Cassandra Wilson | Closer to You: The Pop Side

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African American, Blues, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Pop Music, Soul Music

I know, you’re probably saying were have you been dude this recording by Cassandra Wilson came out back in April of this year. Yes, you’re so right! However, being a huge fan of her “Loverly” project I couldn’t resist myself after listening to this record on several occasions undoubtedly set the tone for a new season I’ve encountered. Perhaps, I’ll say this about her. The signature of her sound is unmistakable, while her voice is deeply provocative she transforms each song to perfection, and her timbre … wow simply just does it for me. It’s true, a lot of these songs on “The Pop Side” you’ve heard before. Nevertheless, Cassandra is truly one of the most unique song stylists on the music scene today regardless of genre. ~ The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson | Closer to You: The Pop Side [Blue Note Records]

Singer Cassandra Wilson is a master interpreter of American music. With her unmistakable honeyed husky voice and quaintly rustic aesthetic she has made intimate and personal statements with jazz, blues, R&B, country, and pop chestnuts- few artists can reveal the sensual earthiness of the Monkees tune “The Last Train to Clarksville.”

Closer to You: The Pop Side celebrates the finest pop moments from her seven album, decade plus legacy with Blue Note. In addition to the aforementioned 1960s nugget, this release features her stark and achingly vulnerable take on U2’s “Love Is Blindness” as well as her transcendent take on Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” that evokes fireflies and shooting stars. Among its 11 tracks are favorites from Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and a tenderly romantic version of Sting’s “Fragile“.

Source: Amazon.com

What Will Record Labels Look Like in the Future?

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African American, Culture, Jazz, Music, Technology

In recent months there’s been a plethora of articles across the Internet, also the print media in reference to why the “Music Industry” and “Artists” alike are suffering from the loss in sales … here’s a in depth perspective from the folks at MediaShift/PBS.

Digital Music

The pioneers of the music industry couldn’t have seen this coming in their wildest dreams. When publishers were selling sheet music in the late 1800s, the idea of people privately sharing their product, independent of location and physical constraints, would have seemed ridiculous. But now record labels have been decimated by the digital shift, and are rethinking their entire business model to survive.

Even as recently as the 1970s, the thought that consumers would be able to bring the industry to its knees by circumventing the existing structure and barriers seemed ludicrous. Large companies solidified vertical and/or horizontal integration across almost all elements in the supply chain; this practically ensured a stranglehold on consumers.

Then, as the infamous “home taping is killing music” warning inside record sleeves indicated, the music business (record labels and trade groups in particular) became concerned that blank cassettes were eroding profits. The ability to record songs from radio, a record, or via another cassette meant that people could acquire music cheaply or even for free.

It’s worth noting that not all people saw this as the beginning of the end. In 1981 the Dead Kennedys endeared themselves to a legion of anti-corporate youth by printing this message on one side of a cassette EP:

“Home taping is killing big business profits. We left this side blank so you can help.”

As anti-establishment as the Dead Kennedys and their label Alternative Tentacles were, I don’t think even they could have dreamed up the situation most record labels would find themselves in during the following decades.

Source: Media/Shift

Bonus material to read: “Why We Steal Music” from AllAboutJazz.com!!