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Soundcheck

Wednesday, February 16, 2005
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    Help Wanted: Musicians. Must be Web Savvy

    Internet dating has succeeded in matching up thousands of happy couples. Today, host John Schaefer talks to musicians who say the website Craigslist.org helps them make beautiful music together. Also: Major cities are increasingly piping classical music into parks, railway stations, and subways in order to ward off hoodlums. In some cases this has resulted in a drastic reduction in anti-social behavior by gangs of youths. But why is Mozart a crime deterrent? According to Los Angeles Times arts reporter Scott Timberg, "It is not that the music has a soothing effect - the gangs hate it and it has driven them away." Timberg joins us to look at whether classical music is the New Muzak.

Additional Resources:
» Halt, or I'll play Vivaldi!
» Craigslist.org

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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