CDs are finally going to go the way of cassettes, 8-tracks and vinyl before them. It was only a matter of time, but according to projections reported by Billboard, digital music sales will surpass CDs in 2013. That’s a mere four years away (or one presidential term, if you are currently in that mindset).

Record companies have weathered storms before, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they figure out a way to turn a profit in this whole mess. However, a victim of the digital age might be the distributors–the middlemen between labels and stores. In the same way a label theoretically signs bands of a certain caliber, a distributor will generally have a certain standard when working with labels. But as the lines between artist and store tighten, who needs the additional middleman? A label can still claim it’s useful–paying for promotion, marketing, tour support and so on. But what can a distributor really offer when the world is all digital and ANYONE can upload music to Amazon.com through CreateSpace or onto iTunes via TuneCore?

Despite the ominous date of 2013, the end of CD’s days may not come so quick. Cassettes stuck around in stores long after CDs became the dominant force in the music biz. I also don’t expect any major label or distributor to go down quietly…no matter what the statistics say.

Well, Rose Hill Drive, YouTube has extended beyond the world of Guitar Hero to something far more strange. One of the latest fads on the website is taking a cappellas of songs and having Microsoft Songsmith insert the lyrics. The results range from surprisingly good to weird or creepy.

The software is supposed to be for songwriters, singing melodies on the fly and then having the program fit in the correct notes for the song. However, those darn YouTubers have co-opted the program’s usage for just about any pop song. Songsmith immediately appealed to me, as I have a certain fascination about the mechanical and mathematical nature of music and the fact that something so artful can be broken down to numbers, equations and formulas. Ultimately, these figures can be built back up into computer programs like Auto-Tune and Songsmith.

As a result, I’ve been forwarding these fascinating “works of science” (as opposed to works of art) to many of my friends for the LOL-value. The first response I heard back was simply, “I thought this was how pop songs were created already!” A lot of people just don’t get it, and it’s completely understandable.

Songsmith does turn pretty much every song into a generic, repetitive tune spewed forth from a Casio keyboard, but those instruments from the ’80s still inspire artists to this day. It isn’t despite their lo-fi, 8-bit sound, it is because of it. Artists found ways to use the Casio to its fullest extent and beyond, in ways the creators probably didn’t even imagine. Songsmith stumbled upon this genius even sooner. Yeah, it was intended to aid songwriters, but it’s become something completely co-opted in less than a year’s time. It’s easy to miss the unintentional genius.

Welcome back to Almost Famous, where we select one lucky Uncensored Interviewee who we deem to be on the verge of spreading beyond our illustrious tastemaking boundaries and taking over the cultural zeitgeist at large in the coming months.

Theresa Andersson is not vying for fame with a supermodel’s face and a gymnast’s hard body. Although, let’s face it, she’s very easy on the eyes. No, she deserves widespread recognition for a crazy little thing we like to call talent. Select YouTube videos, where, in true YouTube fashion, the barefoot songwriter is captured in her kitchen playing multiple instruments in true DIY fashion, present this Swedish-born New Orleans resident as a modern-day one-woman band. But as soon as she draws out a few sweet notes from her violin, or belts out equally sugary tones from her pristine vocal chords, it’s abundantly clear she’s the complete package.

Andersson recently brought her solo flight to West Hollywood’s prestigious Hotel Cafe, and it was as though she’d traded the food preparation area for the dining room, all comfortably feasting on tasty sounds. She gave the backing vocal loops names and female personality characteristics, and introduced the various instruments surrounding her as ‘the band.’

Soulful delights like “Na, Na, Na” and “Birds Fly Away” are easily devoured on Andersson’s delightful 2008 release, Hummingbird, Go! But when it comes to truly appreciating such beautiful freaks of musical nature, seeing is always believing. And catching Andersson live, with those bare feet feeling around the stage for her various instrumental and vocal loops, is a must-witness for anyone who might tell you they’ve seen it all.

Indeed, birds fly away. So be sure and catch this lovely creature while she’s hovering so close to the ground.

Watch as Andersson explains where her advanced DIY ethic came from:

Lost your way on the tour of life and searching for your next gig without MapQuest? Uncensored Interview brings you Sound Advice–-Your weekly dashboard mounted GPS navigation system for living, with an indie twist.

ThePerryTrain has been riding the rails to Canada to visit family and to get all pruney in my mom’s new hot tub. Last night my mom and I ordered Chinese food. Satiated and sleepy we opened our fortune cookies before bed. I was fortunate to have a cookie replete with three fortunes, all the same: “Good fortune is on the way, especially in your business ventures.”

This was good news, I could feel it. The cookie had blessed my business prospects in triplicate. Then my mother let out a sad sound like a noisy toy whose batteries just ran out. In an unfortunate turn of events it appeared her cookie was empty.

As happy as I was with my plethora of good fortunes I couldn’t feel happy anymore because there is nothing sadder than an empty fortune cookie. I decided since I had a fortune of fortunes I would give to the less fortunate. “Here, have one of mine. Now we both have good fortune on the way.”

I just gave away a third of my fortune and for just a moment, I knew how Angelina Jolie must feel. I guess it’s true when Mark Twain said “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” But to be honest, there are some kinds of joy you might want to keep to yourself. Just ask Brandon from The Architects.

What hasn’t Jay-Z done? Well, an alt-country song for one:

Well, now he can add performing at a presidential inaugural to the list of accomplishments. Though one of the songs caught me a bit by surprise: This one! Yeah, that’s right, “99 Problems (But a Bush Ain’t One).” Hey, that’s actually clever and funny. I wonder if a rather humorless Obama got the joke.

Let’s be honest though. It was a fitting adieu and probably to be expected. Most musicians have very few good things to say about George w. Bush or (more aptly) have a lot of bad things to say about him.

There’s been no media uproar this time–remember how Ludacris got Obama in trouble by dissing Hilary Clinton and John McCain? There hasn’t been a peep complaining about Jay-Z’s little dis, but maybe it’s just because it’s actually clever and funny.

Or maybe it’s because Jay-Z speaks the flat out truth here. Really, that one altered line from Jay-Z’s song pretty much says it all. The economy? Two wars? Heck, I could probably come up with 96 other problems for America right now, but you know what isn’t a problem anymore…

Last year I promised to bring you recipes from your favorite bands. For the first installment, I am proud to present a super recipe from a supergroup! Current and former members of Guided By Voices, Luna, Joan as Police Woman, Dead Air and The Dambuilders came together to form Gramercy Arms. If their collective creative resume wasn’t impressive enough, they can also apparently create in the kitchen.

With Gramercy Arms’ restaurant experience, they were the perfect band to kick off this new feature:

If the above clip is any indication, it’s not hard for bands to fall victim to some pretty gross food. Luckily Gramercy Arms frontman Dave Derby provided a recipe for bok choy with ginger and soy sauce, which is not only healthy but very easy to prepare. Derby describes it as follows:

Here’s a very simple recipe for bok choy, which is fast and goes with just about anything. Though mirin is good, the combination of soy sauce and good balsamic is a pretty interesting tangy-salty combination.

Bok Choy with Ginger and Soy Sauce

Sauce (to use with 4 baby bok choy): 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup mirin or balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Rinse bok choy. Steam until just tender (3-5 minutes) and add sauce.

Be sure to check back to Uncensored Interview’s Blog regularly for more recipes from your favorite bands!