Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
I dislike it when I can hear the auto-tune. It's a big turn-off for me.


I dislike it when it is used to mask entire poor performances. On my CD there were spots where my engineer used elastic audio to bring a note here and there up a few cents to lock it in, particularly where it stood out because it was matching a fiddle note or something that made it obvious.

But doesn't that really work in tandem with how music is now visual more than anything? The bombastic stage shows, all the background dancers (we used to have background singers), a large part of the shows prerecorded.... It stopped being about music years ago. How else can you explain Britney Spears or those Simpson people, whatever their names are? Particularly the one that was on Saturday Night Live and they played here first song when she was supposed to be on her second song? AND THEN she compounded the fracture by saying "I can't believe my band started playing the wrong song..." The purity of music is LONG gone. Remember when bands just stood and played and sang? The Eagles? CSNY? Chicago?

I saw a video as part of a news story that was a dig at Mariah Carey. The story pointed out how much of a footnote she has become. She was on stage, stuffed like a kielbasi into some outfit that was borderline obscene, and as she sang, she WALKED 3 steps left, then 3 steps right, back and forth, all while a line of 8 dancers flanking her were actually dancing, the illusion supposedly that she was part of the dance number (and she was not - she was barely moving). At one point, she sneezed. During both the "aaaaah" and the "chooo" part of the sneeze, her singing never stopped. It was SO obvious that her show was being faked. As fat and out of shape as she has gotten, she ain't dancin' NOWHERE!! Sad too, because she used to be good back before she went crazy.

And that was the perfect example of the state of commercial music today.


I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.