Entertainment - by Chris Maggio on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:13 - 19 Comments - 288 views
In case you are one of the literally billions of people who haven’t heard, indie-folk favorite and all-around white dude Justin Vernon—aka Bon Iver—has opted to use something that sounds suspiciously like auto-tune on his new song “Woods” from the upcoming Blood Bank EP.
Bon Iver first garnered attention (from white people) late last year/early this year for the cripplingly emotional sounds of For Emma, Forever Ago, which was allegedly recorded by Vernon in a cabin or some shit. Though he hasn’t totally ditched the au naturale sound for Blood Bank, there are some amps being used, as well as hip-hop’s favorite plug-in.
There was a heated debate about auto-tune a few months ago on this very website. Based on how those arguments went, I think the reaction to “Woods” could go one of two ways. Hopefully, people will recognize that auto-tune is a legitimate musical tool whether it is used by Weezy or Daft Punk. More likely though, these Think Coffee lovers will find some way to explain why Bon Iver uses it correctly, and T-Pain does not, and it will probably involve the word “experimental.”
But seriously, if you were to replace the lyrics “I’m up in the woods” with “I’m up in the club” this could be a Teddy Pain joint. Either way, is auto-tune finally going to be something white people like? And if so, how long before they all start to Vampire Weekend it? Let me know what’s good in the comments.
19 Comments
bo butland
a) auto-tune sucks.
b) auto-tune still sucks when bon iver uses it.
c) CHRIS LOVES VAMPIRE WEEKEND.
Joe Coscarelli
“Woods” = Imogen Heap, but I kind of like it. Thom Yorke would approve, but Pain has this to say: http://videos.onsmash.com/v/rQisnSciarLfL3gL
bo butland
Mmmmmmmm whatchya sayyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Justin Spees
Joe, I propose that for the New Jams tag we spell Jams with a “z”. Like Jamz. Much better.
Say what you will about my insufferable music snobbery, at least I’m consistent about it: “Woods” is just not up to the standard Bon Iver set with his gorgeous debut album.
Also, I kind of like Think Coffee.
bo butland
NED FOR PRESIDENT
krissy k
yo finally i can legit cry to auto-tune
em are vee
this is reverse-racism! you guys think i’m joking but why isn’t more attention paid to that sort of discrimination? would you ever call T.I. an “all around black dude”?
bo butland
@mike: truth.
bo butland
i mean, em are vee.
sry 4 xposing u.
em are vee
my identity is shattered!
isaac d
um. It’s not reverse racism, it’s just racism.
Niels P
everyone uses auto tune. some people just decide to make it obvious for the sake of sounding autotuned. case in point: Tokyo police from there a lesson in crime EP to there elephant shell LP. maybe not obvious but try producing music with it will become that way. I hate that more than blatant use. bon iver used it for harmonies – most of for ema – and for experimentation.
ps not “everyone” uses it just 90% of them
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1. How is it racist to call someone an all-around white dude? You’re not offering any input on what it is qualifies someone as “white” and whether that’s good or bad. Spend some time with a dictionary.
2. T-Pain knows how to work an auto-tune jam. I like T-Pain’s auto-tuning. I don’t care what kind of experimental bullshit Bon Iver is pulling, lose the auto-tuner.
Sterlaf Von ShleikenDorf
T to the Pain sucks. Bon to the Iver does not. Case closed. Auto tune is gay, unless white singers use it!
Ignatius J. Reilly
What’s empirically amazing is that in this age of high-bandwidth, world’s-largest-library-exponential-mirror-of-a-global-society-based internet, the unwashed masses fail to understand that the use of that bullsh1t Auto-Tune device is merely a VERY hackneyed bastard stepchild of a device used in the 1970’s called the Vocoder. Artists from ELO to Faith Hill have already used that. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, but hey, what-eva – let’s regurgitate the damned technology again and use it in that tasteless genre of “music” called hip-hop, cRap, or whatever, because the clueless dopes who subscribe to this yo-yo-encrusted trend are too stupid to realize they’re the victims of marketing schemes intended to replace their miniscule disposable dollars with a product of much lesser quality.
Proof once again that the two most-common elements in the universe remain hydrogen and stupidity. God bless the teachers of the planet – for they have the unmitigated, most-difficult, and noblest of challenges: that of attempting to turn poop-flinging tree-dwellers into monkeys with car keys.
GOT IT?
hukd en fonikz werkd fer mee 2, yo
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Everyone who listens to Bon Iver is racist.