Auto-Tune dulls T-Pain by buying you a ‘drank’

It’s the biggest revolution in music since the phonograph hit the market. It has shaped the very fabric of our party playlists. It’s hidden in every song we listen to. It’s Auto-Tune. But what is this strange phenomenon that has invaded our airwaves, strapped us to our speakers and ravaged our aural orifices with the cold passion of a mechanical stallion? Is it man’s attempt to unite his soul with that of a robot? Or are musical artists just getting lazy?

Auto-Tune was invented in 1997, when an oil company engineer realized that the technology he pioneered to analyze seismic material could also analyze and change pitches. (Rethink your priorities: That trek up Science Hill might just be worth it.) Listeners usually cannot tell when Auto-Tune is being used. But with the hit (and horrendous) single “Believe” in 1998, Cher brought Auto-Tune out of the shadows and set off this revolution.

Cher’s sound engineers discovered they could create a robotic sound with artificial changes in tone when they set the program’s speed at zero. The pitch changed so rapidly that portamento, the musical term for the slide from note to note, completely disappeared. For almost a decade, the effect was referred to as “The Cher” among sound engineers.

But T-Pain saved the day with his jam “I’m N Love (Wit a Stripper)” in 2005, introducing the effect to the R&B world, where it caught fire and now permeates almost every hip-hop track released today. So we here at A&E are bringing you the tragedies (and successes) of Auto-Tune.

Appalling Auto-Tune

Lil Wayne: This might be controversial because Weezy just may be the BAMF of the decade. Regardless, his songs have helped Auto-Tune saturate the attention economy. Think about it: We never heard people complain about Auto-Tune before that warble on Tha Carter III. Resistance is futile though, as Lil Wayne owns American culture. We’re only too happy to grind with/on/in strangers to whatever he proffers.

Cher’s “Believe”: Not to belabor the point, but this song is terrible. Just terrible. Besides making Cher sound like she’s drowning underwater (alas, only wishful thinking), Auto-Tune obscures most of the already confusing lyrics. It’s essentially the musical complement to her copious plastic surgeries. The song might be a classic in a strictly performed-every-night-in-Vegas sense, but that does not make it worth a listen.

Kanye West: One, Kanye West is definitely a jerk. Two, he released his all-Auto-Tune-enhanced album, 808s and Heartbreak, after everyone became sick of Auto-Tune, proving once again what a no-good jerk he is. We listened to the album, but our patience is wearing thin. And the moment where he interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs? Even Auto-Tune couldn’t fix that.

Every hit in the past five years: Auto-Tune has become so integral to the recording process that we can immediately assume every major label recording session involves it. It’s disheartening to realize that our constant search for “perfection” has sacrificed the performer’s voice, the last truly human aspect of pop. Ultimately, our cheapening tastes and desire for perfection from our performers made this development inevitable.

Amazing Auto-Tune

T-Pain: T-Pain saved noticeable Auto-Tune from going down in history as “The Cher,” and he rocks a top hat like no celebrity since Abe Lincoln. His lyrics about picking up ladies in da clubs are as earnest as humanly possible. Besides, who doesn’t have the occasional desire to shout the phrase “Shawwty, Yeeeahhh Yeah Yeah” or “I’m On a Boat” from time to time?

“Auto-Tune the News”: “Auto-Tune the News” is a series of YouTube videos that uses Auto-Tune to transform political speeches and clips from cable news into musical extravaganzas. They prove that Sarah Palin’s resignation makes some sense when set to electronic music. There is no more sophisticated commentary on the intersection of popular and political culture in America. And if there is (we’re looking at you, Jon Stewart), it’s not as funny.

Bon Iver’s “Woods” : “Woods” is a cappella through Auto-Tune, an interesting departure for Bon Iver’s sole member Justin Vernon, who rose to success on a wholly acoustic album. Auto-Tune complements Vernon’s voice, as the digitized tinny sound and echo-like layering only enhances the sense of isolation invoked in the lyrics.

I Am T-Pain: If you’re ever concerned about the fact that your voice is never Auto-Tuned when you sing T-Pain karaoke, there’s not an app for that. Smule’s app, I Am T-Pain, available for a mere three bucks on iTunes, can solve this problem. You can sing along to instrumental versions of T-Pain songs, or you can “freestyle” without a backing track. It brings Auto-Tune to the masses and provides endless entertainment to procrastinators who like to sound as if they’ve inhaled helium.

Assessing Auto-Tune

Sure, some terrible things have come from Auto-Tune, and Jay-Z may be advocating its death, but no one can deny that the machine has created some of pop’s most satisfying, treacly moments.

Still not convinced? Just try and hold a party without the sultry tones of Auto-Tune. You might as well play “Love Lockdown” on a gra(nd)mophone.

 

By Erin Vanderhoof

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