The autotune on IANADOAC is bumming me out

www.nme.com

Auto-Tune? I Never Needed It When I Produced The Smiths

Following complaints from viewers, The X Factor has banned the use of auto-tune. Here, producer Stephen Street – who has worked on albums by The Smiths and Blur – says it’s about time, since the effect has ruined modern pop The X Factor auto-tune scandal has brought the technology to people’s...
www.nme.com www.nme.com

"The reason it’s so misguided is that it erases the imperfections that would normally give a voice its character. I never would have used auto-tune on Morrissey’s voice for example, [Street produced The Smiths’ final album ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’] because then he wouldn’t have sounded like Morrissey.

Historically, people with the most interesting vocals, say Siouxsie Sioux or John Lydon, they’re not pure tone singers."


A Morrissey vocal smashed through autotune to me is simply no longer a Morrissey vocal.
 
I've listened to the examples you've given, and I honestly can't hear it.
 
I envy those who can't hear it. I'm baffled how it's possible anyone can't hear it, as they are clear unnatural jumps in melodic notes that a human voice is incapable of doing, but I envy you all the same.
 
SqueezingMySkull said:
I envy those who can't hear it. I'm baffled how it's possible anyone can't hear it, as they are clear unnatural jumps in melodic notes that a human voice is incapable of doing, but I envy you all the same.
Click to expand...
But I hear nothing unnatural. I mean, I can't hear anything that sounds like Plava Laguna in The Fifth Element...
 
The first example I gave is the most unnatural, but all of the time stamps I gave are words and phrases clearly manipulated with autotune. But almost every line in the album is autotuned to hell. Compare the vocal with older Morrissey albums, it could not be more obvious. I'm not sure what else to do except give several examples. I can easily find another 10 examples but if people don't (want to?) hear it, they don't hear it. I guess it is nice that many people don't hear it and thus the album isn't ruined for them as it is for me. I also believe Morrissey used autotune on the previous few albums (except Ringleader, which is full of vocal flaws and tons of personality in the voice, in my view the last "classic" Morrissey release), but it has never been so noticeable and overdone as it is here. I have felt no desire to put on the album a third time as listening to it bothers me. Maybe I'll check out live versions of the songs instead.
 
SqueezingMySkull said:
The first example I gave is the most unnatural, but all of the time stamps I gave are words and phrases clearly manipulated with autotune. But almost every line in the album is autotuned to hell. Compare the vocal with older Morrissey albums, it could not be more obvious. I'm not sure what else to do except give several examples. I can easily find another 10 examples but if people don't (want to?) hear it, they don't hear it. I guess it is nice that many people don't hear it and thus the album isn't ruined for them as it is for me. I also believe Morrissey used autotune on the previous few albums (except Ringleader, which is full of vocal flaws and tons of personality in the voice, in my view the last "classic" Morrissey release), but it has never been so noticeable and overdone as it is here. I have felt no desire to put on the album a third time as listening to it bothers me. Maybe I'll check out live versions of the songs instead.
Click to expand...
Do you think this can be done live? Is it possible?
 
SqueezingMySkull said:
Compare the vocal with older Morrissey albums, it could not be more obvious.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying the odd line hasn't been autotuned here and there - maybe it has - but I can't hear anything as glaring as you say. Certainly nothing that is completely impossible with the human voice.

Do you not just think it's a possibility that Morrissey being in tune so much these days, is just the result of decades of performing, and improving his technique with time and practice? Certainly when you listen to some of the Smiths material, he is wildly out of tune (eg: 'Shakespeare's Sister' as a particularly 'bad' case, or the opening of 'I Want the One I Can't Have'), and elements of this even continue into the solo years. There have been times recently when I have felt that perhaps his singing has perhaps become almost too polished, and therefore lacks some of the human element of earlier years. It's all very strong, plenty of vibrato, and totally in tune. But based on comparing live performances, I'd say that is has possibly less to do with artificial studio trickery, than Morrissey simply getting better at his craft. He's spent pretty much his entire life doing this after all. I suspect these days he'd probably struggle more to sing off key.
 
I think this person has convinced themselves that Morrissey is using auto tune. If you're singling out time stamped words then you may have too much time on your hands, but with todays current climate it's understandable. It doesn't sound auto tuned at all, just a different style of production. If IANADOAC is auto tuned then so is the rest of his back catalogue.

I can also still hear the odd imperfection when his voice breaks slightly that I love to death, so why not correct that if he's auto tuning?
 
Uncleskinny said:
Do you think this can be done live? Is it possible?
Click to expand...
Oh you'd love that wouldn't you? Are you getting wet just thinking about the possibility of Morrissey being outed as a live auto tuning performer? The tech already exists to sing live auto tuned but it can't be working too well for Morrissey because I can hear plenty of bum notes in his performance which is okay by me.

There was also a girl on one of those, ahem... talent shows where she came out and sang so perfectly the judges started getting suspicious and it turned out they were wrong and she just sang like that.
 
Last edited:
Anonymous said:
I'm not saying the odd line hasn't been autotuned here and there - maybe it has - but I can't hear anything as glaring as you say. Certainly nothing that is completely impossible with the human voice.

Do you not just think it's a possibility that Morrissey being in tune so much these days, is just the result of decades of performing, and improving his technique with time and practice? Certainly when you listen to some of the Smiths material, he is wildly out of tune (eg: 'Shakespeare's Sister' as a particularly 'bad' case, or the opening of 'I Want the One I Can't Have'), and elements of this even continue into the solo years. There have been times recently when I have felt that perhaps his singing has perhaps become almost too polished, and therefore lacks some of the human element of earlier years. It's all very strong, plenty of vibrato, and totally in tune. But based on comparing live performances, I'd say that is has possibly less to do with artificial studio trickery, than Morrissey simply getting better at his craft. He's spent pretty much his entire life doing this after all. I suspect these days he'd probably struggle more to sing off key.
Click to expand...
It is curious that his voice has not just become richer but more in tune. His intonation was notoriously flaky and you're right, Shakespeare's Sister is virtually unlistenable. I also agree that in acquiring his current polished style, he has lost the vulnerability that gave certain songs in particular such impact (Half a Person recently being a really good example). The dodgy intonation persisted long into his solo years (Introducing Morrissey in '95 is all over the place) but for me was part of the package that his songs came with: you felt like you were getting the real deal, the real emotion, pitch wobbles and all. It's one of the reasons why, for me, the Moz tribute acts don't even come close. Perhaps, as you say, it's just years of refining his craft but I do find it odd that now there's not a note out of place.
 
Last edited:
Peppermint said:
It is curious that his voice has not just become richer but more in tune. His intonation was notoriously flaky and you're right, Shakespeare's Sister is virtually unlistenable. I also agree that in acquiring his current polished style, he has lost the vulnerability that gave certain songs in particular such impact (Half a Person recently being a really good example). The dodgy intonation persisted long into his solo years (Introducing Morrissey in '95 is all over the place) but for me was part of the package that his songs came with: you felt like you were getting the real deal, the real emotion, pitch wobbles and all. It's one of the reasons why, for me, the Moz tribute acts don't even come close. Perhaps, as you say, it's just years of refining his craft but I do find it odd that now there's not a note out of place.
Click to expand...

He used to be bouncing about the stage all the time, now he tends to stand still or slowly walk. Also I think he worked on it so he could sing It's Over. It seems to matter to him that he sounds like those old records.
 
Peppermint said:
It is curious that his voice has not just become richer but more in tune. His intonation was notoriously flaky and you're right, Shakespeare's Sister is virtually unlistenable. I also agree that in acquiring his current polished style, he has lost the vulnerability that gave certain songs in particular such impact (Half a Person recently being a really good example). The dodgy intonation persisted long into his solo years (Introducing Morrissey in '95 is all over the place) but for me was part of the package that his songs came with: you felt like you were getting the real deal, the real emotion, pitch wobbles and all. It's one of the reasons why, for me, the Moz tribute acts don't even come close. Perhaps, as you say, it's just years of refining his craft but I do find it odd that now there's not a note out of place.
Click to expand...
Were it not Morrissey I'd go so far as to believe that he'd been having singing lessons.
 
Nerak said:
He used to be bouncing about the stage all the time, now he tends to stand still or slowly walk. Also I think he worked on it so he could sing It's Over. It seems to matter to him that he sounds like those old records.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's true, although some recordings were also seriously off (I'm sure I read somewhere that he would do a maximum of 2 takes and refuse to do any more - which might be great for spontaneity but no good if you're not hitting the notes). He certainly did a good job on It's Over but I can't hear the autotune that SMS is so bothered by to know whether it was used.
 
Peppermint said:
Yes, that's true, although some recordings were also seriously off (I'm sure I read somewhere that he would do a maximum of 2 takes and refuse to do any more - which might be great for spontaneity but no good if you're not hitting the notes). He certainly did a good job on It's Over but I can't hear the autotune that SMS is so bothered by to know whether it was used.
Click to expand...

I can't hear it either.

He definitely doesn't use it live.
 
I would assume there's a way to use autotune live but I am not familiar with it. A lot of software has live versions that can be utilized, but it seems too risky and would also seem to be full of errors should Morrissey improvise something, which he often does.

I don't think people here are understanding me.

I am not saying "he's singing too good, it must be autotune!" I know Morrissey is a good singer. I also think, from seeing him live, he has gotten better at it over the years, and he also has gotten really good at making sure songs are written in the right keys for him (as compared to like, the first Smiths album.)

What I am saying is the vocals on the album sound robotic, inhuman, and have the undeniable qualities of autotune manipulation throughout. I don't think it's autotune because it sounds too good. I think it's autotune because it sounds terrible.

I also laugh at the notion that finding a few obvious time stamps implies I "have too much time" on my hands. First of all, it's a pandemic and we're all quarantined. We all have nothing but time on our hands. Second of all, I was listening to the album anyway and it took like 20 seconds to look at and write down a few time stamps. They were easy to spot as the autotune was glaring and is consistent throughout the album. Third of all, anybody posting on a Morrissey forum on the internet has too much time on their hands, otherwise they wouldn't be posting here or on any fan forum. Fourth, as someone who thinks music and singing is very important, digging into the use of autotune that a favorite artist might be doing is a big concern of mine and not a frivolous thing. I love music.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom