}

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Weekend Diversion: Auto-Tune the news



Unless you’ve been living under an Internet rock (iRock?), you’ve probably run across Auto-Tune the News somewhere, either on a blog or maybe through mainstream news shows, like Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. However, if you haven’t, the premise is simple: The take real TV news and set it to music, using an Auto-Tune to both transform spoken word into song, and to distort that “singing”.

The first hit song I’m aware of to use Auto-Tune was Cher’s “Believe”, but since then it’s been used by a lot of artists. Used without the distortion, it can also help make bad singers sound better. But using it in comedy was an obvious advancement.

This particular video is “Auto-Tune the News #5: lettuce regulation. American blessings.” Personally, I think it’s the best yet, but maybe it’s seeing Joe Biden “singing” and certain lines, like “Exceptional fast food and exceptional dance moves.” And people smoking lettuce.

Now, well you might wonder how on earth these folks come up with these videos. “It’s the smo-o-o-o-oke…” (you saw that one coming, didn’t you?)

Anyway, this video makes me laugh every time I watch it, so it’s the Weekend Diversion for this week.

Tip o’ the hat to Tim Corrimal who Tweeted about this video yesterday.

4 comments:

Mark said...

I love Auto-Tune The News! I didn't know they were on number 5 already, though! I've got some catching up to do. :-)

Anyway, not to sound pedantic or anything, but Auto-Tune was an industry standard well before Cher's "Believe." When it's used as intended, you'll never know it's there. It basically just takes a singer's voice and "nudges" it, in real-time, to stay on melody. The crazy Cher sound only happens if you configure the software to its most extreme settings.

Personally, I wish both its intended (corrective) and "artistic" (annoying) uses would vanish. Except for Auto-Tune The News, of course!

Arthur Schenck said...

I stand corrected. However, I didn't know it was Auto-Tune in the p;der days; in those days we said singers' voices were "filtered". I liked "Believe" when it first came out because it was so different. Then everyone did it and it got old. Now I can take it or leave it, I guess—apart from Auto-Tune the News…

Mark said...

I finally got to see the video on my home computer. You're right, Arthur; this is the best yet! It's the smoooOOOOkke. :-)

Anyway, I shouldn't say Auto-Tune was a standard "well" before Believe. Wikipedia says it was only invented around 1997, so I guess that's only a year before. :-)

Now I just have to get Joe Biden in Space out of my head for the rest of the day...

(P.S. Your word verification system just called me a "geeak.")

Arthur Schenck said...

Now see, I just trust what you say… do you seek to undermine that? Like the video says, "The more problems we come across, the more problems we see…" (heheheh). I keep playing this video and I STILL laugh…

"geeak", huh? Is that pronounced "GEE-ack"? Naturally, there are hits if you Google it…