Believe it or not, I had managed up until this past weekend to never
use AutoTune. Partly because I get lucky enough to work with some
extraordinary singers on occasion, partly because I record a lot of
instrumental music, and partly because...well, some might say there
were sessions where I *should* have used AutoTune!

So whenever I heard folks talking about a concert or a show or an
album or some performance that prompted them to say "I could really
hear AutoTune" (eg., every three weeks in this newsgroup), I had to
shrug, having no direct reference. Although just about as often as
someone was complaining about the prevalence of AutoTune in
contemporary music, I found myself complaining about the prevalence of
cheesey vocoders in contemporary music.

So this weekend I'm doing a mix & the producer whips out AutoTune on
the lead vox and SONOFABITCH! It *is* that cheesey vocoder sound I've
been hearing in so many pop tunes!

WTF???

*That's* state of the art? *That's* the best they can do with
micropitch shifting technology? *THAT'S* what all the fuss is
about?!?!?!?! I felt like it was 1978 all over again. Anyone remember
Herbie Hancock's _Sunlight_ album?