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Soundcheck

Thursday, November 01, 2007
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  • American Gangster movie poster
    American Gangster movie poster

    Rap Visionary or Un-Original Gangster?

    An early screening of the new film "American Gangster" stoked the creative fires of rapper Jay-Z. Today on Soundcheck, Jeff Leeds of the New York Times explains why the rap veteran spun off the movie and what it means for his career. Plus, Sufjan Stevens discusses his orchestral homage to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. And later: jazz veteran Roy Haynes looks back on 60 years of swing with the release of a career retrospective.

Jay-Z's American Gangster

The new film "American Gangster" tells the real-life story of a Harlem drug-dealer and the cop who pursued him, set to a 1970s funk soundtrack. New York Times staff writer Jeff Leeds explains how the movie inspired Jay-Z’s first-ever concept album and what it means for the rapper’s career.

Clips from Jay-Z's Album

Sufjan Stevens's Highway

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens talks about his orchestral homage to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. "The BQE" premieres at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight and runs through Saturday.

Sufjan Stevens performs on WNYC's "Spinning on Air"
More about 'The BQE' at BAM

Sixty Years of Swing

At 82, Roy Haynes is arguably the last legendary jazz drummer still out on the bandstand. Haynes has played with Miles, Bird, Billie and Coltrane, just to name a few. He looks back on his career and talks about a four-disc box set called "A Life in Time: The Roy Haynes Story."

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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