11-12-25 - Rock Wars - Song For Bret As We Think About Him Dealing w/The Death Of His Dad - Loving The New AI Scorpions Blues Version

Summary

Podcast Summary: Holmberg’s Morning Sickness (98KUPD)

Episode: 11-12-25 – Rock Wars: Song for Bret & AI Scorpions Blues

Date: November 12, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Dick Toledo, Bret Vesely (remote/in spirit)

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Episode Overview

This heartfelt episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness centers on supporting longtime co-host Bret Vesely, who is absent due to the recent loss of his father. The crew dedicates Rock Wars, their popular weekly song battle segment, as a tribute to Bret. The team also dives into musings about the rise of AI-generated music—featuring a mind-blowing blues version of the Scorpions’ "Still Loving You"—and debates the emerging legal and creative implications of AI voice technology in music.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rock Wars: A Tribute to Bret (01:19–03:40, 04:22–09:11)

• Heavy Mood, Heavy Week:
  The crew acknowledges the emotional weight since Bret's father's passing. John recalls how they honored Brady and Toledo’s parents in previous years by dedicating music selections and insists it’s Bret’s turn for a tribute.

  “It's not fair to take a win away or a loss away from Brett. He needs to fight fairly. So today we suspend all competition to give Brett a moment.” (01:59 – John Holmberg)

• Song Selection:
  The team unanimously picks “You Can’t Bring Me Down” by Suicidal Tendencies, knowing it’s a personal favorite of Bret. After some humorous technical glitches, they cue up the song as a show of support.

  “Seeing the words 'I'm devastated' in a text from Brett just doesn't feel right. So let’s try to bring him back up.” (03:28 – John Holmberg)

• Listeners' Support:
  The hosts recognize messages from listeners and send thoughts to Bret and his family, reinforcing the community’s bond.

2. AI in Music: Blues Scorpions & The Future (04:22–09:11)

• AI Blues Cover – Scorpions’ "Still Loving You":
  Holmberg shares his discovery of an AI-powered Instagram blues cover of "Still Loving You." He’s unexpectedly enamored, joking that AI Scorpions is “the only way I can tolerate the Scorpions for a long period of time.”

  “This is the worst AI will ever be. It's gonna get better tomorrow. Better than that. The next day. Always gonna keep getting better.” (05:24 – John Holmberg)
  “That's phenomenal. That is so good.” (06:34 – John Holmberg, reacting to the AI cover)

• AI Voice and Copyright Law:
  The group discusses the ambiguous legal territory of AI using celebrity voices and song lyrics. They note that while musical lyrics are protected, vocal likenesses alone generally aren’t.

  “You can’t trademark a voice… What if I sound just like [Michael Caine] accidentally? Am I going to get sued?” (08:12 – John Holmberg)

• Examples of AI Voices:
  The team names AI platforms (like 11 Labs) and voices available (e.g., Michael Caine, Matthew McConaughey as an investor, Mark Twain, John Wayne), highlighting the evolving business of voice licensing.

• AI Customization & Music’s Future:
  Holmberg envisions consumers soon being able to remix any band in any style—imagine requesting “make all my favorite ’80s bands sing in soul style” on Spotify.

  “The things that's scary is you can do it with songs… Just have [AI] eventually make up new songs. It'll all be brand new. They're already doing it. But they're not very good yet. Soon that will be better.” (08:59 – John Holmberg)

3. Community and Kindness (Scattered Throughout)

• The team repeatedly returns to the main theme of community—supporting not just Bret, but each other and their listeners.

  “We know he’s going through a lot… We're gonna be right there next to him.” (04:26 – John Holmberg)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Rock Wars Brought to You by Mo Money Pawn:
  Briefly acknowledged as the episode sponsor when introducing the tribute segment. (01:19)
• On AI, Technology and the Future:

  “This is the worst technology we have today… The next generation will be better and better, they’re not going to get worse.” (08:32 – John Holmberg)

• Humor in the Face of Sadness:
  Mid-setup technical issues (“He’s got the wrong one in there. Where’d he go?” 03:01) and playful banter keep the tone relatable and real, despite the somber context.

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:19 – 03:40: Rock Wars tribute introduction and discussion
• 03:40 – 04:22: (ad/promo break, skipped)
• 04:22 – 06:37: Blues Scorpions AI cover, John’s reaction
• 06:37 – 09:11: Deep dive into AI voices, rights, and the future of music customization
• Throughout: Listeners’ support for Bret and reflections on community

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Tone & Style

The tone alternates between sincere support (for Bret), dark humor, music nerd enthusiasm, and curiosity about technology. The hosts’ camaraderie and authenticity are evident, mixing genuine emotion with the irreverent banter that defines the show.

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Conclusion

This episode stands out as a moving example of the Holmberg team using music and laughter to support their own, blending heartfelt tribute with a thought-provoking look at AI's rapid incursion into the world of music. If you want an episode where radio family, musical nostalgia, and technological wonder cross paths, this is it.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the HMS Podcast, brought to you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories. Hey, it's Brett Vesely and I'm here with Byron from MMP Guns. Look, Byron, I have a friend wanting to sell some guns he inherited. What's the best way for him to do that?

[B]

Brett, the last thing you want to do is sell the gun to someone who can't legally own one. Tell him not to put himself at risk and come into M and P Guns where he'll get a fair offer and he can rest easy knowing it's not getting into the wrong hands.

[A]

Okay, but what if he lives out of state?

[B]

Easy. LegalGunbuyer do. And he can do it all online. It's really that simple.

[A]

There you have it. MMP Guns or legalgunbuyer.com the safe and legal way to sell your firearms. Hey, it's Larry McFeely here with my friend Wayne from AMCO. And Wayne, if my car has an extended warranty, do I have to take it back to the dealer for service? No, Larry, if you have an extended service contract, you can use it at any amco. It's nice to have other options. I'll say Amco has dealership quality rental cars, no hassles and faster service. AMCO does more than just transmissions, right? Right. If you need car repairs or hear, feel, see, smell, or even think you have a car issue, call AM first. Just Google Amco for your nearest location. That's Amco Double A MCO transmissions and a whole lot more.

[C]

You've been deceived by an agent of Satan himself.

[D]

He's evil.

[C]

Sitting right here.

[A]

Come on.

[B]

No, no, he's not.

[C]

He's not evil. He's just a bit rude. It's time sort of for the musical battle of supremacy. Heard each and every weekday. Wednesday, actually, not weekday, Wednesday, right here. But it has kind of been a heavy week. It is time for Rock Wars. It's brought to you by our friends at Mo Money Pond. Shorter long term collateral loans from 10 to over 100,000American dollars. No credit needer top dollar paid. The entire process just taking several minutes. Mo Money, pawn.com, 12th street, an Indian school. But with Brett's not being here for the reasons he's not here, which is the loss of his dad starting to put together all the weight of the room this week as we've tried to trudge through the thickness that exists. Obviously, with our friend going through what he's going through, we've Decided to do what we did with Brady's dad when you were gone. Your dad passed. We're doing for Toledo's mom. We did our tribute songs for torp and that we did one already with the wake up song for Brett, his dad. And we did the my way by Frank Sinatra. Tears. Nothing but tears flowing. And now it's time to boost our buddy Brett up and give him a rock horse for just him. It's not fair to take a win away or a loss away from Brett. He needs to fight fairly. So today we suspend all competition to give Brett a moment. It's his favorite song. We'll go with a song we all agreed on that Brett would make him feel a little better this morning. That would be today's topic. And clearly that would be suicidal tendencies. The guy can't get enough of him and it's his go to his lean in and that's not the right. He's got the wrong one in there. Where'd he go?

[E]

Maybe we don't have it in the.

[C]

No, you can't bring me down, Toledo. He keeps loading up every song except that one. They might have to do it on his computer, but that's one way. Well, you can't bring me down by suicidal tendencies will be the song we've chosen for our little buddy Brett. We're thinking about you. We know he's going through a lot and seeing the words I'm devastated in a text from Brett just doesn't feel right. So let's try to bring him back up. It's suicidal tendencies for our guy Brett, Today's winner in rock wars. We'll give him a win on top of it. You can't bring me down. It's 98k upd.

[D]

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[C]

Holmberg's morning sickness. There we go for our buddy Brett. Going through all the nonsense and misery that comes with just being alive. But he's gonna get through it all and we're gonna be right there next to him. So that's for Brett Rock wars winner today is Brett Vessel. Because how do you call a loss? You can't even be here. He's dealt with enough. In the meantime, I've been introduced to a blues Instagram page that's taking it originally started as Baby Shark Blues. The song Baby Shark. They made a blues song. And Dirty Diana here's the Scorpions still loving you. And I'm starting to embrace AI to the point where I think I like it better than us. Listen to them. Still loving you by the Scorpions is the chorus. It's amazing. It's the only way I can tolerate the Scorpions in a long period of time. Fight, babe. I'll fight. Good. To win back your love again I will be there I will be there. It's only. This is the worst AI will ever be. It's gonna get better tomorrow. Better than that. The next day. Always gonna keep getting better.

[E]

But you're thinking AI will punch up this so better.

[C]

No, I'm saying that this is the best technology we have today of AI Tomorrow. It will be better the day after either. I can't predict how much better it's going to do with stuff like this. This is its first years. What's it going to be like in a couple years with this stuff? And this blows my mind. Your pride has built a wall so strong that I can't get through. Come on. Is there really no chance to start once again? That's phenomenal. That is so good.

[E]

And the fact that. That the. It stays at its place that people can. You can do the AI songs without having to pay the royalties or.

[C]

Well, I don't know about that because, I mean, it is.

[E]

I know it.

[C]

Lyrics are written.

[E]

It's still up in the.

[C]

Well, I mean, if you sold that or tried to sell, you'd be in trouble. You'd have to. Well, you have to. You'd have to pay the lyricist at the least. It's because it's. The lyrics are still the same.

[E]

Because there's another. There's a company called 11 Labs and you can use Michael Kane on anything you want.

[C]

Well, because voices can't be trademarked. They tried that with me years ago at asu. They tried to get me to do a voice recognition thing for their. They had some security program they wanted to do. And I was allowed to read all these things and sell them to stuff as Regis Philbin and Morgan Freeman and things like that to try to unlock codes. And they sold it as a deal. But you, because you can't technically with. You do have to say it's a celebrity voice impersonated thing. But you can't copyright that.

[E]

This one and 11 labs is what we use to do.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

That's what we're.

[E]

And everything.

[A]

That's what we use.

[E]

So Matthew McConaughey is an investor in the company. But you set up a deal. You hammer out a deal, and then 11 labs use the voice cloning technology to deliver the voice. So technically, Michael Caine still will get.

[C]

He's getting it.

[E]

If he signed that deal.

[C]

Matthew McConaughey, he's getting a royalty for them to use his name. Yeah. Because I could go on there and say, she's 16 years old and I just talk like this for a little.

[E]

While and they'll just pay you a one off.

[C]

And they would pay me a one off, but they'd be like, who's that supposed to be? I don't know, some guy I knew in high school.

[E]

Celebrity voice in person.

[C]

You don't even have to say that. As long as you're not saying I'm Michael Kane, you can do whatever you want. You can't. I could. What if I sound just like him accidentally? Am I going to get sued? You can't. You can't trademark a voice.

[E]

Other voices currently you can use right now are Art Garfunkel, Nelly, Dale, Hell, John Wayne.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

Mark Twain.

[C]

Yeah. It's just. You can put your own in there, so long as it's not being sold. But if you sold something like that, it's. It's amazing. Again, the tech. We are at the worst it will ever be today because tomorrow it's going to get a little better. It's just like my meta glasses. I have those and they're marvelous. Is the worst technology those will ever be. The next generation will be better and better and they're not going to get worse.

[E]

That's what you envision Spotify becoming.

[C]

Yeah. Hey, Spotify.

[E]

These are the bands that I like from the 80s. Make them all soul singers.

[C]

The things that's scary is that you can do it with songs. Just have eventually to be like, I want to hear stuff like this. And they'll make up new songs. It'll all be brand new. They're already doing it. But they're not very good yet.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Soon that will be better. What? It's remarkable. And I watched Pluribus last night, so my brain's in a different place with how we utilize AI and yeah, community. He's not wrong. It's 9:37. You can't bring me down. For our friend Brett. And again, thanks to everybody who's fired off. A nice message for Brett. While he deals with all of his family issues that are going on right now, we're thinking about him and Mathias and the rest of the family there. Suicidal Brett, you're the big winner today. It's 98. It's not weird. It's pretty cool, actually. No membership fee. I have heard enough of this.