wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Please be aware that this podcast contains explicit material that some listeners may find offensive.

With the help of music journalists Laina Dawes and Jaime Lowe, we debate whether Odd Future is a step forward or backward for hip hop in this special Soundcheck Smackdown: Web Edition.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its short list of nominees last week. The list of candidates for induction next year includes The J. Geils Band, Bon Jovi, Donovan and Neil Diamond. Our Smackdown guests were a little underwhelmed.

Which do you prefer -- the high-pitched wails of Mariah Carey, Prince, and Brian Wilson? Or the throaty roars of Barry White, Leonard Cohen, and Nina Simone? In this week's Soundcheck Smackdown, high voices face off against low ones to determine which makes for better music.

Joining ...

When a concert headliner plays a set that lasts an hour or less, some fans feel shortchanged. Others prefer live music to be "short and sweet." We debate on the length of concerts, with Jon Bream of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Jaime Lowe, author of Digging for Dirt: The ...

A founder of the seminal Wu Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard added a touch of absurdity to a grim hip hop scene, appeared on tracks alongside divas like Kelis and Mariah Carey, and collected more nicknames than a Bush cabinet member. But ODB’s erratic personality was fueled by excess and ...