Mick Jagger reveals why AI failed to help name Rolling Stones album
The music legend says AI couldn't come up with a better album title than the ideas he already had
Mick Jagger has revealed that he once turned to artificial intelligence for help naming a Rolling Stones album, but said the technology failed to deliver anything useful.
The legendary frontman admitted he experimented with AI while searching for a title for the band's 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, after members struggled to agree on a name.
"The only time I used it was when I was looking for album titles for Hackney Diamonds, which was actually, I suppose, at the beginning of AI," Jagger told The Sunday Times Culture magazine.
The 82-year-old explained that he fed the program a list of possible album names, hoping it would generate fresh ideas.
"Because no one could agree, and I threw all these titles at it, and it came back with such rubbish, it didn't help me at all," he said.
Jagger added that although the suggestions were disappointing, the experience ultimately reinforced his own creative instincts.
"I was saying, 'These are my 12 album titles, give me some more,' and of course in the end we never used any of them. But it can unstick you, and you think, 'OK, that was rubbish,' or 'Mine are loads better than yours.' It gives you confidence."
Despite embracing AI as a creative experiment, Jagger did not suggest the technology would replace the band's songwriting process.
Meanwhile, bandmate Keith Richards praised Jagger's musicianship, saying the singer expresses himself most naturally through the harmonica.
"Mick expresses himself on harmonica probably in the fullest way that he can, even better than as a vocalist," Richards said.
The instrument features prominently on the Rolling Stones' new album, Foreign Tongues, including a cover of Amy Winehouse's You Know I'm No Good.
Ronnie Wood also reflected on his friendship with the late Winehouse, recalling her struggles with alcohol and expressing sadness over her untimely death in 2011.
Keith Richards added that although he only performed with Winehouse once at the 2007 Isle of Wight Festival, he remains grateful for the opportunity, saying he had always expected they would collaborate again in the future.