WNYC's Soundcheck
WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck where John Schaefer hosts lively, inquisitive conversations with established and up-and-coming figures from New York City's ever-evolving music scene.
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El Guincho (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 02 December 2008)
Born in Spain's Carnary Islands and based in Barcelona, Pablo Diaz-Reixa is a sample-mad studio wiz better known as El Guincho. His debut album, "Alegranza!", compiles beats and loops from African, Carribean, South Asian and other genres. The resulting sound can be disorienting, manic -- and blissfu ...
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New York Rock City (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 02 December 2008)
Critics say the Cleveland-based museum has a skewed view of rock and it shouldn't have inducted Johnny Cash, or hip-hop stars like Grand Master Flash. Others say it gives recognition to talent who deserve it and created a canon for popular music. As the Hall opens its new branch in New York this wee ...
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Virtually Classical (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 02 December 2008)
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra is a new project involving organizations like Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Symphony, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Today, Anastasia Tsioulcas joins us to look at what's in store.
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Tip Off (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 02 December 2008)
On "The Renaissance," the new album by Q-Tip, the Queens native and former leader of A Tribe Called Quest serves up clever rhymes, smooth grooves, and a full plate of guest artists including Norah Jones, D'Angelo and Raphael Saadiq. He joins us to talk about what critics say is leading hip hop back ...
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The Ghost of Nashville Past (Soundcheck: Monday, 01 December 2008)
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift carries the hopes and dreams of country music on her 18-year-old shoulders. But as Nashville retools for a digital age and a new breed of crossover stars, country roots could be left behind. Deborah Evans Price of Billboard magazine joins us for a look at how rising st ...
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Imani Winds (Soundcheck: Monday, 01 December 2008)
Imani Winds are expanding the centuries-old repertoire for wind quintet in unusual, genre-bending directions. Comprised of black American and Hispanic players, the group is collaborating with tenor saxophone great Wayne Shorter to celebrate his 75th birthday. Shorter and the group join us to share " ...
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Ry Cooder Completes His "California Trilogy" (Soundcheck: Friday, 28 November 2008)
Ry Cooder is best known for his eclectic guitar-driven albums and his collaboration with Cuban musicians in the Buena Vista Social Club project. His latest release, a CD-and-novella combo called "I, Flathead," completes his "California Trilogy" of albums. It follows the fictional musician Kash Bush, ...
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Playing the Battlefield (Soundcheck: Friday, 28 November 2008)
The sounds of classical and world music are infiltrating the world of video games. "Battlefield: Bad Company" features brazen orchestral tracks and lush string quintets played by a roster of top New York new-music players. Another recent game features the choir Mysteries of the Bulgarian Voices. We ...
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Love, Death and Country Music (Soundcheck: Thursday, 27 November 2008)
Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline are among the artists whose songs defined classic country from the '50s through the '70s. The obsessions of their music - drinking, cheating, God and death - are the obsessions of America as a whole, says author Dana Jennings,. The author explains why in a ...
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Jeffrey Lewis Sings Crass (Soundcheck: Thursday, 27 November 2008)
Cover albums can be a little hit or miss. But on his latest album, anti-folk singer Jeffrey Lewis gives us a fresh take on Crass, the anarchist, so-called peace punk band of the 1970s and '80s. Lewis detaches Crass from its D.I.Y. punk bluster and nestles the band's social message in acoustic arra ...
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He Said What? (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 26 November 2008)
Soundcheck got called out in February for intimating that the Beatles would insert drug references into their songs. Well, we admit that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" may be innocent enough, and now we want you to confess which songs youve misunderstood.
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The Real Tuesday Weld (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 26 November 2008)
The Real Tuesday Weld is basically Stephen Coates, a guy who loves old instruments and old song styles, but who creates something modern with them. He joins us to talk about making his latest album, "The London Book of the Dead."
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The Long Road to 'Democracy' (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 25 November 2008)
Hard-rock kings Guns 'n' Roses began work on a new album shortly after their "Use Your Illusion" project in the early 1990s. Few could have imagined it would take 17 years to complete, cost millions of dollars, and scare off every original band member -- save for singer Axl Rose. Rolling Stone senio ...
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Smackdown: Chinese Democracy (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 25 November 2008)
Seventeen years. Thirteen million dollars. One Axl Rose. This week, the once-mythical Guns 'n' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" finally sees the light of day. But was it worth the wait? In another Soundcheck Smackdown, Lizzy Goodman of Blender magazine and rock writer Sean Manning ("Rock and Roll Cag ...
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Chinese Democracy: Liberator or Incinerator? (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 25 November 2008)
Seventeen years. Thirteen million dollars. One Axl Rose. This week, the once-mythical Guns 'n' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" finally sees the light of day. But was it worth the wait? In another Soundcheck Smackdown, Lizzy Goodman of Blender magazine and rock writer Sean Manning ("Rock and Roll Cag ...
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Tra La La Blip (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 25 November 2008)
The debut CD from electronic collective Tra La La Blip is garnering airplay in Australia and the UK, thanks to dreamlike soundscapes and vocals. Many people dont know that members of the collective's four bands are intellectually and physically disabled. Founder Randolf Reimann joins us to talk abo ...
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Top 20 Orchestras (Soundcheck: Monday, 24 November 2008)
The British music magazine Gramophone has surveyed music critics from around the world with a list of the top 20 symphony orchestras in the world. James Inverne, the editor of Gramophone, joins us by phone to share the list.
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Grand Canyon. Check. Grandchildren. Check. Grant Green? Uh-oh... (Soundcheck: Monday, 24 November 2...
Die-hard music fans can appreciate everything from Beethoven to the Beach Boys. But they shouldnt be caught be caught dead without first hearing Bright Eyes. Music journalist Tom Moon spent more than three years compiling his 900-page tome 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. He joins us to sh ...
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HED: Grand Canyon. Check. Grandchildren. Check. Grant Green? Uh-oh... (Soundcheck: Monday, 24 Novem...
Die-hard music fans can appreciate everything from Beethoven to the Beach Boys. But they shouldnt be caught be caught dead without first hearing Bright Eyes. Music journalist Tom Moon spent more than three years compiling his 900-page tome 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. He joins us to sh ...
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Julia Fischer Live (Soundcheck: Monday, 24 November 2008)
A Bach recording by rising German violinist Julia Fischer is one of the recommendations in Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. She has also been named "Artist of the Year" in the prestigious Classic FM Gramophone Awards and just last week she signed a recording contract with Decca. T ...
WNYC's Soundcheck
