If we had to isolate a single term to define pop music in the 21st century, the task would be a momentous one indeed. So far, this century has seen almost every type of music have at least a small moment in the sun.
But among the main genre groups, only one can stand up as a uniquely 21st century art form. EDM, better known as Electronic Dance Music, has come to define and distinguish what we consider as 21st century sounds. So far, it is the sound of the Millennial generation.
So what happens when you take a cutting edge EDM track and pair it with one of the Century’s most epic voices to date? That’s what listeners experience on the sizzling track by Gorgon City featuring Jennifer Hudson— Go All Night.
From the album Sirens, this EDM track is perfect triumvirate of beauty, beat and boom. The RnB songstress unleashes a timeless, soaring vocal over GC’s spell-binding production. Hudson herself has been on a roll lately, with appearance des everywhere from the smash hit show Empire to awesome features with the likes of rapper Iggy Azalea. But her work on this tune is tough to beat.
The British group is in the midst of a tour across the U.S. Check out their dates in both Austin and Houston this weekend if you can make it.
(Photo credit: Screenshots from the Go All Night music video)
Nashville Tennessee has earned the nickname “Music City, U.S.A.” for good reason. And although for most Americans, the city is known primarily for being a hub of Country Music, Nashville houses a rich history for all kinds of music traditions.
Nashville’s Fisk University is well-known for being one of the nation’s most treasured Historically Black College/ Universities and for the internationally-acclaimed Fisk Jubilee Singers. One of America’s most storied choral ensembles, the group has provided a window into the history of Negro Spirituals for 144 years. But even that preservation wouldn’t have been possible without the work of famed musician, composer, conductor and musicologist John Wesley Work Jr.
Born the son of a slave and coming of age during the Reconstruction era, John Wesley Work Jr. was surrounded by great music. His father, the first John Wesley Work, was a singer and choir director. So when he came to Fisk University as a freshman in 1890, he knew that his acceptance into Fisk’s music program was a great accomplishment in itself. Founded in 1871, the Fisk Jubilee singers had quickly become legendary, as their tour to raise funds for the university had already taken them to notable performances for President Ulysses S. Grant at the White House, and even Queen Victoria in England.
But Work Jr. brought the Fisk Jubilee singers to the world in a way not previously imagined, and one that we are thankful for today. In 1909 Work, now a Faculty member at Fisk and conductor of the group, landed upon critical music history when he agreed to a recording project for the Fisk quartet. Here’s more on its significance, via Archeophone…
The quartet of Work, first tenor, James Myers, second tenor, Noah Ryder, first bass, and Alfred King, second bass, made ten sides for Victor at the end of 1909, records that signaled a sea change in the kind of entertainment Americans could purchase for the home. As Tim Brooks points out in his recording notes accompanying Mr. Seroff’s essay, most of the recorded fare of the previous 20 years with a “jubilee” theme or African-American influence was parodic and often demeaning. With the Fisks, now black art, history, and culture were literally getting a fair hearing. Songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “There Is a Balm in Gilead” were well-known, and the Fisks give masterful performances, while “Little David, Play on Yo’ Harp / Shout All Over God’s Heaven,” “Roll Jordan Roll” and “The Great Campmeeting” became instant favorites that the group were called on to perform regularly in concert.
This recording, made by the sons of emancipated slaves, provides a critical link to the traditions of American Negro Spirituals. Thanks to Work and the other singers, it and the recordings that followed stand as a witness to our musical past. They’ve even found new relevance via digital restoration and platforms like YouTube.
Work’s time on the Fisk faculty was somewhat short… only 1909-1916. In that time, he managed to not only commission a series of landmark recordings, but wrote an impressive document of the history being sung at the institution. Work’s Folk Song of the American Negrostands today as one of the most important ethnomusicological contributions of the 20th Century for its exhaustive research of the various African-American music traditions from that time and before. Without John Work Jr., much of this history could have been lost.
Last but certainly not least, John Wesley Work Jr. was a gifted composer in his own right. Besides writing songs in the Negro Spiritual style and substantial choral arrangements, Work also composed some treasured art songs. Soliloquy is a favorite of his for the tender poetry and ascendant vocal line, proving some of the best elements from Work’s musical fortitude. Here is my performance of Soliloquy from 2010.
The contributions of John Wesley Work Jr. are not only a pillar of African-American music history, but continue to enrich the lives of all American music today.
(The 1909 Fisk Jubilee Quartet, with John Wesley Work Jr. to the far right. Photo credit: Doug Seroff via NPR)
Single Awareness Day is a day for everyone out there without a special someone. But who says that has to be so S.A.D. just because those three letters happen to be the day’s acronym?!?! Congrats to everyone who made it through Valentine’s Day 2015 sans sweetie. Here are my top anthems for all the single folk…
U Don’t Have To Call— Usher
Because when you’re single, the only person that sets your party schedule is YOU.
I’m Coming Out— Diana Ross
Just make sure that whatever the party, it better contain some hard-thumping Disco, and at least one saucy trombone solo.
Single Ladies— Beyonce
Oh yeah… And Beyonce, because B-E-Y-O-N-C-E!!!!
New Attitude— Patti LaBelle
One listen to the Patti LaBelle track will get even the grumpiest person in a better mood.
The Greatest Love of All— Whitney Houston
And of course the most incredible singles anthem ever. As the ever-wise RuPaul once said, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else?”
Hopefully for this Valentine’s Day, you are spending your time as you would enjoy, and possibly even with someone special. So for the lovers on this day, here is a timeless classic to set the mood… The Look of Love composed by Burt Bachrach and sung by Dusty Springfield.
With a career spanning across 4 decades and a name known in every country on the globe, there is no living artist that can claim the accomplishments of Madonna. She has over 300 million in record sales to her credit (the highest selling female artist of all time), numerous major awards and won the hearts and minds of fans in multiple generations.
But for all that she has achieved in the past, Madonna’s greatest gift is that she seems to stay forever in that cutting edge time frame between the present and future of pop music. Her latest effort Rebel Heart is proving to be trendsetter once again. In the new lead single Living For Love, we find the songstress striking a perfect balance between her best vocals from the 80s and 90s combined with agressive EDM dance beats of today. It is her best work since the well-acclaimed 1999 album Ray of Light.
She is set to perform the single live at the 2015 Grammy Awards this Sunday night. From first impressions, it seems that Rebel Heart will conquer the world as Madonna has for decades now. Watch the new music video for Living For Love below.
This weekend marks one of the largest annual events across the United States, and by extension, one of the most watched sporting events across the world. As the eyes and ears of over 150 million viewers fixate upon Phoenix and the Super Bowl, they will be treated to the music of pop star Katy Perry for the all-important half-time show.
But while what we see and hear in performance can be attributed to Perry and her team, much of what we hear from a composition standpoint will be the work of an artist that is not on stage at all… Singer/ Songwriter Bonnie McKee.
As co-writer, McKee is responsible for some of Katy Perry’s biggest hit songs, including Roar, Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F), and the perennial summer anthem California Gurls. To date, McKee has 6 US number 1 singles to her credit as a songwriter.
As the contents of Katy Perry’s halftime show remain top-secret, there’s no telling which songs she’ll choose to perform until Sunday. But audiences can be almost certain that they will hear lyrical contributions by Bonnie McKee. A fantastic singer in her own right, Bonnie McKee has released two albums, and is rumored to be working on a third. Check out her 2013 single American Girl below…
Though it didn’t chart quite as well as some of her other songs, the McKee-pinned Katy Perry song Birthday is a great contemporary Disco anthem, and my favorite song by the artist to date. Check out the lyric video for Birthday here.
From Yolanda Adams to Susan Graham to ZZ Top, the state of Texas is a rich one indeed for music. There is barely a type of world music that cannot be found here, and the titans gospel, classical, and folk genres abound. Legendary stories have come from the South by Southwest festival, and epic Hip Hop scenes.
But from the government standpoint, all of those diverse industries have a little help via the Texas Music Office, which represents and promotes over 15,000 registered artists and groups. With a new Governor, naturally, comes new leadership for the state’s central music industry connector. Here’s the story from Reeve Hamilton of the Texas Tribune…
Gov. Greg Abbott has tapped Brendon Anthony as the next head of the Texas Music Office, his office announced on Friday. Anthony is known for, among other things, playing fiddle in Texas singer-songwriter Pat Green’s band.
According to state statute, the Texas Music Office, which is housed in the governor’s office, is expected to “promote the development of the music industry in the state by informing members of that industry and the public about the resources available in the state for music production.” The staff also serves as the liaison between the industry and state government.
[…]
Since the Texas Music Office was created in 1990, it has been run by Casey Monahan, a former music writer. This month, word got out that Monahan would not be kept around in the Abbott administration.
[…]
In an interview, Anthony spoke highly of Monahan’s tenure.
“No one can express gratitude enough for a man who devoted 25 years of his life to this office,” he said of his predecessor. “He was a great voice for Texas musicians and businesses.”
Also Friday, the governor’s office named Bryan Daniel as the new director of the Economic Development and Tourism Division. The division will now oversee the Texas Film Commission, the Texas Music Office, the Women’s Commission and the Workforce Investment Council, following a restructuring designed to streamline operations under the governor’s office.
With Casey Monahan’s ouster, many in the music industry feared that Governor Abbott would try to downsize the vital organization, or get rid of it altogether. But the hire of Mr. Anthony, a venerable force within the state’s vast music scene, should calm those fears. As a member of the Pat Green band, Anthony was a beneficiary of former Director Monahan’s hard work. This pick seems to be a sound one.
It will be interesting to see what the next era of the Texas Music Office holds.
