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Soundcheck
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"Checkpoint Charlie" the famous crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (Brian Wise/WNYC)In Berlin, What's Old is New Again
All this week, Soundcheck presents a series of shows from Berlin, a city Billboard magazine called one of the world's hot spots for music in 2007. Our series continues with a look at the city's rich musical past. The sardonic and stylish cabaret singer Max Raabe explains why cabaret and theater songs from the Weimar era are popular once again. And journalist Kay Meseberg tell us why some Berliners are nostalgic for artifacts (musical and otherwise) of the Communist era. Finally, singer Klaus Hoffmann shares his life stories and songs which span Jacques Brel to his own cabaret-tinged chansons.
Soundcheck in Berlin is supported in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Max Raabe on Cabaret
Max Raabe, considered the most popular cabaret-style singer and bandleader in Germany today, explains why modern-day Germans connect with a musical style that's rooted in the 1920's and includes songs from Kurt Weill to classic films. Recorded at the House of World Cultures
Max Raabe's Palast Orchester
Max Raabe on Soundcheck's Berlin Blog
House of World Cultures Web site
Music from Behind the Iron Curtain
Kay Meseberg, a journalist, DJ and producer for Arte TV, the European arts television network, talks about the challenges of making - and listening to - music in the former East Germany. He also explains the curious modern-day phenomenon known as "Ostalgie" - looking back fondly to life under the former Communist regime. Recorded at the House of World Cultures
Blog entry: Recording at the House of World Cultures
Ostalgie on Wikipedia
Klaus Hoffmann
Born and raised in the former West Berlin, Klaus Hoffmann is a true Berlin original. An actor, author, and interpreter of chansons, he started out in the late '60s as a guitar-wielding folk singer. These days he sings everything from the songs of Jacques Brel to his own very personal songs.
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