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Soundcheck

Thursday, September 08, 2005
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  • orchestra

    Selling the Symphony

    New York Times arts reporter Daniel Wakin looks at the tactics orchestras are using - some very shrewd and some very silly - to attract a younger crowd. As we'll hear, more and more orchestras are trying to lure them with pre-concert cocktail hours, speed dating, salsa lessons at intermission, video screens in the concert hall, and various other strategies. So do any of these tactics work? We look at some examples and take listener calls on this subject. Also on the show: Singer-songwriters Duncan Sheik and David Poe met at a songwriter's retreat in the south of France and found they have a mutual love for crafty pop songs about girls and a love of vino. The two artists are touring together currently and stop by today for a conversation.

Duncan Sheik and David Poe

The singer-songwriters talk about their unique partnership. » David Poe's Website
Duncan Sheik's Website

Symphony Orchestras Get Hip?

New York Times arts reporter Daniel Wakin looks at orchestras' efforts to bring younger audiences.
» Daniel J. Wakin on Orchestra Marketing

audience

Soundcheck Smackdown: When Contemporary Met Classical

Soundcheck

Like vegetables stuck into a delicious meal, contemporary classical music is forced on concert audiences before they are allowed to enjoy their Brahms. So says humorist, critic and author Joe Queenan. Today, Queenan and John Berry, Artistic Director with English National Opera, join us for a Soundcheck Smackdown debate on the merits of contemporary music.

musical clouds

You Are What You Hear

Soundcheck

Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi takes us through some of the most famously botched song lyrics in rock history. We’ll explore why the words we make up are usually more interesting than the real version. Then, listeners confess their favorite and most embarrassing reinvented lyrics.

Leave a comment: Give us your favorite set of misheard lyrics! Were you disappointed when you learned the actual words?

Rosanne Cash and Mark O'Connor

Soundcheck

For her, he was a father. For him, he was a boyhood hero. For the nation, he was an icon. Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash and composer and violinist Mark O'Connor join us to talk about how Johnny Cash has inspired their musical collaboration. And they will play live.

Katy

Soundcheck's Summer Song Poll

Soundcheck

Every year, popular and critical opinion somehow converge to settle on a "summer song." In 2007, it was Rihanna's "Umbrella." The year before, it was "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. The practice stretches back to the very dawn of pop radio. Yet defining the essence of a "summer song" is a bit elusive. We enlist the help of Blender editor at large Lizzy Goodman -- and of our Soundcheck listeners, in an online poll.

Cast your vote: Soundcheck's Summer Song Poll 2008

Can't decide? Check out audio and video clips of the contestants here.

Our blog: John Schaefer asks what makes a good summer song,

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