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thx!


A fun project I'm working on: Chipmunkify. You upload a song and it isolates the vocals to give you a 'chipmunk' version while keeping the instrumentals untouched.

Have fun trying it and let me know what you think!

https://www.chipmunkify.com/


Hi HN,

You know those YouTube channels with millions of views that are just popular songs, but chipmunk? They sound awful because they pitch-shift the entire track.

I fixed it.

The pipeline: Upload an MP3 -> Demucs isolates the vocals -> Rubber Band pitch-shifts them into the rodent register -> FFmpeg glues it back together. Hosted on Modal.

Guardrails protecting my $5/month Modal budget and net worth:

* 10MB max upload

* First 30 seconds only (Demucs is computationally brutal)

* 3 requests/IP/day

I delete your files immediately out of principle, but also because I genuinely cannot afford to store them.

If the site throws an error, you've assassinated my budget and I will pour one out.

Try it out and let me know what you think. I suggest using a song that you love!


This is great, thanks for sharing.


I like the concept! What tools did you use to build it?


stack was mainly vite (react) + typescript pretty much (canvas 2d for the visuals)


Not surprised. It takes obsessive focus to make a startup successful, especially in an industry so saturated with talent.


Leave every place you visit better than you found it. Example: pick up trash in public spaces such as parks and restrooms.


Chipmunk'd versions of songs on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChipmunkEstudio Taking song requests!


Reminds me of the classic Sludgefest [0]. (For the uninitiated it's a collection of Chipmunks records slowed until the voices sound roughly human.)

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlW9DbeV6B4


Neato!


"The U.S. social media landscape is quietly reshaping itself. Between 2020 and 2024, overall platform use slipped, driven by a rise in the population – especially the youngest and oldest – who no longer use social media at all. The old incumbents – Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter/X – have lost ground, while TikTok and Reddit have expanded modestly. The users who remain are slightly older, better educated, and more racially diverse than four years ago.

The political balance of social media has shifted just as noticeably. The once-clear Democratic lean of major platforms has declined. Twitter/X, in particular, has seen a radical flip: a space dominated by Democrats in 2020 is now more Republican-aligned, especially among its most active users and posters. Reddit’s remains a Democraic stronghold, but its liberal edge has softened.

Across platforms, overall political posting has declined, yet its link with affective polarization persists. Those expressing the strongest partisan animus continue to post most frequently, meaning that visible political discourse remains dominated by the most polarized voices. This leads to a distorted representation of politics, that itself can function as a driver of societal polarization [17, 12].

Overall, the data depict a social media ecosystem in slow contraction and segmentation. As casual users disengage while polarized partisans remain highly active, the tone of online political life may grow more conflictual even as participation declines. The digital public sphere is becoming smaller, sharper, and louder: fewer participants, but stronger opinions. What remains online is a politics that feels more divided – not because more people are fighting, but because the fighters are the ones left talking."

Yup, nothing unexpected here.


"Product and design are the new bottlenecks"

Yup, so far the LLMs just haven't been as great at product and design as us. But they'll get there.


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