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Soundcheck

Tuesday, November 11, 2008
  • mixed tapes
    (luluinnyc/flickr)

    Mix Tapes as the Ultimate Love Letters

    In the age of MP3s and burned CDs, the mixtape is a lost art form. Yet for people of a certain generation, cassette mix tapes were the ultimate audio valentines. They could both spark and end a relationship. On today's show, a look at a new web site that lets you revisit those old mix tapes. Also: Rosanne Cash and Mark O'Connor join us to talk about their new collaboration of original songs and instrumentals inspired by the music of Cash's beloved father, Johnny Cash.

The Art of Mix Tapes

On the new web site CassetteFromMyEx.com, essayists dig up mixtapes from old flames and revisit love -- and a recording format -- from a different era. We're joined by the site's creator, Jason Bitner, and one of its contributors, the novelist Fiona Maazel ("Last Last Chance").

CassetteFromMyEx.com

Johnny Cash

Rosanne Cash & Mark O'Connor Live

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.

Rosanne Cash's web site
Mark O'Connor's Web site

Introducing our Video Contest

Soundcheck

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

In Studio: Angel Deradoorian

Soundcheck

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

Cucu Diamantes Performs Amor Cronico

Soundcheck

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: Stephanie McKay

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The local singer-songwriter performs "Jackson Avenue," a nostalgic toast to her childhood in the South Bronx.

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

Soundcheck

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.