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Last week, Microsoft Research unveiled Songsmith, a program that automatically generates backing music for whatever you sing into it.  To show off its capabilities, they released this painful promotional spot:

The video makes clear that Songsmith excels at producing music no one over the age of six would ever want to listen to.  But I was curious how it would do with less schlocky tunes.  As they say, garbage in, garbage out.  Maybe Songsmith is just waiting for the right melody to reveal its true potential.

A while back Radiohead challenged their fans to remix their song “Reckoner”.  How would Songsmith fare with Thom Yorke’s vocals?  Are Jonny Greenwood and the rest of the band to be the latest victims of the global economic downturn?  You be the judge.

Dance Pop:

Salsa:

50’s Rock:

Piano Ballad:

Alternapop:

California Soft Rock:

Dance:

Hip-Hop:

Twist:

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  1. herocious (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    I’m not too sure about the Hip-Hop remix.

  2. wnu (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    I thought it was def.

  3. herocious (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    For those who are out of the loop, per Urban Dictionary, Def means cool, ill, dope. You know.

    Usage:

    Yo man Bone Thugs N Harmony are one of the most def groups of all time.

  4. bridget (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    ahhh, so is this the idea behind mos def?
    because, for me, def only means definitely. most definitely.

  5. bridget (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    & the piano ballad version is smooth.

  6. BONO (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    One thing that seems to be mostly overlooked is that the technology underlying this crazy app seems to be quite nifty if even advanced. I think MS’s ludicrous attempt to sell it has completely screwed up, what in the hands of sane adults would otherwise have been a potentially useful technology.

  7. wnu (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    I’ll admit, it did impress me a few times along the way. It needs a lot more work to be anything more than a toy, though. I’m very surprised they’re charging for it.

  8. Thomas (Reply) on Monday 12, 2009

    The chords are perfect, if I had to send in a remix, I would use those (with better production ofcourse)