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Soundcheck / March 16, 2006

Soundcheck

Thursday, March 16, 2006
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  • sylvester

    America's Forgotten Pop Legacy

    Author Joshua Gamson discusses his biography "The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco." The book tells the story of Sylvester James, a gay, African-American drag queen who found mainstream success in the late 1970s and early '80s with a string of Top 40 disco hits. The book is just out in paperback. Also: composer Neil Rolnick previews his "iFiddle Concerto," with violin soloist Todd Reynolds. The piece, which combines computer technology with an orchestra, gets its premiere Friday night by the American Composers Orchestra at Zankel Hall. Finally, there's a growing interest these days in pop music's vaudeville roots in the early 20th century. Despite the primitive sound of the old records and the offensive material of blackface comedians and other "ethnic impersonators" there is still much to be learned from these early recordings. Slate.com music critic Jody Rosen details recent efforts in this area.

The Fabulous Sylvester

Author Joshua Gamson discusses his biography "The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco."
» The Fabulous Sylvester on Amazon.com

iComposer meets iFiddler

Composer Neil Rolnick previews his "iFiddle Concerto," with violin soloist Todd Reynolds.
» Neil Rolnick's Web site

Reconsidering Pop Hits of 100 Years Ago

Slate music critic Jody Rosen discusses the recent upsurge in interest about pop music's early 20th century roots.
» Cylinder Digitization and Preservation Project Web site

Introducing our Video Contest

Soundcheck

John Schaefer gives the lowdown on Soundcheck's music video challenge with the Fiery Furnaces.

In Studio: Los Amigos Invisibles

Soundcheck

The Venezuelan funk-rock band "Los Amigos Invisibles" was discovered by David Byrne in a Manhattan record shop. They perform live on Soundcheck.

In Studio: Angel Deradoorian

Soundcheck

The 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist performs live in our studio.

Cucu Diamantes Performs Amor Cronico

Soundcheck

Cucu Diamantes went from a tough childhood in Havana, Cuba, to an art school in Rome to underground New York City, where she co-founded the Latin alternative band Yerba Buena.

The Decemberists

In Studio: The Decemberists

The Portland, Ore., band's latest album, "The Hazards of Love," is a concept album with a mythological flair. They joined Soundcheck to play live for a studio audience in WNYC's Greene Space.

headphone

Sound Off

Soundcheck

Throughout May, Soundcheck presents “Sound Off” a Friday series on the many aspects of noise in music and our lives. The series -- which coincides with “Better Hearing and Speech Month” -- looks at issues like New York’s noisiest neighborhoods, the latest research on iPods and hearing loss, and what happens when noise becomes a musical ingredient.