We’ve seen deepfake technology do amazing things. It can recast classic movies with different famous faces. It can sync actors’ lips to match the dialogue of dubbed films. And it can make even the best impressions much more realistic. Now it has turned a musical crossover into a visual one. Beck didn’t just reimagine one of Paul McCartney’s songs. Deepfake technology let Beck play a young version of McCartney in their song’s music video.
The 79-year-old McCartney looks ageless in his newest music video. (Which we first saw at Rolling Stone.) But this isn’t a The Picture of Dorian Gray situation. That’s Beck dancing his way through the song. Deepfake technology transposed the young face of the former Beatle over Beck’s own. (No, Beck’s not actually wearing a mask. It’s just a gag at the end.)
The result is equal parts cool and unsettling. If you look close enough, it’s obviously not a baby-faced McCartney grooving his way through the track. But, if you don’t look close enough, it’s easy to get freaked out by what’s happening.
Paul McCartney
The best part about this is video is that it truly captures the music. This is Beck’s version of McCartney’s “Find My Way.” The song originally debuted on McCartney III, the artist’s eighteenth solo album he released in December 2020. With both of them singing on this rendition, putting McCartney’s face on Beck’s body is a fitting way to visually represent the collaboration.
Beck’s version is part of McCartney III Imagined, a remix version of the album. It first came to streaming sites in April. This video marks the album’s debut in stores this week. It also feature others artists, including St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Josh Homme, 3D RDN, and more.
It’s doubtful each song will get a music video starring a deepfake Paul McCartney. But with this technology we can’t rule it out.
