wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Behind every great song is a great songwriter. But behind every great cover song lurks a masterful musician. Today, we look at cover versions that were so good, they outshone the original. Joining us is Kyle Ryan, managing editor for The Onion's AV Club, and Tom Moon, music critic and author of the book “1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.”

Summer’s nearly at its end – and there’s just one more weekend to hit the road for an old fashioned summer road trip. Your car’s dashboard has made some serious technological leaps over the last half century, but the most curious development has to do with the dashboard turntable. Yes, that’s right -- turntable. The writer Paul Collins joins us to share this side-note in Hi-Fi highway history. And then music writer Tom Moon - master of the road trip mix - brings in a fresh playlist for our Soundcheck listeners to drive to.

Check out Tom Moon's brand new road trip playlist!

Behind every great song is a great songwriter. But behind every great cover song lurks a masterful musician. Today, we look at cover versions that were so good, they outshined the original. Joining us is Kyle Ryan, managing editor for The Onion's AV Club, and Tom Moon, music critic and author of the book “1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.”

It's been a big year for the undead. Vampires are sucking blood on TV shows like True Blood and Vampire Diaries and in the upcoming film New Moon. Zombies are stumbling through movies starring Woody Harrelson (Zombieland) and books by zombie-loving scribe Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks). ...