Cole Cuchna

And as the track continues, so too does the robot's improvements.

Having fully connected the vocal parts, the robot advances to redesigning the melody itself.

It's now no longer just combining those existing fragments, repeating the same 2-bar melody for both sections.

Instead it has now composed a new melody that's optimized for this new truncated iteration, featuring a sweeping melodic arc that spans the entire 4-bar phrase.

This vocal part is far removed from its choppy, monotone origins.

It's another new and improved iteration, like an OS or hardware update that's somehow faster and more beautiful all at once.

Now, another interesting thing about this vocal line is how it suddenly takes center stage, becoming the predominant feature of the track.

In the first half of the song, the instrumental was the star, and the robotic vocal fragments almost awkwardly interjected themselves into the loop.

Now the roles have reversed.

The vocals are continuous while the instrumental has become more choppy and fragmented.

Here's the passage we just heard with the vocals removed, so you can hear this more clearly.

If we accept that harder, better, faster, stronger is constructed as a musical analogy, which to me by now feels undeniable, then the robotic vocal taking over as the lead while the instrumental recedes reflects a larger transformation, mirroring the way technology has moved from clunky, error-prone tools to something seamlessly integrated and more and more difficult to separate from our lives.

However, the evolution doesn't stop here.

Because while the vocals have improved exponentially, it's still pretty tame in terms of its melody and rhythm.

It's playing a nice, well-composed melody, but its range is limited and rhythmically it's just straight, predictable eighth notes with no variation.

What's missing from this vocal part is a sense of unpredictability.

Things like vocal inflection, melodic spontaneity, expressiveness, and virtuosity.

In other words, it's missing the qualities that often convey emotion.

It's missing the human touch.

That is until what happens next.