And we strive for..... what ?

Zaikesman: Thank you! Music is performance, not product (in the commercial sense). Seriously, do you ever thing James Brown would "fly in" correctives or effects for his performances? I didn't think so either.

Zaikesman, it's interesting that 4 of 5 musical examples you picked are
multitrack studio creations. Do you really think the band members
stood in the same room and played the songs in real time? Don't be
naive.

The technology is completely nuetral and is simply a tool for getting the
musical vision in its final form. I think some of you are objecting to the
lack of a compelling musical vision/imagination and not the technology
employed. Musical taste may vary, but the following is a list of groups
that IMO have acheived musically satisfying results while making
extensive use of studio technology (EQ, compression, MIDI, synths,
sequencing, multitrack, overdubbing, comp tracks, samples, reverb,
etc.): Beatles, Paul Simon, Micheal Jackson/Quincy Jones, Blues Nile,
Steely Dan, Lauryn Hill, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Annie Lennox, Daniel
Lanois, Bjork, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Dwight
Yoakam, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Rolling Stones, Seal and Frank
Zappa.

BTW, James Brown would fine his band members for every mistake they
made. There's a great concert video where the band is laying down a
groove and JB is doing his thing when suddenly James turns towards the
drummer and says "I caught ya'."

Did I claim they played the tracks live in the studio? (Actually, they did, at least much more so than is common practice these days, but I digress.)

Onhwy61, I think you miss my point - my first sentence above was supposed to be a disclaimer regarding my opinion of the exploitation of available technology in the making of pop records: I'm all for it, inasmuch as it can be deployed in an artistically productive way. I'm not arguing against the use of the autotuner, and didn't in my first post. And even if I were, I see no real analogy between the use of an autotuner, and the use of mutlitrack capability, or being fanatical about rehearsing one's band.

What I am arguing against is the present-day requirement of the marketplace that pop music be created in such a way as to be totally devoid of all human variation and spontaneity. Modern pop recordings do not have the individualistic 'flavor' of those by the artists I mentioned, or many of the other ones you did.

The Beatles are a great example, because their productions pushed the boundaries of their times so far, yet I am dead certain that if the most important rock band ever were to come out today, their records wouldn't be allowed on radio, simply because they're too human. Which is f***ed up, because I subscribe to the theory that the one of the reasons why people still like to hear 'flawed' old performances that radio will play (due to the songs' entrenched position in our culture), is to receive some of that very feeling they can't get from today's 'perfect', but ultimately unsatisfying, recordings.