Soundcheck Archive
July 2008
Learning to write a song
Friday, July 04, 2008
With a little help from famous friends. After teaching himself how to play the guitar in six months, journalist Will Hodgkinson decided to learn how to write a song. So he got help from people like Keith Richard and Cat Power... and wrote a book about it. He joins us to unveil what he learned... or didn’t really.
Also: From bad songwriter to one of the most talented songwriters working today. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats joins us to talk about his new album, about his passion for heavy metal, his writing problem… and he performs in our studio.
Is Coldplay Rock's Heir Apparent?
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Some critics are comparing Coldplay’s new album to U2’s "Achtung Baby." But others argue lead-singer Chris Martin is only a second-rate Bono. In the latest Soundcheck Smackdown: we debate whether Coldplay deserves to be the top-selling band in the nation.
Also: Choreographer Twyla Tharp talks about her latest work featuring an original score by Danny Elfman.
Change You Can... Dance To
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
As Soundcheck airs our first show from our new Varick Street studios, the New York music scene is also undergoing big changes. New venues like Drom, (Le) Poisson Rouge and The Brooklyn Masonic Temple are in. Meanwhile CBGB, Tonic and The Village Gate are out. And the Williamsburg club Galapagos is moving to Dumbo. We’ll find out what's behind the club shuffle.
Also: Vinicio Capossela is the Italian equivalent of Tom Waits, but his live shows come with scary masks and costumes. He joins us to talk about his new album, which includes collaborators like producer JD Foster (Tom Waits/Calexico) and composer Anthony Coleman.
When Enough Is Enough
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Author J.D. Salinger disappeared from the literary world not long after the success of "Catcher in the Rye." But in music, reunion tours and comebacks make it tough to quit. Today: creative peaks and retirement. Also: Members of the Arabesque Music Ensemble have recorded with pop stars Shakira and Beyonce. But the group's own music skews toward traditional, even obscure, Arab music. They join us to share their latest CD.
This is an encore edition of Soundcheck.
Windows 
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Search current and archival WNYC broadcasts. More
John Schaefer goes to North Korea; Soundcheck goes to Austin and to Berlin.
- The Leonard Lopate Show: The Lyme Disease Epidemic (July 01, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: Underreported: Nurse-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care (July 03, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: Give Us This Day, Our Daily Meds (June 30, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: Before There was Stephen Colbert, There was George Carlin (July 02, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: The End of Food (June 30, 2008)