808s” was a landmark record for Auto-Tune in black pop, proof that it could be a compelling aesthetic choice rather than an R&B-crossover crutch. Stripped of its natural authority, West’s singing becomes a pixilated whimper, the sound of a man trying and failing to insulate himself from hurt; the treatment throws the cracks in his voice (and his psyche) into sharp relief.

It sort of seems like Alex Pappademas is being an asshole when he says the above, after opening this piece on Auto-Tune by just about tripping and falling, mouth-first, on Bon Iver’s dick:

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, whose “For Emma, Forever Ago” is the most acclaimed recorded-in-a-cabin-in-the-woods record of recent years, has made use of Auto-Tune both subtly and blatantly. Vernon’s “Woods” is proof of Auto-Tune’s potential as a creative tool; in their own way, all these songs are, too.

When a sensitive beardy uses Auto-Tune it’s an unmitigated “creative tool”, but when T-Pain uses it it’s a “black pop crutch”. And by the time Kanye uses it like, ooh, looky looky, black pop musicians figured out how to make “aesthetic choices”.

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