Lil' Wayne - Lollipop
Okay, we heard this thing all over the radio last year. That doesn't change the fact that its use is gloriously, unabashedly over-the-top - and, somehow, strangely alluring. He doesn't pitch-correct every word, but the ones that he does - the gutteral sounds of "hair" and "her," for instance - pack a punch.
Natasha Bedingfield f. Sean Kingston - Love Like This
This sun-kissed pop ditty is a sharp contrast to the heavy, crunk-tastic T-Pain-ization of the device. It's subtle but pervasive on bubblegum-sweet lines like "That's why you keep on running in and out of my m-i-i-ind" (0:34).
Snoop Dogg's "Sensual Seduction"
As the video showcases, Snoop is hardly aping contemporary Auto-Tune stylings. With a laidback 70s-soul vibe and the rapper's borderline (GASP!) romantic come-ons, this tune stands out from the pack. Who cares if he's being ironic! The song buries into your head like no other Snoop song before it...
Kanye West f. Lil Wayne, "See You In My Nightmares"
The horror-film synths gives the two rappers' generic boasts a dramatic flourish, while the lack of a drum beat makes this sound like the world's longest intro - which somehow works.
T-Pain f. Ludacris, "Chopped N Screwed"
Jamie Foxx f. T-Pain, "Blame It"
On these two tunes, T-Pain acknowledges once and for all that pitch-correction is a gimmick, embracing and reveling in its ridiculousness. Both include deliciously Auto-Tuned choruses-> the first, "Chopped and Screwed," sounds like a turntablist having a bit too much fun with the scratching. The second, "Blame It," features perhaps the best over-enunciated nonsense catch-phrase since Rihanna's "Umbrella" (ella...ella...), as it somehow stretches "alcohol" into an eight-syllable word. Sing it with me, now: "Blame it on the ah, ah-ah, ah, ah, alcohol"
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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