I think there's another interpretation to "Notes"' story that's got nothing to do with the quality of backing tracks.

The perception of "karaoke" is that anyone can get a backing track. No "musician" skill required.

With MIDI, even though it may not be "live", the assumption is that the musician probably created the sequence himself. That is, the only reason they are using MIDI is because they can't clone themselves.

If there are instruments being played live, the assumption is that they're really being played, and not just mimed. Not always true, but people put more value on that, and react negatively when they think they've been "fooled" by a performer.

So I wonder if the initial reaction that "Notes" got had to do with perceived value of the performer's skill, and little to do with the "quality" of the backing tracks.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?