Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The world of AutoTune

When talking about Celine Dion we all tend to agree that she has an extraordinary voice and vocal talent but that her songs are laking. I wonder if she only sang acapella that we might like her more.

In today's society, with the emergence of technology like autotune, its becoming more apparent that you do not need to have actual God given talent to be a good musical artist. If a singer is tone deaf all you have to do is put their voice into a computer and it will sound good enough to be sold in stores.

Here is a commercial for a new american idol type competition that in the spirit of Foucaut is resisting the norm of today's music to bring it back to pure talent. Its one thing to miss a note with a full band behind you but its another when your voice is the band.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUt-a3-Tuv8


So why is it that we condemn Celine for not being a good artist when her vocal talent is undeniable but celebrate an artist like Miley Cyrus whos vocals are completely dependent on a computer.

4 comments:

  1. After posting this I realize that many of you my have no idea what AutoTune is so here is a link to explain.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYzv-AVi78E&feature=fvsr

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  2. Referring back to the posts about whether or not technology has affected our culture, I believe this can be grouped in the same category. People with amazing voices without computerized help don't really exist in the celebrity world. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part, most pop-culture music is totally manipulated. It's almost the same concept as air brushing photographs to make model's seem ever more skinny then they already are. For example there was this controversy (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/polo-ralph-lauren-model-filippa-hamilton-fired-for-being-porky-too-fat-she-says/story-e6frf00i-1225786912181) when Polo Ralph Lauren model Fillippa Hamilton was fired for being too overweight. Looks at the pictures yourself, I don't think this woman could get skinnier...

    Anyways, culturally I think it's terrible for our society. What is this teaching our youth? That a talented set of vocals and an average healthy body weight is NOT good enough...? I guess you be the judge of that-

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  3. I mean, look at Britney Spears. The girl cannot sing but I'll admit I'm guilty of loving her! She has this knack for entertainment that just draws in her fans. Her voice - totally masked by the different things technology can do, as you explained.

    If Celine Dion ultimately did sing acapella, I feel as if she, as a performer, would be seen every differently. Whether she would be more liked or not, I cannot tell you.

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