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(Brian Boros/flickr)Soundcheck Smackdown: Cell Phones at Concerts
To some music fans, a concert isn't a concert until they've taken a picture using their cell phone. Or text-messaged their friends. Today, we debate whether cellular phones are enhancing or ruining concerts. Also: pianist Simone Dinnerstein, whose recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was among last year's most talked-about classical recordings, joins us to preview her upcoming CD, of works by Bach, Beethoven and Philip Lasser.
Mobile Madness
At many pop concerts, the audience is so busy filming and recording the experience with their cell phones, they forget to pay attention to the music. Today, a "Soundcheck Smackdown" debate over whether cell phones are enhancing or ruining concerts. We're joined by Thor Christensen, pop music critic for the Dallas Morning News, and Eliot Van Buskirk, columnist for Wired.com.
Our blog: John Schaefer on cell phones at concerts. Plus, A listener submits a cell phone photo from a concert
Tell us: Do you have an opinion about the impact of cell phones on the concert experience? Do you have a story to tell about a cell phone at a concert? Leave a comment.
Are cellphones ruining the concert experience? by Thor Christensen
Wired.com's Listening Post blog
Watch: Prince plays Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella 2008
Watch: Past distraction -- screaming Beatles fans
Simone Dinnerstein
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein's 2007 recording of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" became an unlikely hit, topping the Billboard classical charts, reaching No. 3 on the Amazon charts, and for a time, leading iTunes in downloads. This summer she releases her follow-up CD, "The Berlin Concert," and tonight she performs at Le Poisson Rouge, the new concert venue in Greenwich Village. She performs live for us today in the studio.
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