Let’s Try This Again…
This is the second try at this, a sign of how my day has been going already. It is a copy and paste, so excuse the picture and caption problems (among other things).
Today’s Daily Prompt: If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative.
What would I un-invent: The auto-tune software that has been overused in songs and albums since its mainstream release in 1997.
Why?: Look at music over the last 15 years, mainly pop and R&B. Sure, trends go in waves, but some of these are getting ridiculous. I wonder if some of these artists really sing or if they are just the face to the computer voice.
I am not against some use of this in music, like I am not against some use of sampling. Both are used over and over again to where “artists” are a joke, but I could only pick one thing to un-invent.
Not everybody is meant to be a star, sorry to say. People used to hate Simon Cowell on American Idol (which I only watched two seasons of) for his brutal honesty. Auto tune has turned the music industry into a bunch of kids playing soccer, where everyone has to get a one-hit wonder and YouTube fame than a trophy for participation.
- One of my British boyfriends.
Potential repercussions?: I was going to say fewer labels or one-hit wonders, but I don’t think that is true. Look at the novelty songs of the past and the keyboard-synthesizer assisted tunes of the 70s and 80s. You can add to your sound to make up for a mediocre voice without going crazy. One-hit wonders will always be around, the public is just like that sometimes.
- Fun Fact: If you have SwiftKey on your phone, it will suggest “Ice” if you type “Vanilla”.
Maybe the biggest repercussion is the one that effects me personally: no headaches from trying to figure out who I am listening to since everyone sounds the same today. And being able to cancel my satellite radio subscription to keep from avoiding the same five overprocessed songs on the channels available to me.
Possible alternative: Well, I already mentioned keyboard and synthesizer as elements to use to make a song sound different and offset a less talented voice.
- He made the GUITAR TALK people!
More reliance on true talent and building them up instead of going for the quick bucks of sales? OK, that is idealistic, but as a consumer one can hope.
Categorised as: Daily Prompt
And imagine – if we got rid of auto-tune, a large chunk of these pop “artists” would be exposed for the untalented jackasses they really are! Leaving room in the music industry for the real talent to shine.
Perfect.
Exactly!
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I was all serious and wrote about Nuclear bombs. But man you made a good point. This invention didn’t even cross my mind. Liked your take on UNDO!
I’ve been reading all of the posts like yours, undoing things leading to war, famine, greed, etc. and thinking “how shallow was this?”.
But I figure mine can serve as comic relief and, so far,it seems to be a common cause!
Fish with her bras, you with autotune, and me with juice machines. I admit, I didn’t even think of all those more serious things, haha! I loved your post– what a great thing to undo.
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Thank you! Yes, the music industry needs to get back to real quality rather than assisted quality. I’d also prefer some sort of quality over quantity too because it seems like everyone and their brother is going to put out and album in the next year.
Speaking of which, how are all of our novels coming?
Oh, not the same? Interesting…
Plus, if you got rid of all sampling, my time as a DJ would have been non-existent as the songs that pulled me into the scene in the first place were those with the highest rate of sampling. It wasn’t until much later that I started to enjoy the more original stuff.
That’s why I said SOME sampling is OK
I am talking about the ones who add nothing to the song they are using or the song they are trying to make. Kind of like Hollywood making 10 sequels to the same movie or making movies out of board games. If you can’t come up with anything original, then leave room for the ones who are at least trying.
Oh Autotune, how I despise thee. Great answer! I’m watching American Idol right now and I want Simon back more than ever. I always liked him because he told the truth and he knew what he was talking about.
My husband and I went to a orchestral concert that was playing music from comic book shows and movies. They had a segment were they made up a superhero conductor. His arch nemesis was autotune. Perfect.
That sounds like a great concert!
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[...] help with writer’s block. Recently, some of my posts related to the DP have been silly, resulting in me giving autotune priority over nuclear war in things to un-invent, or using songs to express my thoughts on the prompt. I read the blogs I follow and the ones that [...]
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