Soundcheck Archive
December 2006
Best Live Performances: Episode Two
Friday, December 29, 2006
A jazz diva finds a country band in New York’s Lower East Side. Multiple Grammy-award-winner Norah Jones and some friends gathered in Manhattan to form a Willie-Nelson inspired band. They are: The Little Willies. On the second of three special shows with Soundcheck’s best live performances of 2006 you can hear them live again. Also in this installment: the funkalicious R&B and soul sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings; British singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg; Swedish singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez; Indian ghatam master Vikku Vinayakram; Cameroonean bass player Richard Bona, and more.
Best of Soundcheck Live: Episode One
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The electronica guru goes acoustic. Moby has sold more than 15 millions of records in the 90s and became a superstar of electronic music. He and his guitar will open a series of three special Soundcheck shows with our best live performances of 2006. This episode also includes live performances by singer songwriter Joseph Arthur, Congolese group Konono number 1; Russian pianist Vladimir Feltsman; country band Lambchop; indie rock act The Decemberists; plus experimental jazz and Brazilian forro.
Music on the Brain
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
A study conducted by researchers from Montreal's McGill University earlier this year had conductor Keith Lockhart, musicians in the Boston Symphony, and their audience members wearing special sensors in an unusual attempt to monitor their emotional responses to music. Dr. Daniel Levitin, a cognitive neuroscientist who is a member of the McGill team, joins us to explain why a Puccini opera may make your heart flutter. Also, Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle. And, composer Michael Galasso discusses his collaboration with experimental director Robert Wilson on Henrik Ibsen's verse-drama "Peer Gynt." This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck
Muzak Attack
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Muzak is all around us, even if it doesn’t sound like the elevator music of yester-year. Find out how it influences our spending habits. Plus, Charles Busch. The '80s fringe-theater playwright, novelist, and drag performer stops by to talk about directing his first movie, "A Very Serious Person," which opens next week as part of the TriBeCa Film festival. Finally, composer Yehudi Wyner joins us on the phone from Italy to discuss winning the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. This is an archived edition of the show.
Fair Pay... or Foul Play?
Monday, December 25, 2006
Executive pay is a hot-button issue in the corporate world but the debate over compensation is playing out in the arts arena as well. We look at the disparity in salaries between top arts executives and rank-and-file musicians -- and whether that's even a problem. Joining us is Wall Street Journal reporter Jacob Hale Russell, and with Jesse Rosen, vice president and chief program officer of the American Symphony Orchestra League. Also: Sitar virtuoso Nishat Khan joins us to share the classical music of India – a music that’s been in his family for some 400 years. This is an archived edition of Soundcheck.
A Duo of Divas
Friday, December 22, 2006
Rolling Stone magazine has called Courtney Love "the most controversial woman in the history of rock." Today, she shares stories about her life as musician, actress, and widow of rock icon Kurt Cobain, some of which are detailed in her new book "Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love." Also: Marisa Monte. Her seductive voice is showcased on two very different new albums - one being a collection of samba songs and another featuring contemporary pop hits. This is an archived edition of Soundcheck.
The Year in Classical Music
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Rounding out critics's week, Soundcheck's survey of the best of 2006 in music, we're joined by Anne Midgette. The New York Times contributor will review the year in classical music and opera. Also: the WORST of 2006 with Nathan Rabin of The Onion. Finally: The Cool Side of Yuletide: The WNYC Young People's Radio Chorus treats us to some classical and brand-new holiday songs…
Critics' Week 2006
The Best of 2006 in Rock and Latin Music
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Critics' Week, Soundcheck's survey of the year 2006 in music, continues as Ann Powers, pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times, reviews the year in rock music. Also: Carolina Gonzalez, a music writer and contributor to the New York Daily News' "Viva NY" section, looks back at the year in Latin music. Finally, rock and salsa come together in the band Zemog, El Bueno Gallo. Leader Abraham Gomez-Delgado shares the group's latest album, "Cama de la Conga."
Critics' Week 2006 on Soundcheck
Critics' picks are available on Amazon.com
The Best of 2006 in World Music and Hip Hop
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Critics' Week, Soundcheck's look back at the year 2006 in music, continues as Jeff Chang, hip hop journalist and author of the book Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop, discusses the best of the year in hip hop. And Siddhartha Mitter, WNYC's culture reporter and a contributor to the Boston Globe, reviews the year in World Music. Finally, Chinese-American composer Tan Dun talks about his new historical opera "The First Emperor," which features Placido Domingo in the title role and which gets its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera this week.
Critics' Week 2006 on Soundcheck
Critics' picks are available on Amazon.com
The Year 2006 in Pop Music and Jazz
Monday, December 18, 2006
Critics' Week, Soundcheck's look back at the year 2006 in music, kicks off with an overview of the year in pop music. Jody Rosen, music critic for Slate.com, shares his favorites. Also: a look back at the year in jazz with Doug Ramsey, editor of the jazz blog, "Rifftides," at Artsjournal.com, and author of several books on jazz including Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. Finally: After making a splash in London, award-winning theatre director Richard Eyre brings "Mary Poppins" to the Great White Way. He joins us to talk about it.
Critics' Week 2006 on Soundcheck
Critics' picks are available on Amazon.com
Queer Rap
Friday, December 15, 2006
Hip hop has a reputation for homophobia, but a growing number of gay artists are trying to change that image. Today on Soundcheck, meet two artists who’ve picked up the mic and are rapping for their rights. Also: David Berger's Harlem Nutcracker.
For Rock Bands: Is Breaking Up Hard to Do?
Thursday, December 14, 2006
This weekend, the New York band Rainer Maria plays its last show and then joins us a long list of bands who have parted ways. Today, a look at the mess behind a band's divorce. Ron Skoler, an entertainment lawyer, will give the dirty details of dividing up the music publishing rights, the instruments, and the orphan fans. And Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot will explore the psychological fallout. Also: film composer Tom Twkyer talks about scoring the new film, "Perfume." Finally, a look at the fall out after tenor Roberto Alagna walked off the stage mid-performance at La Scala this week.
Whose Song Is it Anyway?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Sampling has always been at the heart of hip-hop, but as the genre finds its way onto more T.V. commercials, and film soundtracks, artists find they have to pay up when they borrow without permission. Today, we'll hear how some DJs are avoiding legal hassles by writing their own samples. Also: Find out how baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky went from fronting a Soviet-era metal band to taking bows at at the Metropolitan Opera. And finally: the story behind those point of purchase CDs at Pottery Barn and Banana Republic.
This Download Brought to You by Coke
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Online file-sharing is routinely blamed for the steady decay in record sales. But record companies are now starting to work with the same networks they'd previously been suing. Can the "if you can't beat ‘em, join 'em" strategy work? Today, we talk with Mitchell Reichgut, a principle with advertising firm the Jun Group, and Eric Garland, founder and CEO of BigChampagne, a company that charts the top-swapped songs, about file-sharing as a marketing tool and what it means for music fans. And: violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Finally: a look at how rap lyrics are being used as evidence in a murder case in Brooklyn.
Dreaming of an Offbeat Christmas
Monday, December 11, 2006
Holiday music in New York means more than just "Nutcracker's" and "Messiah's." There are also seasonal tunes from the Philippines and the Ukraine. Today, everything you need to plan your holiday concert-going. Also: Matisyahu has taken Orthodox Judaism, classic reggae and hip-hop and made them natural allies in his music. Today, he shares highlights of his new album, "No Place To Be," and to offer a pre-Hanukkah performance live in the studio. Finally: Actor and Academy Award-winning songwriter Keith Carradine has gone from playing a womanizing folk singer in Robert Altman's 1975 movie "Nashville" to playing Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series "Deadwood." He performs live in the studio.
Critiquing the Critics
Friday, December 08, 2006
Time Out New York has just released a poll of the best of New York's arts critics. Soundcheck takes on their critique of the critics. Also: Composer Martin Bresnick. He's influenced some of the most important musicians of the day. His music is being featured in a 60th birthday retrospective at Carnegie Hall this weekend, and on a new greatest hits CD. Finally: some surprising oversights in this year's Grammy picks.
The Grand Lady of Jazz
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Many of New York's legendary jazz clubs have gone silent, but the Village Vanguard is still swinging on Seventh Avenue South. Owner and manager Lorraine Gordon, whose husband Max founded the club in 1935, stops by to talk about her memoir, "Alive at the Village Vanguard: My Life in and Out of Jazz Time." She shares recollections about the jazz greats who have filled her life. Also: Devilishly charming conductor Nicholas McGegan is marking his 20th year as music director of San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with an upcoming recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony released exclusively over the Internet. He gives us a sneak peak today. Finally: Why Blue Note records is releasing its artists' music as MP3 files.
Collaborative Efforts
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
They say that genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. But these days, great music takes a whole lot of cooperation as well. We find out how a local jazz co-op is getting its music to the masses. Also: songwriter and playwright Adam Arcuragi.
Skin Color, Stereotypes and "Minstrel Rap"
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The use of the N-word and the recent popularity of so-called "Minstrel Rap" songs and VH1's "Flavor of Love 2" show are raising concerns about the depiction of black people in the music industry. Today, the Rev. Jesse Jackson explains why he's calling for entertainers of all races to stop using the N-word altogether. We also talk with Duke University scholar Mark Anthony Neal and New York Times pop music critic Kelefa Sanneh about the fine line between racial satire and racial stereotypes. Also: the Brooklyn-based indie rock band Grizzly Bear's second album has been called one of the best of this year. They perform live in studio and share with us their "must-have" music.
More Music Online
Monday, December 04, 2006
We take a look at the search for the next new thing in online music: from growing waves of online music communities to musicians who make use of new technology to distribute their music. Also: "Still Life with Commentator," a new multimedia oratorio about how the media covers the war.
The Music of Hitchcock
Friday, December 01, 2006
The famous shower scene in "Psycho" wouldn't be half as scary if it weren't for composer Bernard Herrmann's screeching strings. Music elevates many of Hitchcock's most famous scenes from merely gripping to outright to heart-stopping. Today, Jack Sullivan, author of the new book, "Hitchcock's Music," frames his argument for the terrifying power of music. Also on the show: the Microscopic Septet was a fixture on the downtown experimental music scene of the 80s, before splitting up in 1992. (Among their many credits was the theme to WHYY's "Fresh Air.") Now, they're back for a reunion, having recently reissued in two two-CD sets on Cuneiform Records, and they join us today.
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