“We Are the World”

Mark of New Jersey

Mark is a Founding Editor of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, the predecessor of Ordinary Times.

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14 Responses

  1. Will says:

    Are people really going to have carefully considered opinions about a “We Are the World” remake?Report

    • Mark Thompson in reply to Will says:

      Probably not. I just wanted to briefly rant about auto-tuning. In the context of “We Are the World,” where the exagerrated use of auto-tuning is carelessly mixed with traditional vocal stylings, the auto-tuning is beyond grating.Report

  2. Jonathan says:

    Though I can’t weigh in on the We Are the World remake (I don’t want to listen to it), I fully share Mark’s disgust with auto-tuning. It is a wretched technology that too many rely on way too much. It tends to sufficiently alter the sound of the voice that, when juxtaposed with a natural voice, truly is grating, as Mark notes.

    Further, it can actually produce a sub-optimal pitch. Auto-tuning is (in my experience) pretty much just built for a straight up major or minor scale. It has no regard for anything that deviates from this sort of simplistic formula. Sure, you can play with the auto-tuning so that it will “adjust” to alternate scales, but it seems that few producers are willing or able to worry about this.

    In some situations, certain parts (usually a lead part, but possibly a harmony) need to be a little off in order to produce the proper effect. Some jazz and big band music requires the first trumpet to be just slightly sharp, so as to cut through the rest of the ensemble. Even “popular” music uses such devices – including ABBA and Eminem (though, granted, ABBA used other technology to modify the sound, but it seems better to use technology to distort a sound rather than to clean it up).

    All in all, auto-tuning tends to strip the humanity and art from the human voice, while making singers and producers alike lazy.

    Anyway, it you want to really mess with sound, you need one of these.Report

  3. Jaybird says:

    I was always irritated by Willie Nelson’s verse.

    Anyway, they should remake that “Feed the World” song. I always thought that that one had the appropriate amount of Dan Ackroyd. They probably couldn’t get away with a lyric like “let them know it’s Christmastime again” today, though.

    Another reason to miss the 80’s.Report

  4. JosephFM says:

    As Official League Ambassador from Tallahassee, I feel obliged to defend Auto-Tune and/or point out that you’re a bit late on this bandwagon.

    That said, if you don’t address your song to a “shawty” in yo lyrics somewhere, yeah, Auto-Tune probably is best used ironically at this point, or not at all.Report

  5. North says:

    In defence of auto-tuning:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc
    Nothing beats it for making dead people sing.Report