What’s New With Auto-Tune The News?

Mother Jones has an enlightening interview with Michael and Evan Gregory of Auto-Tune the News. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) is only the second-best auto-tuned vocalist in the sixth and most recent edition (below), which runs Congressional and TV-news debates on climate change, Sarah Palin's gubernatorial resignation, Michael Jackson's pill problem, and more through the Auto-Tuners' pitch-shifting, cowbell-enhancing machinery. And it turns out Barack Obama and Palin have more in common than you might imagine:

MJ: Any comments on Obama's Auto-Tunability?

MG: Obama has a great accidental singing voice if we're selective enough with what we tune. He doesn't, however, have the Midas touch like fellow unintentional tenors Joe Biden and Pat Buchanan.

MJ: It seems that Sarah Palin defies the power Auto-Tune. True?

MG: Believe it or not, Palin shares an Achilles' heel with Obama—dropping in pitch at the end of the phrase. Sometimes, to make matters worse, she nervously rambles, which makes her nearly impervious to the powers of Auto-Tune. She has great potential, and I'm confident she'll churn out some hits in the future.