North America: it’ll kill you, m***********.

Sure, you know what the United States can do to destroy your taste in Dubstep, and how it likes to roll without health insurance. And you probably think USA when you think fatally-unhealthy cuisine. But meet USA’s neighbor to the north, Canada. The country that takes cheese, fries, and fat to a whole other level has made bad eating into a YouTube meme. I got to see the Epic Meal Time crew at a party in Toronto in June, but … uh … didn’t exactly have a reason to mention it on CDM. (Create Digital Food isn’t up and running yet.) Canada, you’re awesome, at least so long as I’m not trying to get over your border or mail things, at which point the phrase “iron curtain” comes to mind.

Until now.

Deadmau5.

And this is a perfect time to segue into a discussion of…

Um….

Actually, you know what? No. Deadmau5 is a … digital musician. Let’s just watch him eat a bunch of cheese and eat it like that. (And if you don’t like Deadmau5 for some reason, I’m sure this you’ll be able to mine some rich metaphors out of this. For fans, that slick soundtrack may just make you … hungry. I’m oddly hungry. I’m glad I didn’t post this Sunday morning, though, for anyone still hungover.)

Via MusicRadar – thanks, Chris Barker

Okay, so you’ve seen the painful demo video for Microsoft Research’s Songsmith software – it was intended to me tongue-in-cheek, I think, but the self-parody didn’t quite work. But the idea of auto-accompaniment software that interprets your recorded singing remains impressive. And I’ve gotten some tips that it is possible to make Songsmith sound good. Naturally, the biggest variable will be the quality of your own singing. But to make the software side of the equation more interesting, it is possible to extend the tool.

Garritan, maker of the samples in the tool, has two add-ons. There’s an orchestral pack with the usuals, and Garritan’s sampled orchestras do sound very, very good. Better yet, there are some analog synths to add, including some bass, J-60, Jupiter, and other action. These don’t come with styles, but they do give you some new sounds. Whether you use them for more evil and cheese is up to you. US$9.99 each.

Band-in-a-Box maker PG Music also has Style PAKs that are compatible with Songsmith, too. The key with these is adjusting variables in the accompaniment, and tweaking chord progressions.

I can’t say I’m entirely sold yet because I’ve never been a fan of auto-accompaniment – though, okay, I did pass some enjoyable hours messing around with electronic organ and Casio keyboard presets as a youngster, so I take that back.

Here’s my challenge to you, if you are a Windows user and give Songsmith a try. Go. Make something really great. Maybe it takes this in a new direction — sample Hatebeak’s heavy metal parrot screeches. Maybe you just happen to be a brilliant singer. Report back. The world’s ears thank you in advance.

Image: roadsidepictures.

Breaking News: If you were David Lee Roth, and you decided to use Songsmith, you would sound something like this. (Thanks, Neal Johnson! Actually, what’s a word that means not so much “thanks” but “please, never, ever send anything like this again, for the love of all that is good?”)

Warning: The following link may cause permanent hearing loss, after you gouge out your ears.

Runnin’ With The Songsmith [Metafilter Music]