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Bad Music Made Easy
Irreverent music fans used a new piece of software from Microsoft to transform the Billy Idol hit White Wedding in a banjo-picking country song. On Today's show we a look at the program called Songsmith and the culture of music 2.0. Also: Singer-songwriter Erin McCarley performs live in our studio.
Pssst! Has an album ever changed your life? Tell us about it here, and we might share your story on tomorrow's show.
From Classic Song to Classic Trainwreck
With the release of Microsoft's Songsmith, seasoned songwriters and amateurs alike can generate canned accompaniment to their own voice (or those of others) with the touch of a button – often to comic effect. Today, Brian Raftery, author of "Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered the World," and Mike Keller, Tech writer for PC World, discuss Songsmith and the culture of music 2.0.
Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer weighs in on Songsmith
Video: Watch samples of pop songs reworked using Songsmith
Picks of the Week
This week’s CD haul included a solo effort from one of the Black Keys, a Scottish disco nugget, and an Indo-Pakistani-American jazz group.
Dan Auerbach, "Keep It Hid" (Nonesuch)
--picked by John Schaefer
Franz Ferdinand, "Tonight" (Domino/Epic)
--picked by Joel Meyer
Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition, "Apti" (Innova)
--picked by Gisele Regatao
Erin McCarley
The singer-songwriter Erin McCarley sparked a frenzy across the music industry when she performed her philosophical and eloquent pop compositions at the South by Southwest Festival last year She joins us to perform live from Love, Save the Empty, her recently-released debut album written about her search for authenticity.
Photo: Erin McCarley on Soundcheck
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See Tori Amos Live!
Join us Tuesday, Dec. 9 at The Greene Space
Singer and pianist Tori Amos joins us to talk about reworking and reinventing seasonal carols on her new holiday album. And, she performs for a live audience in The Greene Space! Click the link for ticket info.
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