Gizmodo: songsmith

The Strangest Microsoft Songsmith Remixes

Adrian Covert — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:00:55 EST

Microsoft's Songsmith, which autogenerates music for acapellas, has been out for about a month. That's been enough time for a number bizarre remixes to surface on Youtube. Here are some of the more bizarre selections.

The Police - Roxanne

Wait, this sounds like the Starman song...was Songsmith made by Microsoft or Nintendo?

Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

This is how you introduce the Wu to an elderly white person.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

The song title sums up my sentiments in a brief and concise manner.

Rick Ross - Hustlin

Hearing Ricky Rossssss rhyme over old-timey bluegrass shocks me everytime I watch this.

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

I'm sorry, couldn't resist posting this. The original version already sounds like it could have been generated by Songsmith. And now many Youtube commenters feel Songsmith actually IMPROVED on the original. Yikes.

Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

Least...motivational...track...ever

Tay Zonday - Chocolate Rain

And just when you thought this song couldn't get weirder...

Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot

Microsoft Bob makes a cameo. As does a 3D, Communist sickle and hammer. 'Nuff Said.

Notorious B.I.G. - Dead Wrong

This might be the only hip-hop track run through Songsmith that still sounds like hip-hop (albeit it still butchers a great B.I.G. track). Biggie had so much mic control, analytic audio software can't help but fall in order.

Here are a couple of others that some copyright fascist wouldn't let us embed...

Weezer - Buddy Holly (A little more Twin Peaks than Happy Days, right?)

Nirvana - In Bloom (Kurt Cobain is rolling in his grave right now.)

And be sure to check out the page of user azz100c, who definitely leads the pack as far as Songsmith videomakers go.

Microsoft Songsmith Cheerily Documents the Collapse of the World Economy

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST

Microsoft's inherently-ironic Songsmith software is such a goldmine. Here, some jokester has turned those stock market frowns upside-down by setting them to Songsmith's relentlessly upbeat Casiotone beats.

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, you're probably not closing your eyes shut enough. [YouTube, thanks Hendrik!]

David Lee Roth + Microsoft SongSmith = Pure Horror

Adam Frucci — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST

An absolute genius decided to feed David Lee Roth's vocals from Runnin' with the Devil to Microsoft's Songsmith software, which adds super-cheezy music to any sung lyrics. The results are, well, incredible. [Metafilter via Kottke]

Microsoft Songsmith's Corny Musical Infomercial

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:30:00 EST

Microsoft's Songsmith software, which creates Casiotone-style beats to match whatever off-key warbling is optimistically sung into a mic, finally has an ad as corny and annoying as the software itself promises to be.

I know I've been clamoring for an amateur low-budget musical from Microsoft, because why should Phil's Discount Used Lawn Furniture of Blueball, Pennsylvania have a monopoly on my involuntary physical cringes? But here's the bigger question: why did they use a MacBook Pro as the demo machine? Did they think I wouldn't recognize it if the Apple logo was artfully and subtly hidden with a giant stupid flower sticker? Did nobody around the office have a spare HP or Dell that that poor exploited little girl could squawk into?

Other stray observances: the software is sort of interesting, in that it matches up a sung melody with appropriate chords, but every song sounds like the bouncy, instantly infuriating demo song from those My First Keyboards by Casio. And while I am, for the ten millionth time, a Windows-only user, even I had to laugh at the line, "Microsoft, huh? So, it's pretty easy to use?"

But I do love the idea that to combat a difficult writer's block, a musician would flip on Songsmith, crank up the dial labeled "Jazzy", and instantly feel a burst of creativity as Microsoft writes him the exact same song as it wrote for the Glow-in-the-Dark Towel ad. Well done, Microsoft. [Microsoft]