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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New York's "Underground Economy" (Soundcheck: Friday, 20 November 2009)
Making a living has never been easy for subway musicians but some say it's only getting tougher. Some buskers are striking up deals with corporate sponsors. Others complain that transit police have been cracking down on performers. Today, we get several views on New York’s “underground economy.” …
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They Might Be Giants (Soundcheck: Friday, 20 November 2009)
Are you confused by cosmology? Do you really understand photosynthesis? The brainiacs of They Might Be Giants want to help demystify those scientific concepts and many others, by playing songs from their new album, Here Comes Science, live in our studio. They Might Be Giants perform an all age …
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The Plight of Jazz in New York (Soundcheck: Thursday, 19 November 2009)
The recent recession took its toll on New York's jazz community, especially musicians and small venues. And earlier this year, JVC withdrew its sponsorship of the JVC Jazz Festival, leaving the city without a major summer jazz festival for the first time in almost 40 years. Today: how the city's jaz …
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The Jazz Loft (Soundcheck: Thursday, 19 November 2009)
After our look at the state of jazz in New York, we return to a golden age of the genre: the 1950s and '60s. Thousands of hours of tape recorded in a Manhattan loft during that era were recently discovered. They became WNYC’s Jazz Loft Project, a 10-part series produced in association with the Cente …
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Grant-Lee Phillips (Soundcheck: Thursday, 19 November 2009)
Singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips has led a notable solo career since the breakup of his band Grant Lee Buffalo. But lately, he’s finding the whole band thing to be pretty irresistible. He even roped his opening act, The Winterpills, into serving as his touring band. He joins us to perform songs …
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New York Music, Block to Block (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 18 November 2009)
In 1927, the Harlem renaissance peaked and Duke Ellington’s orchestra became the house band for The Cotton Club. Fifty years later, 1977 gave rise to hip hop's innovators and seminal albums from the CBGB crowd. We talk to author and music journalist Tony Fletcher about his new book, All Hopped Up an …
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The NYC music scene from the '20s to '70s (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 18 November 2009)
1927 was the year when the Harlem renaissance peaked and when the Duke Ellington’s orchestra became the house band for the Cotton Club. 1977 was the year of the Disco Fever and when the rock band Talking Heads released its first album. We talk to author and music journalist, Tony Fletcher, about his …
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Rickie Lee Jones Live (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 18 November 2009)
Thirty years after she won a Grammy for best new artist, singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones has an album that she says feels like her debut. The so-called “Duchess of Coolsville," joins us to talk about the healing aspect of her new album, "Balm in Gilead," and to perform live in the studio.
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High Drama: Pop vs. Score (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 17 November 2009)
Soundcheck Smackdown goes Hollywood! Today: music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, who compiled the hit soundtrack to the new Twilight film New Moon, and Variety film writer Jon Burlingame debate which makes for better movie music: pop music or original score.
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Dionne Warwick (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 17 November 2009)
In a career spanning nearly five decades, Dionne Warwick has earned five Grammy Awards and 56 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including "Say a Little Prayer" and "Do You Know the Way to San José." In the 1960s and early '70s she was a muse for the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who wrote …
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Too Close for Comfort? (Soundcheck: Monday, 16 November 2009)
Residential sounds are the number-one noise complaint in New York City, according to the City's 311 complaint hotline. Today, Arline Bronzaft, chairwoman of the Council on the Environment of New York City, tells us how to cope in the latest installment of Soundcheck’s monthly series on noise. Weigh …
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Forro in the Dark Live (Soundcheck: Monday, 16 November 2009)
When the rhythm known as forro made its way from the Northeast of Brazil to the Lower East Side it lost the accordion, gained more drums…and some American pop. New York-based outfit Forro in the Dark has featured David Byrne in its first album and for their new, second record, they gather Brazilian …
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Picks of the Week (Soundcheck: Friday, 13 November 2009)
This week, our staff picks offer something for the jazz enthusiast, the indie music fan -- and something for nothing.
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The Life of Robert Palmer (Soundcheck: Friday, 13 November 2009)
The late Robert Palmer is best known as a New York Times music critic, Rolling Stone editor and the author of the book Deep Blues. Others knew him as a musicologist and record producer. But Palmer was also a difficult man whose ambitions and addictions overshadowed loved ones. We talk with writer an …
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Sir Willard White (Soundcheck: Friday, 13 November 2009)
Bass-baritone Sir Willard White grew up as the son of a dockworker in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1968 he won a scholarship to study at the Julliard School. Since then, he's performed at the world’s major opera houses, recorded both opera and Broadway albums, and received a knighthood. He joins us to talk …
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Sara Tavares Live (Soundcheck: Thursday, 12 November 2009)
Sara Tavares was born and raised in Lisbon to Cape Verdian parents. The young singer-songwriter juggles languages, global influences and styles to make music that places her as a potential successor to the diva of Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora. She joins us to play live songs from her new album, Xinti.
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Iggy Pop Takes on the French (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 11 November 2009)
Punk godfather Iggy Pop spent much of this decade reuniting and rocking with his raw and influential group, The Stooges. But his latest solo album takes its cue from New Orleans jazz, French pop, and author Michel Houellebecq’s 2005 novel The Possibility of an Island. Pop joins us to talk about craf …
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The Search for Soul (Soundcheck: Thursday, 12 November 2009)
The Search for Soul: Beatlemania was rekindled briefly this year with a set of Fab Four remasters. But in recent years, obscure soul-music reissues have sparked a different obsession. Today: we look at the quest for “outsider soul” at labels like Numero Group, Wax Poetics and Soul Jazz. Guests inclu …
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Sara Tavares live (Soundcheck: Thursday, 12 November 2009)
Sara Tavares was born and raised in Lisbon to Cape Verdian parents. The young singer-songwriter juggles languages, global influences and styles to make music that places her as a potential successor to the diva of Cape Verde, Cesaria Evora. She joins us to play live songs from her new album, Xinti.
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Iggy Pop takes on the French (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 11 November 2009)
Punk godfather Iggy Pop spent much of this decade reuniting and rocking with his raw and influential group, The Stooges. But his latest solo album takes its cue from New Orleans jazz, French pop, and author Michel Houellebecq’s 2005 novel The Possibility of an Island. Pop joins us to talk about craf …
WNYC's Soundcheck
