And artists such as Herbie Hancock and Neil Young have manipulated their voices with vocoders, which sound similar to the Auto-Tune and make one’s voice sound computerized. I’m not against using audio techniques to enhance or add flavor to a song reverb, double-tracking, equalization and various other filters can be wonderful effects. It has been dubbed “The Cher Effect” because of its introduction in her 1998 hit single “Believe.” Since then, dozens of artists have copied the technique, and a list has been circulating around the Interwebs that points out the Top 10 offenders.
In last week’s post describing the suckiness of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop,” I mentioned his judicious use of a device called Auto-Tune, a processor that automatically corrects any variations in pitch.
