WNYC's Soundcheck
WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck, the arts and culture program hosted by John Schaefer, who engages guests and listeners in lively, inquisitive conversations with established and rising figures in New York City's creative arts scene. Guests come from all disciplines, including pop, indie rock, jazz, urban, world and classical music, technology, cultural affairs, TV and film. Recent episodes have included features on Michael Jackson,Crosby Stills & Nash, the Assad Brothers, Rackett, The Replacements, and James Brown.
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18 Episodes of this Podcast:
Vijay Iyer (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 03 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-06 16:00:00Composer and pianist Vijay Iyer has long mixed two genres in his work: jazz and Indian music. On his latest album, Historicity, he not only covers the jazz standards, but also sets his sight on popular music with covers of songs by M.I.A and Stevie Wonder. He performs lives in our studio.
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The Very Best (Soundcheck: Thursday, 05 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-05 14:43:00The Very Best is the collaboration between Malawian-born, London-based singer Esau Mwamwaya and the British DJ duo Radioclit. The eclectic-sounding group was tapped to be this year’s buzz band at the CMJ Music Festival -- until travel issues scuttled Mwamwaya’s visit. Now, the group joins us to talk about a critically lauded second album, Warm Heart of Africa, which features guest appearances from rapper M.I.A. and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend.
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Picks of the Week (Soundcheck: Thursday, 05 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-05 14:10:00This week's picks include some icy sounds, an economic power trio and a multicultural bunch. Click here to read our full reviews.
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All Work and No Play - But High Pay (Soundcheck: Thursday, 05 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-05 13:59:00The stagehands that push the pianos onto the stage at Carnegie Hall make more than the musicians who play them. Bloomberg News recently revealed that the top stagehands there earn $500,000 a year. Reporter Philip Boroff tells us about this specialized corner of the music industry.
City Opera Launches a New Season
New York City Opera opens its 2009-10 season with a gala tonight after an off-season of drastic cost-cutting measures. General manager George Steel sought concessions from unions – including stagehands – as part of his efforts to bring the beleaguered company back to financial stability. We get a prognosis from Robin Pogrebin, New York Times culture reporter, and James Jorden, author of the opera blog Parterre Box.
Conducting Your Way to the Top (Soundcheck: Wednesday, 04 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-04 00:00:00Roger Nierenberg is a conductor and creator of the Music Paradigm, a program that invites executives to sit inside an orchestra and even try their hand at conducting. He joins us to share his observations on why he thinks conducting can turn business executives into successful leaders as recounted in his new book, Maestro: A Surprising Story About Leading by Listening.
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Musician Activists: Passion or Publicity? (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 03 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-03 13:41:00Last year's presidential election brought out a groundswell of political action by musicians. This year, the causes are lower in profile: Singer Will.i.Am is pushing for health care reform. Trent Reznor, R.E.M. and Pearl Jam are joining a movement to close Guantanamo. But can they effect any real change?
On this Election Day Soundcheck Smackdown, we debate whether musicians should get involved in political causes with Dorian Lynskey, a music writer at London's Guardian newspaper and Katherine Mangu-Ward, a senior editor of Reason magazine and Reason.com.
Behind the Curtain: To Peek or Not To Peek (Soundcheck: Monday, 02 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-02 13:07:00"Myth and mystery have always been crucial to the worship of music," according to NPR blogger and former Sleater Kinney member Carrie Brownstein. But in an age of blogs and tabloids, she asks: "Where is the mystery now?" It might be found in life of an international DJ, as described by Jace Clayton, a.k.a. DJ/rupture. Brownstein and Clayton join us to share recent essays compiled in the new book Best Music Writing 2009.
Carrie Brownstein and Jace Clayton will appear tonight at Housing Works Bookstore Café at 7 p.m. with other “Best Music Writing 2009” contributors and the book’s editor, music writer Greil Marcus. More info here.
Alessandra Belloni (Soundcheck: Monday, 02 November 2009)
Published: 2009-11-02 00:00:00In Southern Italy, the trance dance known as the tarantella was used to cure a mental disorder among women -- who felt stuck in the spider web of their society. Singer and percussionist Alessandra Belloni joins us to share this and other histories of the tarantella. And, she performs live in our studio.
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Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar's Ode to Jack Kerouac (Soundcheck: Thursday, 29 October 2009)
Published: 2009-10-30 16:54:00Two big names in alternative music are joining forces to pay tribute to Jack Kerouac, the godfather of alternative fiction. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Jay Farrar of Son Volt join us to talk about and perform songs from their soundtrack for the new documentary, One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur looking at Kerouac's life post-On the Road.
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Music Pharmacology (Soundcheck: Friday, 30 October 2009)
Published: 2009-10-30 15:12:00If new research is any indication, music someday may be widely used in operating rooms to help ease patient anxiety during surgery. A recent study at Cleveland Clinic found that music can slow the neuronal firings deep within the brain during surgery designed to treat Parkinson's patients. Our guests include Dr. Kamal Chemali, a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic as well as a pianist; and Vera Brandes, director of an Austrian research program at Paracelsus Medical Private University Salzburg.
Weigh in: Do you think music can have a positive effect on your health?
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Now Playing: Vijay Iyer (Soundcheck: Tuesday, 03 November 2009)
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