[H]omer <spam@xxxxxxx> espoused:
> Verily I say unto thee, that Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
>
>> Well, maybe not the singing, but those beats make a tune. Of course,
>> very few of those pop stars are actually able to write music
>
> Half of them can even sing in tune without one of those "vocorders" to
> help them. AFAICT the "pop" charts are merely populated with "talent"
> picked up by agents who flick through modelling agency portfolios. Being
> able to carry a tune is just a bonus.
The tool in question is called "auto-tune", as far as I know, and it
allows those who cannot sing to be presented as if they can. It also
means that the natural kind of vibrato effects and so on that real
singers can do have to be 100% missing from the auto-tuned crowd, at
least, until the machines get better at it, anyway.
Being able to carry a tune is outside of the capabilities of any of
them. Incidentally, I hadn't realised until Mrs Mark told me that the
last crop of "teen talent" in the US had come from, wait for it, the
"mickey mouse club"! Apparently, I'm informed, Justin Timberlake,
Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are all just kiddie TV presenters
who've been re-branded as pop stars.
Also, our very own Fearn Cotton is also ex-Mickey Mouse club, and has
progressed through all manner of awful kids TV shows, before landing,
apparently, on Radio 1 (I listen not). She has completely cured me of
/ever/ using the word "exciting" or "excited" again, due to her
interviewing style:
"Are you really excited to be here?"
"Is it really exciting out there with your fans?"
"I'm really excited"
"We're all excited here"
As well as the word "feel" (which I didn't really use anyway, but now
loath even more):
"How does it feel to be here? Is it really exciting?"
>
> Oh there's still the occasional /real/ band, that starts life in a
> garage somewhere in suburbia, but most of what people hear in the charts
> is just "product" rather than music.
I've not seen one in a very very long time.
>
> http://media.slated.org/albums/userpics/MS_rapmachine.jpg
>
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| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
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