Album MEEMS and track “The Singularity” by acoustic rock band Miracles of Modern Science

February 5, 2013 by Amara D. Angelica

(credit: Miracles of Modern Science)

We received a note from Evan Younger, vocalist/bassist for Brooklyn-based Miracles of Modern Science mentioning a song he wrote, “The Singularity,” based distinctly on the ideas of futurist Ray Kurzweil.

Younger explained:

“In 2011 I shared a house with our band’s mandolinist. One night I was browsing his bookshelf for bedtime reading, and his copy of The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil caught my eye. Not knowing what to expect, I started to read and was immediately spellbound. I wanted to become a part of the movement.

“So, I immersed myself in AI literature and started an intensive crash course in computer science via MIT OCW, the inaugural Udacity courses with Sebastian Thrun and David Evans, and this awesome book.

“I actually made myself a little crazy on our band’s subsequent national tour — every day I’d drive 8 to 12 hours, play a show, do coding assignments all night, and then get up to do it again. My pace of learning eventually slowed as Miracles of Modern Science got back to writing songs for a new album, but I remained enraptured with Singularitarian ideas.”

Younger said he poured his enthusiasm and optimism into the lyrics for “The Singularity,” a song that is featured on the group’s upcoming album, MEEMS.

“I hope that the song’s optimistic message resonates with singularitarians, and perhaps inspires unfamiliar listeners to learn more about Kurzweil, AI, and singularity.”

lyrics | “The Singularity”

(credit: Miracles of Modern Science)

By the time that we all go deaf, I know that we’ll find a cure for it, yeah

People say that we’ll die someday, but we just don’t believe it
Long before we are old and gray, we’ll find a way to beat it
Fight against physical decay, keep our bodies breathing
By the next quarter century we won’t even need them

So shoot the supplements into our veins so we can reprogram our genes
And let the nanobots swim through our brains to keep our neurons sharp and clean
There’s not a problem that we cannot solve with our technology
Just as long as we can stay alive until the singularity

Maybe you think we’re mental
But if you doubt anything we say, check out our man’s credentials
Our evolution is underway, and it’s exponential
There’s no reason to be afraid

We’ll shoot the supplements into our veins so we can reprogram our genes
And let the nanobots swim through our brains to keep our neurons sharp and clean
And we will all transcend biology and merge with our machines
Just as long as we can stay alive until the singularity

So play it loud, turn up the kick
Cause by the time that we lose our hearing, we’ll have a fix for it
So play it loud, crank it up to ten
Cause by the time that our ears are broken, we’ll have no use for them

From MEEMS

Miracles of Modern Science album, MEEMS

(credit: Miracles of Modern Science)

The release will be followed by Miracles of Modern Science’s large national tour, including stops at the 2013 SXSW Music Festival.

Miracles of Modern Science are an acoustic band with rock overtones. The band combines classical textures, disco kinetics, and extreme dynamics.

The band began at Princeton University, where vocalist/bassist Evan Younger and mandolinist Josh Hirshfeld met.

They found other musicians from the school’s orchestras and jazz bands: conductor and cellist Geoff McDonald, Australian violinist Kieran Ledwidge, and drummer Tyler Pines.
“Miracles of Modern Science play major-key space-pop that sounds like something new,” says Wired.

MEEMS

1. Ahem
2. Dear Pressure
3. Breather
4. Don’t You See?
5. The Singularity
6. Physics Is Our Business

related reading:
profile | Evan Younger