Auto-Tune the News
A Nostalgic Look Back
Spreading Opera Throughout Time and Space.
Auto-Tune the News was the brainchild of the Brooklyn band The Gregory Brothers. Auto-Tune the News took real video clips of politicians in their natural element and digitally manipulated them so they break into song.
When the domain registration of Auto-Tune the News expired the site disappeared from the web. The new owners of the domain, Auto-Tune the News fans, decided to resurrect the site with archived content. Please be indulgent, this is only a taste of the original site.
Enjoy the brilliance of the Gregory Brothers.
For more about The Gregory Brothers go to their current website at: www.thegregorybrothers.com/.
“The Gregory Brothers are unlikely salvagers of our modern digital wasteland.” – The Village Voice
“The Gregory Brothers have invented a completely new art form that is perfectly suited to our meme-crazed times, and — most difficult to replicate — is incredibly well made. Their skills are obvious and their ears perceptive, as evidenced by the way in which they mimic pop music tropes to perfection.” – Wired.com
“The Gregory Brothers have contributed something very important to American culture” – Rachel Maddow
“Absolutely fantastic!” – Glenn Beck
The Gregory Brothers’ unique musical stylings and comic rapport was largely formed when Evan, Michael, and Andrew began making zany mix-tapes in their living room in Radford, Virginia as tiny babies. These (sadly lost) seminal works of musical comedy gently gestated for a few years until 2007, when the brothers joined forces with a bright-eyed lass from Texas. This musical collaboration with Evan’s wife, Sarah, was forged in the fiery crucible of an un-air-conditioned van during a summer tour that year. These sweaty bonds shall never be broken. After having experienced the elation of sharing their original country & soul, folk ‘n’ roll tunes with several dozen people on that home-grown, 50 show tour, they began making their wildly viral YouTube series, “Auto-Tune the News” in 2008. Their meager hope was that several dozen more people would bump their rumps to C-Span if it thumped with a bass line and a beat.
While they continue to work on making their YouTube jams, The Gregory Brothers now tour the country speaking at colleges, playing at rock and comedy clubs, and are in the process of making a pilot for Comedy Central.
They have spoken at Google ZeitGeist, MacWorld, GEL, VidCon, Web 2.0 Expo, about how they combine music, technical savvy, and humor to reach millions. Their hit “The Bed Intruder Song” was the first YouTube video to cross over onto the Billboard Hot 100. They’re also proud to have collaborated with T-Pain, Weezer, Joel Madden, Tosh.0, Adidas, NPR, Sony Electronics, Chipotle, The Cleveland Show and The 83rd Annual Academy Awards. They are also the proud winners of two Webby Awards and were recipients of one of the inaugural Comedy Awards.
~~~
UPDATED Accolades and News: 2020
They have now been nominated for an Emmy, won 3 Webby Awards, 2 Streamy Awards, and produced the first YouTube video to ever chart on The Billboard Hot 100 - Bed Intruder Song. They continue to live in Brooklyn, where they crank out songs, music videos, and a variety of bizarre filmic productions from the industrial warehouse they now call their office.
They are proud to have collaborated with a number of their favorite artists, including Blondie, T-Pain, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Weird Al Yankovci and Weezer. They have also produced pieces for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The New York Times, The Academy Awards,and a number of feature films, advertisements, and television shows.
~~~~~
Here & now: One of the ways I survived sheltering in place during NYC Covid 19 surge this past spring was to go to Youtube and listen/watch the older and the newest offerings from The Gregory Brothers. The other day my mother called while I was listening to the The Gregory Brothers most recent song on Youtube, Trump vs. Soup - Songify 2020 Bonus Level. She was in a panic about the Google ranks of her realtor website. My husband is developer who knows people who can fix that. Got the name of the most recommended expert Bob Sakayama, called him up and arranged a chat almost immediately. He took a look and said it was a simple problem, and once I gave him the logins, he completed the fix in about 10 minutes. I called my mother to let her know everything was addressed and her ranks were back. I then went back to continue listening to Trump vs. Soup which I am sharing below.
Trump vs. Soup
The Gregory Brother
SOME MEMORABLE POSTS
ENJOY
September 22
Songify This - Reality Hits You Hard Bro
After a near-death-experience, Arizona citizen and realist George Lindell sings a rousing ode to the constant, yet oft forgotten, fragility of the human experience.
September 22
THE GREGORY BROTHERS "THE BACKIN' UP SONG"
August 4
Bed Intruder Song
After Antoine Dodson, a young hero from Huntsville, AL, saves his sister from an attack, he sings an important message both to his community and to the attacker himself. Evan Gregory then proceeds to play a heartfelt cover of the resulting song.
Chords:
chorus-
gm cm dm 4x
Bridge-
Eb dm cm gm
Eb dm cm F dm F
Lyrics:
he’s climbin in your windows
he’s snatchin your people up
tryna rape em so y’all need to
hide your kids, hide your wife
hide your kids, hide your wife
hide your kids, hide your wife
and hide your husband
cuz they’re rapin errbody out here
you don’t have to come and confess
we’re lookin for you
we gon find you
we gon find you
so you can run and tell that,
run and tell that
run and tell that, homeboy
home, home, homeboy
we got your t-shirt
you done left fingerprints and all
you are so dumb
you are really dumb–for real
the man got away leaving behind evidence
i was attacked by some idiot in the projects
so dumb, so dumb, so dumb, so
July 13
Double Rainbow Song
Yosemitebear and the G. Bros joined forces to get the song on iTunes.
The most famous double rainbow discovery ever--reimagined in song.
Lyrics/Chords:
Whoa, that’s a full rainbow all the way
bm G
Double rainbow, oh my God, double rainbow
D A
It’s a double rainbow all the way…damn bm G
It’s a double rainbow all the way…damn, oh my God D A f#m
What does this mean? It’s so bright, so vivid
G D
Double rainbow, double rainbow, it’s so intense (tense)
G f#m
What does this mean? It’s startin to even look like a triple rainbow
G D
That’s a whole rainbow, man, ahhhh!
G F#
Double rainbow all the way ‘cross the sky
bm G
Yeah, Yeeeeaaaaah, so intense
D A F#
Double rainbow all the way ‘cross the sky
bm G
Wow, wow, oh my God, look at that rainbow
D A
June 18
Auto-Tune the News #12 weed.lesbian allegaytions
Lyrics:
The market value of pot would go down, down, down if we legalize it
Then supersize it
Right now, now, now
$4,000 an ounce
That’s way too much
$400 an ounce
That’s ten times the blunts
We need to smoke a little more pot, right? right right now, now, now
That huge profit margin would go down, down, down if pot were legal
For the needy people
Right now, now, now
Does it lead to harder drugs?
No more than cigarettes
No, absolutely not
It leads to happiness
We need to smoke a little more pot, right? right. Right now, now, now
A photo of supreme court nominee Elena Kagan shows Kagan playing softball
Uh, uh…
That’s been sort of a signal like 2 men sunbathing together on a beach
Or something like that
The immediate implication is that they’re gay
That’s all, I’ve, I’ve known that for a long time
And as soon as I saw that picture
I knew the implication:
She’s gay, she’s gay!
I saw the allegation:
she’s gay, she’s gay!
Her sexual orientation
Significant in her confirmation
Is she gaaaaay? (a lesbian, lesbian)
Is she gaaaaaay? (a gay, gay lesbian)
Is she gaaay? (GAY)
Is she gaaay? (GAY)
Is she gaaaaaay? (a gay lesbian, lesbian)
Gay, gay, gay, gay like two men sunbathing together on a beach (3x)
Or something like that
The White House denies her gayness
But she got Village People on her iPod playlist
::laughing/chuckling/chortling::
There’s nothing wrong with a little levity
When we’re short on thoughts and long on brevity
::bantering::
Is she gaaaaay? (a lesbian, lesbian)……
we’re having a conversation
about the implication
of sexual orientation
a silly allegation
of extreme exaggeration
and pointless information
when it comes to confirmation
You would have to smooooke
14 joints in 1960
Today minus 50
To get just as hiiiigh
As in 2010 with just 1 joint
Goin back in time always disappoints
Isn’t that amazing?
It’s gonna be crazy in 2060
If we legalize marijuana
It would be a very dark day
In California
Dark with smooooke
Very bad idea
Would it balance our budget?
It would not!
Half of voters favor legalizing pot
If we legalize marijuana
It would be a dark, dark day
Very bad!
A dark, dark best day I’d ever have
A dark, dark, dark, dark, dark dark day.
June 10
OBAMA SINGS KICK ASS SONG?!?!
Obama declares his intent to kick somebody's ass, though determining the specific ass to be kicked may require an executive task force. The aggression of this declaration is made all the more resounding by its delivery as a dark, looming hip hop single.
Matt Lauer and Sarah Gregory contribute vocals and interviewing expertise.
April 29
We Won a Webby
Thanks for voting for Auto-Tune the News! We are now not simply buffoons, but award-winning buffoons.
The Gregory Brothers discuss making boring news become interesting news with the help of Auto-Tune
April 16
Magical Streamys Remix
We won 3 Streamy awards! Along the way, we met some of the other nominees and winners. In this video we surf the Streamys nominee page in magical song.
Featured artists, in order of appearance:
Zach Galifianakis (Between 2 Ferns): http://bit.ly/LIsqt
Brigitte Dale: http://bit.ly/cGvXib
Michael Buckley: http://bit.ly/338PJm
Shane Dawson: http://bit.ly/P8bAx
Philip DeFranco: http://bit.ly/Mj3PC
Justine Ezarik: http://bit.ly/IUFQ2
Ed Helms (Subtle Sexuality): http://bit.ly/2YfCeR
Robin Thorsen (The Guild): http://bit.ly/4oYiwy
Amir Blumenfeld (Jake and Amir): http://bit.ly/4e5hmH
Molly Windman (Rocketboom): http://bit.ly/3E6V
Ass-Whooping (Angel of Death): http://bit.ly/2uMkD
David Wain (Wainy Days): http://bit.ly/sdfhB
^^ if you don’t know these shows/channels yet, you should. check them out.
PS–thanks to the homeys/fans, we’re nominated for 2 webbys!! vote for us here: http://nxtnw.tv/goATTN and here: http://nxtnw.tv/voteATTN
spread the word and get out the vote!
April 6
Pure Poppycock. (ft. Joel Madden) // Auto-Tune the News #11
Nigel Farage teams up with the Angry gorilla to shout in the EU as Joel Madden sings a plaintive duet with Katie Couric.
Broadcasters become stars and stars become broadcasters as an ominous hip-hop sample infuses the news of the day. Joel Madden guests as a fictional CBS correspondent. UPDATE: any resemblance the intentional performers may bear to media personalities living or dead is purely coincidental.
Find Joel Madden online:
www.goodcharlotte.com
/www.twitter.com/JoelMadden
Mike Penny shreds the shamisen. His YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/mikepenny01
Lyrics available in the closed captions (turn the on at the bottom-right-hand corner of the youtube player)!
and here:
NF: You have the charisma of a damp rag!
Gorilla: Damp rag!
NF: You have the appearance of a bank clerk!
Gorilla: Bank Clerk!
NF: Who are you? I’d never heard of you!
Gorilla: Eat my poo!
NF: Nobody in Europe had ever heard of you!
But I have no doubt that it’s your intention
To be the quiet assassin of European democracy.
Perhaps that’s because you come from Belgium
Which of course, is pretty much a non-country.
We don’t know you, we don’t want you!
The sooner you’re put out to grass, the better!
We don’t like you, we don’t want you!
Gorilla: Our logic and reason have proved you wrong!
Bølverk: Go back to Douchebagistan where you belong!
Gorilla: Don’t make me have to start World War III !
Bølverk: Bring it on, these guns are WMD!
NG: We don’t know you, we don’t want you!
We don’t like you, we don’t want you!
KC: Last month, comedian Bill Cosby
was surprised to read that he died.
JM: How can he read if he’s dead?
KC: Chief Justice John Roberts
was the last to know he resigned.
JM: Maybe he should check his head!
KC:All of those stories, of course are pure poppycock
that proliferated online.
JM: I do it all the time, makin up s— is so sublime.
KC: But that of course is little solace for the reader
who simply wants to surf the web
without getting pulled under by a riptide of lies.
JM: You can’t protect the web from a–holes like me, shorty!
KC: Truth can rip through cyberspace as quickly as lies
Bloggers gnaw at new information like piranhas in a pool
JM: Don’t play me for a fool you know as well as I,
we’re both getting owned by the
Both: Rip, riptide of lies
pulled under by a rip, riptide of lies
Pure poppycock!
I want to surf, surf the web
without getting pulled under
by a rip, riptide of lies!
GB: You hit on a guy at a wedding.
EM: I I So
GB: Explain that one first.
EM: Okay, so we’re at a wedding, New Year’s Eve,
everyone had too much to drink.
There were 300 people there,
I went with a bridesmaid, danced with her,
I grabbed a bachelor.
Now they’re sayin I groped a male staffer!
Yeah, I did! - Um. - Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Staffers: A manly back-rub. Just a back rub!
EM: We all live together, all the bachelors and me.
Staffers: Naked in the tub!
EM:You can take anything out of context!
Staffers:Huggin!
EM: You can take anything out of context!
Staffers: Scrubbin!
EM: You can take anything out of context!
Staffers: Rubbin and humpin!
EM: Yeah!
Staffers: Ticklin and jumpin!
EM: Yeah, yeah! I tickled him till he couldn’t breathe,
then four guys jumped on me.
It’s my fiftieth birthday.
GB: Whether you’re telling the truth or not,
An avalanche is coming your way.
An avalanche of lies,
SG: pulled under by an avalanche of lies!
KC/JM: Pure poppycock!
GB: Whether you’re telling the truth or not,
SG: you’re guaranteed to get caught
Both: in an avalanche of lies!
Staffer: Massa staffers! Droppin a St. Bernard of truth
But we already drank the brandy
My boss tickles me like a true G,
He straddles me so masculine
No stoppin’ when i’m askin’ him
When he cootchie-coo my armpits, i’m a goner
Tryna pretend that i don’t notice his boner!
Tryna distract him with headlines from China
He just drop his drawers and pull out his vagina!
——–
Staffers:
Whenever you hear the boss swaggerin down the hall,
you know he gonna drop a double cup on your tennis balls!
You have to be a soldier, a real man,
to soothe a male staffer with the stroke from a tender hand!
Ain’t nothin wrong with a Massa massage
when you’re in a chronic platonic quintuple menage!
The entourage gripped in a bear hug that they can’t escape
Tryna pretend they don’t notice when he ejacu- -
April 6
Songify the News - Auto-Tune the News: Behind the Scenes with the Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers let you peek behind the magic curtain and reveal the secrets behind Auto-Tune the News.
February 23
Auto-Tune the News #10 Turtles
A congressman declares that "you shall build a turtle fence" and the entire chamber breaks into an inspired anthem.
Original song, Aquarium Girl, by Kapluckus–album available here:
February 23
Obama Sings "Reply"??
In a candid appeal to the American people, President Obama turns to the Top 40 for inspiration.
October 16
Auto-Tune the News #9 Nobel health care. United Nations.
Presidents and prime ministers sing in harmony. Love and happiness abounds.
Lyrics:
HC: Tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun
Seamos un tilín mejores
Y un poco menos egoístas
Tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun
Huele esperanza
FR: In this common endeavor
Huele esperanza
GB: All of us work together
HC: Tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun
BO: We must embrace a new era of engagement
Because the time has come
UN Choir: To smell the hope!
GB: For growth to be sustained
It has to be shared
UN Choir: ohhh, We can smell the hope!
BO: The time has come
UN Choir: To smell a better world!!
FR: A better world to live in for future generations everywhere.
AG: Don’t get sick
That’s right, don’t get sick
If you have insurance, don’t get sick
If you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick
If you’re sick, don’t get sick
Just don’t get sick
That’s the Republicans’ health care plan
CC: He has a chart
AG: An angry chart
CC: A chart that helps us learn!
AG: ooh ooh ah ah
If you get sick in America, die quickly
That’s right–the Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick
AG: I agree!
CC: He agrees!
AG: Angrily!
CC: Cuz he’s angry!
KO: Afford to live?
Are we at that point?
Are we so heartless?
How can we not be united against death?
Us: My BFF Gilgamesh knows eternal life’s an impossible quest
The resources exist for your father and mine to get the same treatment
Us: Yeah, we’re in agreement
But first we gotta lay down some
All: High speed rail
Us: Bail out some
All: Banks
Us: Save your daddy with the leftover change
KO: How can we be so heartless?
Us: We’re nihilists!
KO: How can we be so heeeeaaartless?
Us: We’re tryna die quick!
KO: What more obvious role could government have
Than the defense of the life of each citizen?
KC: How is the Nobel Peace Prize decided?
BS: Well, uh, that is what people were asking all day today
Bølverk: We mix a secret potion,
And roll the ancient dice,
Then hire a focus group
And have a human sacrifice.
KC: A lot of people are asking today why do you think the committee elected President Obama?
Bølverk: I believe a prize for peace should go to the biggest wuss.
BS: They were giving Obama a prize for not being George Bush.
Choir: They can smell the hope!!
KC: Take a deep breath!
Choir: And hope a smelly world!
KC: A deep breath!
FR: A better world to live in for future generations everywhere