On Autotune: A Point of No Return for Zero Retune Speed

In our 21st century digital world, Auto-Tuned vocals are the perfect musical "embodiment" of increasing human/machine synthesis. Jace Clayton, aka DJ /rupture, writes a wonderful history and analysis of the trend's origins with the Cher hit "Believe" in the late 90s up to it's current use by T-Pain and Moroccan vocalists, touching on perspectives from "vocal purists" and contemporary producers alike in his article "Pitch Perfect" on the Frieze magazine site.

Youth Radio's Nate Hadden writes about the recent use of Auto-Tune to alter Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speech in a viral Youtube video [shown below], championing the preservation of original thought and historical accuracy while acknowledging the appeal factor of the video to "the kids" in his article "Auto Tune Gone Wrong?".

Even Wired magazine had a timeline listing the greatest Robo Voice chart toppers (starting with a Bell Labs "signal transmission" device patent back in 1935 through to the use of Auto-Tune by "indie darlings" Bon Iver) in it's February 2009 issue.

Meanwhile, the use of Auto-Tune has slipped into the comedic revelry of the evening news parody in the "Auto-Tune the News" Youtube series.

Lastly, Sasha Frere-Jones delves into the technicalities of Auto-Tune's origin and use, interviews Auto-Tune's inventor Andy Hildebrand and ruminates on the imaginative assertation of self and the digital identity in "The Gerbil's Revenge" in the latest issue of the New Yorker.

[Image by A_Minor]