughtfully-crafted, and worthy of attention.

Disclaimer that I discovered most of these through an algorithm’s recommendation feed. It’s certainly not a perfect way to discover art, but I do appreciate it when I find gems in the garbage heap.

1. “thank you i guess” music video by Forrest Nolan

My friend sent me this MV demanding that I watch it immediately, and when I finally sat my butt down to pay attention, I was instantly blasted backwards by the awesomeness of it. So much work went into creating the hand-drawn, colored, and animated frames, and the fact that the creators invited a bunch of their friends to color in the final frames is such a cool way to surround the project with community. This video is part of a larger series of short skits and music videos as Forrest Nolan releases the songs for his “indie music soundtrack” album.

And the fact that his brother is named Christopher Nolan and directs the videos has absolutely killed me and I hope one day to tick off a film bro by telling him how much I love Christopher Nolan’s esteemed project “indie movie soundtrack” (I do like Inception and the like but I am prepared to be disappointed by the Odyssey later this summer).

Anyway, I could easily make an entire post about this video/series because it is literally everything I want to watch, but if you want Scott Pilgrim meets campy Disney Channel vibes, check it out!

2. Bird Pizza by Nondescript Video Club

These shorts about two birds working at a pizza place popped up in my Instagram feed one day and of course since I love birds, I had to watch. They’re funny—I love the two main birds and the weird customers whose personalities are very familiar to anyone who has worked a service job. I don’t know much about the channel behind them—it looks like they do some other shows/podcasts, but Bird Pizza is definitely their big hit. It’s quirky and simple and just goes to show people don’t demand something perfect, they just want something that feels real. Sometimes that’s a Canada Goose with a backwards baseball cap making minimum wage trying to console his Mallard coworker about his low bowling score or dead grandfather.

3. 2bd2bth

Again, these guys just popped up in my feed one day and I was intrigued. I think if you watch the skits in order they might make more sense because of continuity and callbacks, but they’re also entertaining standalone. The skits are surreal, absurd, and a little risque at times, but I really like the subtle humor of them and whatever dynamic is going on between Jenny and Josh.

4. “Over the Garden Wall” music video by Thistle

I have had very good luck over the years with YouTube’s music recommendations and this was certainly no exception. As a fan of the show Over the Garden Wall, I was captured by the title of the song. I’m definitely going to keep listening to this upcoming folk band, especially if they keep up with making gorgeous and handcrafted music videos like this one!

5. Backrooms

sorry this is so tiny but this GIF always fries me so I had to include it

I’m not a horror movie person and I don’t know anything about the internet lore of the backrooms beyond the general concept/aesthetic of it. I watched this movie solely on the recommendation of it being really good and dealing with themes such as isolation and nostalgia, which I’m always down for in any media. I ended up really loving it (and it’s really not the kind of horror I dislike since it’s not really gory or jump scary—it’s much more psychological). I personally loved the metaphor of the story. Though the story is set in the 90s, it felt quite modern and very relevant to discussions about things such as AI, as we see how those technologies worsen isolation and self-destruction, as well as promise a lie of comfort and ease. I’m sure those themes were purposefully latent since Kane Parsons has been vocally anti-AI, but they’re also just symptoms of our modern age (which is why AI has appealed to us so much). I could write a whole other article about this and I just might sometime.

Also I’m just really glad to see an original standalone movie again. Sadly Hollywood is taking away the completely wrong lesson from Backrooms’ success and I am not looking forward to endless internet horror slop blockbusters in the next decade, but I do hope it will inspire creatives of all types to make things they’re passionate about and believe in despite what industry gatekeepers may say.

And that’s essentially why I’m hoping this collection becomes a semi-regular series, because there are so many cool books, movies, shows, skits, and songs being created by people with soul and vision and not the safe slop churned out by major studios, publishers, or labels. If there’s something new or original you’ve enjoyed recently, tell me about it!