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Soundcheck

Thursday, June 07, 2007
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  • Still from the film "La Vie En Rose"
    Still from the film "La Vie En Rose"

    The Passion of Piaf

    The life of Edith Piaf was filled with intense fame and tragedy. Today on Soundcheck, the director of the film "La Vie En Rose" tells why it took 40 years to bring Piaf’s remarkable story to the big screen. Plus: Calle 13, the hottest band in the Carribean hip-hop style known as reggaeton, share tracks from their new album. And, we’ll sample an opera that features names like Sting and Elvis Costello.

La Vie En Rose

Four decades after her death, Edith Piaf remains one of the most renowned singers of all time. She was born into poverty, rose to become the toast of Paris, and then struggled with alcohol and drugs until she died at age 47. We talk with Olivier Dahan, the writer and director of "La Vie En Rose," a new film based on Piaf's life.

"La Vie En Rose" site

Calle 13

Reggaeton sensation Calle 13 join us to talk about their new second record, "Residente o Visitante," which is topping the Latin charts.

Calle 13 web site

Welcome to the Voice

Steve Nieve is best known for being Elvis Costello's pianist and keyboard player. Now, he's collaborating with Muriel Teodori on a one-act opera called "Welcome to the Voice." We talk with Nieve and Teodori about the project, which features some of the most famous voices in the world of opera — and rock.

Steve Nieve web site

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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