I find that when you're "in the moment", you tend to assume that you're going to remember pretty much everything, no matter how inconsequential it might seem. I mean, hell, I vividly remember all sorts of stupid and completely pointless shit that dates right back to fairly early childhood, so it is true to a certain extent.
But occasionally it's a pleasant surprise to rediscover something that you had forgotten about the existence of. In this case, it's something from not all that long ago — 2009, to be exact — but I had completely erased it from my memory. Perhaps with good reason.
I'm talking about Microsoft Songsmith, an experimental piece of tech from Microsoft's Research department that allowed you, in the words of its legendary promotional video, to "sing into the microphone while the drummer plays along" and then get the software to analyse the tune you'd sung and come up with a cheesy MIDI backing for your melody with what was, theoretically, some appropriate chords to use for the accompaniment.
Having just stumbled across a mention of it by chance while perusing back through ancient entries of my old blog, everything came flooding back. I'm pretty sure I was still working at the Apple Store when the monstrosity that is Songsmith was first unleashed on the world, and we all found it absolutely hilarious — even more so when it became apparent that people were using it as God intended: to take a cappella versions of classic songs and run them through Songsmith in order to create some of the most horrendous "remixes" imaginable.
I remember laughter and good times with friends. It was just 12 years ago — not a long time in the grand scheme of things — but it kind of feels a lifetime away right now. Fond memories, for sure, but also a tad bittersweet given the world we live in today.
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