Legendary alternative rock band the Pixies have apologized to Google Assistant users for a humorous coincidence that sees the software switch alarms off thanks to one of their hit songs.
For the sake of convenience, users have been able to halt a Google Assistant alarm in the past few years with a simple ‘Stop’ voice command rather than the traditional “Hey Google” preface. The feature first debuted on Assistant-enabled smart displays and speakers before coming to Pixel smartphones later on.
As discovered by Reddit user ‘asevarte’ in a post titled ‘I finally figured out why my alarm kept turning off…,’ the user detailed their experience of their morning alarm turning off for seemingly no reason. Frustrated, the user set out to find out why his device was unexplainably shutting off the alarm.
It wasn’t until setting their alarm to a Spotify playlist that features the Pixies’ 1988 hit single, ‘Where Is My Mind?’ that the user finally was able to detect what was causing his Google Assistant to turn off.
For those who aren’t in the know, the track opens with bassist Kim Deal’s harrowing vocal improv before a very abrupt ‘STOP!’ from frontman Black Francis that brings the song to a brief halt. This intro turns out to be the cause of Google Assistant’s alarm-ending glitch.
It’s also been discovered by Android Police that other songs with similar vocal commands (such as Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now) do not have the same effect on the device. This is most likely due to the fact that the Pixies version has no backing instruments during the time of the command, whereas other songs usually have vocals overlayed with instruments.
This adds up with other complaints from Google Assistant users who have stated that ‘stop’ voice commands don’t work while their device plays music.
The Pixies seem to have heard the recent news, with the band tweeting out an apology for the inconvenience.
Sorry about that! ⏰📱🛑https://t.co/EtCQ2FPkIJ
— PIXIES (@PIXIES) May 3, 2023
Canadians who want to know more about Google Assistant can read about its recent radio integration issues here. Those interested more in the Pixies can see them live in Vancouver on September 9th at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Who knows, maybe their song ‘Hey’ will cause the Assistant to turn on?
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