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John Schaefer

Host

John Schaefer

Enlarge

John Schaefer (Marco Antonio)

John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.

John has written extensively about music, including the book New Sounds: A Listener’s Guide to New Music (Harper & Row, NY, 1987; Virgin Books, London, 1990); The Cambridge Companion to Singing: World Music (Cambridge University Press, U.K., 2000); and the TV program Bravo Profile: Bobby McFerrin (Bravo Television, 2003). He was contributing editor for Spin and Ear magazines, and his liner notes appear on more than 100 recordings, ranging from “The Music of Cambodia” to recordings by Yo-Yo Ma and Terry Riley.

In 2003, Schaefer was honored with the American Music Center's prestigious Letter of Distinction for his "substantial contributions to advancing the field of contemporary American music in the United States and abroad." In May 2006, New York magazine cited Schaefer as one of "the people whose ideas, power, and sheer will are changing New York" in its Influentials issue. He began blogging for WNYC when accompanying the New York Philharmonic on its historic (and apparently very weird) trip to North Korea in 2008 and continues to blog at soundcheck.org.

He is a regular contributor to the World Science Festival and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center; he has also written about horse racing (Bloodlines: A Horse Racing Anthology, Vintage NY 2006) and was a regular panelist on the BBC’s soccer-based program Sports World.

Shows:

John Schaefer appears in the following:

Khruangbin

Weekly Music Roundup: Fantastic Negrito and Tank, Khruangbin, and The Chicks

Monday, June 29, 2020

New Sounds

This week, collaborative songs featuring Michael Stipe, The Streets, and Fantastic Negrito. Plus, Houston-based psych-funk trio Khruangbin's new album, and The Dixie Chicks drop "Dixie."

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Public Enemy

Weekly Music Roundup: Public Enemy, Yemi Alade, and Phoebe Bridgers

Monday, June 22, 2020

New Sounds

Week of June 22: This week, new music from Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, and Public Enemy, and a stunning return from Phoebe Bridgers. Plus, Japanese-Colombian collaborators, Minyo Crusaders.

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TENGGER, a traveling musical family

Weekly Music Roundup: Jarvis Cocker, Naeem, and TENGGER

Monday, June 15, 2020

New Sounds

Jarvis Cocker’s tribute to Leonard Cohen; Sunny Jain’s tribute to Breonna Taylor; Tengger’s tribute to krautrock. Plus, new music from Naeem (fka Spank Rock), and CDMX's El Shirota.

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CONCERT WATCH – Detroit Symphony

Tuesday, June 09, 2020

Detroit Symphony Orchestra – DSO Replay

Protesters march across the Brooklyn Bridge as part of a solidarity rally calling for justice over the death of George Floyd Monday, June 1, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

Two Music Executives Reflect On Race In Their Industry

Monday, June 08, 2020

By John Schaefer : Host

Nabil Ayers is the U.S. General Manager for 4AD Records, and Ed Eckstine was the first black man to be named president of a major record label when he took over Mercury Records in 1986.

Fantastic Negrito

Weekly Music Roundup: Fantastic Negrito, Andra Day, and The Knights

Monday, June 01, 2020

New Sounds

Week of June 1: This week, timely new songs from Fantastic Negrito and Andra Day; and songs from another time by The Raconteurs and The Knights.

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punk band IDLES

Weekly Music Roundup: IDLES, J.S. Ondara, and Kaki King

Monday, May 25, 2020

New Sounds

This week, quarantine messages from punk band IDLES, guitarists J.S. Ondara and Kaki King, along with new music from country star Margo Price, and from violinist Owen Pallett.

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Moses Sumney

Weekly Music Roundup: Moses Sumney, OK Go, and Moby

Monday, May 18, 2020

New Sounds

This week, subversive brilliance from Moses Sumney, an OK Go video from quarantine, and melancholy techno from Moby. Plus, Kamasi Washington's score for Michelle Obama's 'Becoming.'

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This 1966 file photo shows Little Richard.

Little Richard and Florian Schneider: Two Artists Who Changed Pop Music

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

John Schaefer, host of WNYC's Soundcheck and New Sounds, joins us to remember Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider and Little Richard.

Rhiannon Giddens

Weekly Music Roundup: Buscabulla, Eve Owen, and Rhiannon Giddens

Monday, May 11, 2020

New Sounds

New music from Rhiannon Giddens, Lettuce, and Natalia Lafourcade all pay tribute to older music, and Puerto Rican duo Buscabulla looks to summer with a beach-ready dance tune.

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Music Venues Scramble To Survive Amid COVID-19 Shutdown

Friday, May 08, 2020

By John Schaefer : Host

“There’s a lot of weird wording in a lot of these loans,” says one club owner, “and it seems like they don’t want to help bars or anything on the fringe.”

Weekly Music Roundup: Ghostpoet and Los Cumpleaños

Monday, May 04, 2020

New Sounds

Week of May 4: This week, dance the cumbia in a premiere from Los Cumpleaños, and unintentional pandemic songs from Ghostpoet and Son Lux.

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Fiona Apple

Weekly Music Roundup: Fiona Apple, July Talk, and Alex Winston

Monday, April 20, 2020

New Sounds

Week of April 20: This week, many (happy?) returns! Comeback music from Fiona Apple, Alex Winston, and The Airborne Toxic Event.

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Laura Marling

Weekly Music Roundup: Laura Marling, Twenty One Pilots, and Surfer Blood

Monday, April 13, 2020

New Sounds

This week, responses to isolation from Twenty One Pilots, Laura Marling, and Surfer Blood; also composer Molly Joyce uses disability as a creative tool and a West African dance party.

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Long Island Factory Turns From Drum Heads....To Face Shields

Friday, April 10, 2020

By John Schaefer : Host

The D’Addario company discovered that the main material in their drumheads is a clear mylar film — which can also be used to fashion protective face shields.

Samora Pinderhughes

Weekly Music Roundup: Samora Pinderhughes, Lara Downes, and Andrew Bird

Monday, April 06, 2020

New Sounds

Week of April 6: This week, unintentional pandemic songs from M Ward, Andrew Bird, and Samora Pinderhughes; plus, a break from the day’s news.

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Kandace Springs

Weekly Music Roundup: Bob Dylan, Kandace Springs, and Dirty Projectors

Monday, March 30, 2020

New Sounds

This week, a blast from Afropop’s past, the future of Afrofuturism, and new music from Dirty Projectors and Bright Eyes. Plus, Kandace Springs, and a surprise from Bob Dylan.

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CANCELLED: The Philadelphia Orchestra Performs Beethoven Live From Carnegie Hall

Friday, March 13, 2020

Due to the COVID19 virus, this concert has been cancelled, and Carnegie Hall will be closed from March 13 through May 10. For more information, please visit Carnegie Hall's website.

Global Mashups: The World Comes To Sing And Dance in Queens

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

By John Schaefer : Host

If you ever wondered what a mix of Brazilian and Indian music would sound like, or a bluegrass/Cuban fusion, Global Mashups provide an answer.

Christine and the Queens

Weekly Music Roundup: Christine and the Queens and Zeshan B

Monday, March 02, 2020

New Sounds

This week, Gorillaz meets Fatoumata Diawara; celebrating Brown Power with Zeshan B, Christine and the Queens unveil a surprise new EP, and the long-delayed return of Aksak Maboul.

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