VOA文化艺术2023--Rock Group Ends Live Concerts, Becomes Computerized Avatars

Rock Group Ends Live Concerts, Becomes Computerized Avatars

Recently, members of the American rock band Kiss closed out their final performance. The group's "The End of the Road" concert series ended in New York City's famous Madison Square Garden.

But as it turns out, fans will still be able to enjoy Kiss performances for years to come.

The band formed in 1973. It is currently made up of founders² Paul Stanley and Gene³ Simmons, as well as Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. Towards the end of Saturday's show, the band members left the stage and revealed computerized likenesses of themselves. The computerized avatars launched into a performance of the song "God Gave Rock and Roll to You."

After 50 years of Kiss, the band now hopes to be remembered forever.

The avatars were created by George Lucas' special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic. The company also worked with Pophouse Entertainment Group. Bjorn Ulvaeus, a member of the Swedish musical group ABBA, is its founder¹.

The two companies recently came together for the "ABBA Voyage" show in London. Fans there could enjoy a full concert by the Swedish band as performed by the computerized avatars.

Per Sundin is chief executive officer of Pophouse Entertainment. He said the new technology lets Kiss continue its history for "eternity⁵."

He said the band was not on stage during the computerized performance. He added, "Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this."

In order to create their computerized avatars, Kiss performed in equipment that followed their movement. This equipment is called motion capture suits.

Experimentation⁶ with this kind of technology has become increasingly common in the music industry. In October, K-pop star Mark Tuan partnered with Soul Machines to create a computerized version of himself called "Digital Mark." The technology lets fans have one-on-one talks with Digital Mark. Tuan is the first famous person to attach their likeness⁴ to OpenAI's GPT artificial intelligence technology.

Aespa is a K-pop girl group. The group often performs alongside their computerized avatars. In fact, the four-member band is meant to be seen as a group of eight.

Another girl group, Eternity, is made up entirely⁷ of computerized performers. No humans are necessary.

Kiss performer Paul Stanley told reporters that what they have done "... has been amazing, but it's not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are."

"We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we've never dreamed of before," Kiss performer Gene Simmons added. "The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he's ever done before."

Words in This Story

concert – n. a public performance of music

revealed – v. to make (something) known

avatar – n. a small picture that represents a computer user in a game or on the Internet

eternity – n. time without an end

amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder

deserve – v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something

iconic – adj. being a famous person or thing that people admire and see as a symbol of a particular idea or way of life

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

3 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

4 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

5 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

6 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。