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Soundcheck

Thursday, January 03, 2008
  • Celine Dion
    Celine Dion (Denise Truscello)

    Who's Afraid of Céline Dion?

    Céline Dion is one of the most successful singers in the world, yet she has few fans among music critics. Today on Soundcheck, find out if one critic changed his mind after immersing himself in Dion's music for months. And later: Brooklyn-based band Via Audio scored a top-notch producer the old fashioned way: they pressed a CD into the palm of Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. They perform live in our studio.

Guilty Displeasures

Carl Wilson of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper did what other music critics might find unfathomable: He listened to Celine Dion. A lot. In the book Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, Wilson explores the idea of a "guilty displeasure": something we're quick to dismiss because, well, "it's just not me." We find out what Wilson learned from his ordeal -- and if he changed his mind about Dion.

Tell us: What's your "guilty displeasure?" Do you have a music-snob sin to confess?

Carl Wilson's blog Zoilus.com
Wilson's article about Dion's Las Vegas show

Via Audio

Brooklyn-based band Via Audio scored a top-notch producer the old fashioned way: they pressed a CD into the palm of Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. Via Audio’s new album is called “Say Something.” They play live in the studio.

Via Audio website

Oregon Takes a Stand

In its fight against illegal file-sharing, the recording industry has turned to colleges and universities to ferret out students swapping songs over campus networks. But the University of Oregon is having none of it. We talk with New York Times reporter Adam Liptak.

Adam Liptak's New York Times article

Introducing our Video Contest

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

In Studio: Los Amigos Invisibles

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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

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

Cucu Diamantes Performs Amor Cronico

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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.

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.

Sound Off

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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.