Microsoft’s Songsmith was meant to take a simple tempo like snapping fingers or clapping hands and the user’s voice to create an instant backing band and a song, at least that’s how Microsoft envisioned it. But now users are feeding vocals from hit songs into the program, letting Songsmith re-invent the music, synchronizing the computer-modified tune to the band’s music video, and posting the results on YouTube.
Here’s a link to the Police’s “Roxanne” Songsmith style. Links to the right of the YouTube page will point to Songsmith-modified hits from Oasis, the Beatles, Van Halen and even a Barack Obama campaign speech.