Track list

01 Departure
02 Contact
03 Arrival
04 Reckoning
05 Transformation
06 Rebirth
07 Reckoning Reprise

I first saw 2001 in a video cubicle at the Vassar College library many years ago, on a 15-inch screen with headphones on, wasting time while my cousin was in class. I think I picked it because I had seen 2010 as a kid and didn't get it (when I asked my dad about it afterward, he said they made 2010 to explain 2001, and if I didn’t get 2010, I was in trouble). So I guess it was always on my must-watch list.

Personal video devices weren’t a thing then, and it was hard to separate the immersive experience of a movie through headphones from the film itself. But I remember thinking two things: “holy shit, that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” and “I don’t really get it.”

Years later, I read the book. The book is much more literal, and finally, I got it. I finished it on a plane ride home from Japan (I’m just realizing now that we were there for my other cousin's wedding, funny connection!) and felt a sense of awe and wonder and accomplishment as I reflected on the magic of visiting Kyoto with a two-year-old and the timelessness of the infinite.

I continued to think about it often. I re-read it at some point. But I didn’t watch the movie again start to finish until the plane ride to South America last December that started my own mini-journey (roughly 30 years after I'd first seen it, and 30 years after I'd last been to Chile). It was pretty random that it was an option, and again, there I was, watching on a small screen with headphones on, and thinking about 2001 while traveling.

As I watched the final sequence this time, I saw more of myself in Dave — ok, maybe a week on my own in San Pedro wasn’t quite the same degree of “facing the unknown,” but I was a little nervous and had high expectations as I returned to the place that was so formative for me. I shared his sense of curiosity and acceptance of whatever the universe had in store.

I also heard music. As Dave lets go of the life he knows, the comforting sounds of home one last time. As he approaches the monolith and enters the star gate, it gets exotic and intense. As he arrives, a dark groove. When he enters the bedroom, sadness and nostalgia as he realizes “this is it.” When he sits down to eat, something silly, like “wait, they have food here?” And as he transforms from old man to star child, the sounds of what he once knew return.

I worked out some rough ideas on the trip. When I got home, I rewatched each part and found specific moments that I wanted to write to, and I aligned the songs to hit those moments.

As I charted the lyrics out, I realized there were a bunch of themes that all made sense. There’s birth — Dave goes through the gate and exits as a (star) child — and death — Dave goes through the gate and exits into the beyond. It’s the arc of a journey, or a relationship. It’s fear, excitement, acceptance, and understanding. And so I wanted the same songs to be interpretable across each of these.

At the same time, the capabilities of generative AI had exploded, and it was incredible to experiment with what it can do with song writing. You can input a recording of anything from an idea to a full track and it’ll “listen” to your audio and add to it. Or you can describe what you want in words and it’ll try to create something to match your request.

The first time I uploaded a voice memo of me singing at the piano I just couldn’t believe what it gave back to me. It was like I was in a studio with a band. And the band had read my mind. Eventually, the back-and-forth felt like writing with another person, just on a whole other scale. This writing partner offered infinite, perfectly played parts in any instrumentation I could imagine.

How did that feel? I loved it. I don't play pedal steel, guitar, or sing. It would never really make sense to hire people for this kind of hobby project. I never felt like it was taking over, or taking any of the joy out of the process. It definitely wasn't the same as working with live musicians, but AI allowed me to hear something close to what I wanted and it was so much fun.

Yes, it's scary, and hard not to see the dystopian side of a technology that can mimic humans this well. The parallels with the film are uncanny! But the optimist in me thinks we'll figure it out, and this will be a powerful tool for human creativity.

Thankfully, it should be a while before we're all star children. I’m glad you’re here as I take my first steps into that future.

- Russ, February 2026