The Resurrection of Auto-Tune

by Luke Hopping

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Time called it one of mankind’s worst inventions, placing it directly alongside potentially lethal Red Dye #2 and unambiguously lethal DDT. Jay-Z, who found it in himself to forgive a man for publically accusing his friend of having HIV, was less in control of his emotions when he demanded its extinction in a Grammy Award winning single. Trey Parker and Matt Stone mocked it to get under Kanye West’s skin in their scorched earth assault on the pop icon’s ego. In an age of gridlock, discord, and cultural fragmentation, it seems we have really settled on auto-tune, the pitch altering technology that is used to correct off-key notes on musicians’ vocal tracks, as the root of all evil. Certainly some of this anger must be misplaced. After a handful of wayward pop stars and industry manufactured up-and-comers were alley-ooped to the top of the charts by auto-tune in the late 2000s, “real” musicians began competing to make the most overt displays of outrage in order to advance their own wayward and manufactured careers. In 2009, Death Cab for Cutie took to the stage at the 51st Grammy Awards donning blue ribbons in show of their opposition to the apparently soul-corrupting studio effect (not like that sort of stunt might devalue the currency of any other awareness campaigns that rely on ribbons). Suddenly it was fashionable, if uncontroversial, for purists to take a swipe at the latest craze.

This may seem like an odd time to offer an exculpation of auto-tune. After all, the fad is mostly a relic of the early recession years, when we yearned to lose ourselves in entirely new depths of vapidity. But auto-tune remains a fixture of our listening experience, albeit in a less gaudy manner than before. Did you really think R. Kelly had the pipes to belt “Share My Love,” an airtight Barry White imitation, unassisted? Artists frequently call in auto-tune to tighten up their vocal tracks. Maybe it’s time we stop pretending everything we consume ought be organic and accept the fact that we’d rather have these gems than not. There will always be room for listeners and artists that crave a more “human” approach.

The origins of pitch-perfection technology are far less sinister than the boys from Death Cab would have you believe. When auto-tune first wheezed life into song in 1997, creator Andy Hildebrand never could have imagined the cultural backlash he would one day face (though, as a former engineer at Exxon, he was probably accustomed to being unpopular). If anything, initial reactions were praiseful. First deployed to help an aging Cher regain some of her umph on 1998’s “Believe,” the result was a hit that masterfully straddles the club and the bedroom. At the time, producer Mark Taylor led others to believe he’d achieved the underwater-sounding vocal effect through some vocoder voodoo, refusing to reveal his secret ingredient until much later. With his true technique shrouded in mystery, critics dubbed the unique method of pitch correction the “Cher Effect.”

But, when it comes to legitimizing auto-tune, the forty-ton gorilla in the room will always be T-Pain. No artist has made more extensive use of the technology, or been so publically castigated for it, than Faheem Rasheed Najm. He even released his own iPhone app called “I Am T-Pain,” that, for $2.99, will reproduce his signature effect at home. You’ve probably withstood T-Pain’s particular brand of everybody-drink-up music at some event you felt too old to be at, but, just in case you have dignity, allow me to introduce you. To many, his neon top hat has come to symbolize all that is wrong with the music industry, as well as consumers’ unrealistic expectations of performers. To all who’ve seen him, it’s abundantly clear that T-Pain is a clown. But what genre of music isn’t dominated by its share of undeserving hacks? T-Pain’s star rose and fell — quite quickly, I might add — and guess what? Bruce Springsteen is still filling concert venues. That real music we all claim to love so much (while pirating by the rar-load) isn’t dead. In fact, if the dismal sales of T-Pain’s most recent RevolveЯ are any indication, it looks like Jay-Z might have gotten what he wished for.

While auto-tune may never escape the stigma of being cheap, it doesn’t have to remain a gimmick. Despite an outpouring of establishment resistance, auto-tune has contributed to the creation of a handful of wonderful pieces of music in the fifteen years since its inception. At the very least, its proliferation provides a fascinating case study in our culture’s obsession with making all things, even human expression, flawless. Here, as evidence of auto-tune’s cultural value, are several captivating tracks that would have never graced our eardrums were it not for pitch-correction technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbXiECmCZ94
Believe — Cher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ufEF45-J4
Share My Love — R. Kelly

Both mentioned above. Auto-tune’s bookends are disparate, to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XAgLUHFXpM
Art of Uff — Uffie

Auto-tune is sometimes characterized as a sort of musical Midas touch. If that’s the case, then it’s uniquely well suited for Uffie, the so-called European Ke$ha. Part street swagger, part high fashion; her beauty is as intimidating as her success. Auto-tune exists only to make her life seem that much more mythological.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHyu3rUOyB0
Bad News — Kanye West

808s and Heartbreak probably constitutes the closet thing Kanye will ever experience to a flop (it only went platinum once!). To explore the passing of his mother, the end of his brief engagement, and, of course, his own narcissism, Kanye made some interesting stylistic choices. Abandoning his beloved sampler, Yeezy delved headfirst into into King Kong 808s and electro-rhythms. The most notable change, however, was his voice, which was auto-tuned on nearly every track. The result was a record that was far more R&B; than hip hop. Characteristically overwrought, the album was at least prescient; if you’re ever wondering where Drake came from, look no further.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgrcYGDvmY
Lollipop — Lil Wayne

People forget “Lollipop,” the lead single off Lil Wayne’s magnum opus Tha Carter III, preceded and outsold “A Milli.” Definitely an example of the more garish use of auto-tune that prevailed during the T-Pain Era, but a party song I have some emotional attachment to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66V_TkwbgRA
You Don’t Know What Love Is — 2000F & J Kamata

When flipped to overdrive, auto-tune turns vocal tracks into distant, robotic voices. 2000F & J Kamata, however, don’t go for the whole “fear the future” electronica thing. Instead, they use auto-tune to accompany some pretty relaxing chill out music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS_K2eg7Gx8
Super Rich Kids — Frank Ocean (ft. Earl Sweatshirt)

Not all auto-tuners choose to turn their voices into duck calls, some musicians (particularly R&B; singers) just need an extra layer of polish. As final proof, I submit that if Frank Ocean is doing it it must be cool.

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