Guess what I did during the Deep Freeze of 2026 here in NYC? We couldn't sing our Beatles songs because it was too dangerously cold to be outside. So, I decided to deep dive into programming, songwriting and filmmaking. I'm anxious to get your reaction to the result of this week's project.
But first, Jim and I both will be joining a myriad of Broadway and stage stars for a glittering night of music and stories at 54 Below on February 15, produced and hosted by Robert W. Schneider and Matt Koplik celebrating "Queer Musicals: From Boy Meets Boy to Jagged Little Pill." We will be singing "How Do You Fall Back in Love". The show will be livestreamed! https://54below.org/events/livestream-queer-musicals-from-boy-meets-boy-to-jagged-little-pill/ (Recently, Robert listed "The Last Session" as one of the essential queer musicals in his new book by the same title.)
Secondly, on March 2nd, Blake and I will be performing "My New York Life" -- at 54 Below again -- for another night of stars performing the Best of Broadway. Produced and hosted by Peter Filichia. https://54below.org/events/peter-filichia-friends-broadway-tales-and-tunes-2/ It doesn't mention whether it will be livestreamed, so I think you might have to come in person but this cast is amazing!
Thirdly, a humorous new song and video called "Mitch Ain't My Friend" which tackles the pluses and minuses of using AI. Humanizing the AI creates both clarity in the work I have it doing for me but also the paradox of how this humanization can lead people into blind alleys because of the nature of the AI interfaces. In the song, which features a female vocal like last week's song about Nancy Drew, I describe all the AI "agents' I've created using Gemini, including "Jacque," the chef who has made me a gourmet cook, "Mitch" who helps me organize my work and stay on track, "Casey" who teaches me about my own diabetic metabolism based on my blood sugars, and others.
Link to video "Mitch Ain't My Friend." https://youtu.be/gPwvUa2D8Sc
As you will see, rather than a rote description of these agents, I turned it into a cheeky love song, which I produced using Suno. Then, using an AI generator (Whisk) and many, many hours of editing, I created a music video for the song that illustrates the point.
A friend of mine asked me if I just pop in my song, push a button and a video pops out. Actually, no. The Whisk program I am using will only generate 8 seconds of video based on detailed prompts I write. So, it's not unlike making a short film. I have to write the script, figure out the prompt, have it spit out the result, and then I take all the pieces, and just like making a movie, I put all the pieces together into a coherent timeline using Final Cut Pro. Many hours of hard labor.
And in a stroke of timing luck, Google recently released news emphasizing to users that THE AI PROGRAMS ARE NOT PEOPLE. They are NOT alive. They are word-matching programs called LLMs and they respond to your queries by matching words with other words but it doesn't think or know what it's saying. No person writes back to you when you use the program. Understanding this basic truth and learning to be strict with the AI is how you get the best results.
And to be clear, the AI did not write a single lyric for me. It did not compose the music. I wrote the entire song and then used AI to construct a musical setting based on the demo I made in my studio with just piano and vocal. I'm really excited about both this song and the video. I think it's not merely a song, but a statement of our times. And it's fun!
Link to video "Mitch Ain't My Friend." https://youtu.be/gPwvUa2D8Sc
And if you missed last week's video about Nancy Drew, https://youtu.be/nnrsWCZM1R0
It's possible these songs may end up being a part of a larger work where I explore the modern dilemmas of using AI. As a tool, no one yet knows its capabilities and no one knows who to use it to its full extent because it's a tool made my tool makers. As I said 30 years ago, when I was exploring the beginning of the Internet, no one knew how we would use the Internet. it was a tool. For good or bad, it's here and it's up to the individual to figure it out.
For me, I have already had INCREDIBLE results in taking control of my blood sugars and A1c. Down from 7.2 to 5.8, which is almost normal. Others may open the AI and stare blankly at it not knowing what to do or to say. As a digital pioneer who has always eagerly embraced cutting edge tools, I hope in my writing and songs I can demystify it a bit. I'm not a tech evangelist, so whether you use it or not is up to you. But at the very least, you can imagine the possibilities.
Steve
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Watch the live video of Living in the Bonus Round 2026 on December 9th at Urban Stages on YouTube.
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