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In this episode: Lead singer of The National Matt Berninger and his brother Tom talk about Tom’s new film Mistaken for Strangers. It started as a documentary about the band, but becam... (episode)
According to the streaming music service Spotify, nearly 20 percent of its catalogue -- close to four million songs -- have never been played. But now, a new service called Forgotify ...
On its latest album, Fellow Travelers, Shearwater turns to reinterpreting other musicians' songs, enlivening songs from Sharon Van Etten, Xiu Xiu and even Coldplay with operatic grand...
Songwriter Dan Wilson is best known for fronting Semisonic and writing songs for everyone from Adele to Taylor Swift. Hear him perform material from his new solo album, Love Without F...
In this episode: Soundcheck wraps up our week of New York nostalgia with a look back at the music of the 1940's with New York magazine's Mark Jacobson. Then, we try to answer the que... (episode)
All this week on Soundcheck, we're talking about nostalgia and New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue --...
We've spent the past week documenting nostalgia for bygone eras of the New York music scene. But one thing we haven’t tackled yet: Why do we get nostalgic in the first place? And why ...
In her solo debut, Sabina Sciubba -- the singer best known for her work with Brazilian Girls -- embraces the rock and pop of the 1960s and '70s. Watch her perform songs from Toujours ...
<p>Hear classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein perform works from her latest album of J.S. Bach compositions, in the <em>Soundcheck</em> studio.</p>
In this episode: Soundcheck continues our decade-by-decade look back at the highlights of New York music in the past 100 years with the music of the 1970's. Then: Hear songwriter Daw... (episode)
All this week on Soundcheck, we're talking about nostalgia and New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue --...
<p>Hear folk songwriter Dawn Landes perform songs from her latest album, <em>Bluebird</em>, in the <em>Soundcheck</em> studio.</p>
In this episode: Soundcheck's week-long look back at various eras of music in New York continues with the 1960's. New York magazine editor Lane Brown talks about his nostalgia for the... (episode)
All this week on Soundcheck, we're talking about nostalgia and New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue --...
Gary Numan has been creating genre-expanding electronic music for three decades, but many of those years have involved personal struggles with depression and feelings of rejection. He...
Kris Bowers won the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition Award. Hear him play songs from his debut album Heroes + Misfits -- which blends together jazz, hip hop a...
In this episode: Soundcheck's week of nostalgia continues, with a fond look back at the 1920's -- a decade when duos like Rodgers and Hart and George and Ira Gershwin were cranking ou... (episode)
All this week on Soundcheck, we're talking about nostalgia and New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue --...
Legendary trumpeter, flugelhornist, songwriter, and South African musical ambassador Hugh Masekela turns 75 years old in the first week of April. He tells host John Schaefer how he ke...
In this episode: This week on Soundcheck, we're talking about nostalgia and the past 100 years of New York music in collaboration with New York Magazine, which this week presents thei... (episode)
<p>Tell us about which decade in New York music you're nostalgic for. Call us at 866 939 1612, let us know on Twitter, or leave us a comment. We might use your comment on an episode of <em>Soundcheck</em>! </p>
We're joined by NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas to talk about Mozart in the Jungle -- a memoir-turned-TV series which was recently picked up for development by Amazon -- and what it c...
The members of The Strypes are all in the 16 to 18 age range, but their ripping retro rock bursts with vitality and sneering edge. Hear the Irish rock band perform a short set of song...
In this episode: Jennifer Lopez has a new album on the way in June, and the pop star and actress recently dropped her first music video for her new song, “I Luh Ya Papi.” It’s the lat... (episode)
Pop star Jennifer Lopez has a new album on the way in June – and she recently dropped her first music video from the new record. It’s for a song called “I Luh Ya Papi,” and it’s the l...
<p>On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we take a closer look at Nina Simone -- an icon whose story is complex, and whose contributions to the struggle for civil rights are indisputable.</p>
A look back at the life of Big Star frontman Alex Chilton; Elizabeth & the Catapult plays in studio; a conversation with Teenage documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf. (episode)
Alex Chilton -- leader of Big Star and eventually triumphant elder statesman of alternative music -- is the subject of a sprawling new biography by Holly George-Warren.
<p>Hear Houndmouth perform in the <em>Soundcheck</em> studio.</p>
In this episode: Walter Martin was an integral part of the indie band The Walkmen. Until, that is, the band announced they were going on “extreme hiatus” at the end of 2013. But Marti... (episode)
In this latest installment of Soundcheck's Pick Three series, Mesfin Fekadu, a music reporter for Associated Press, highlights some favorite songwriters who have found great success a...
Walter Martin began writing the songs on new album We're All Young Together when he found out he was having a child. The result is a set of easy melodies and playful lyrics. Watch Wal...
In this episode: When the members of Run-DMC wrote “My Adidas” -- an ode to their sneakers of choice -- back in 1986, they weren’t trying to broker a corporate sponsorship. But they g... (episode)
We talk with Steve Stoute, founder and CEO of the brand development and marketing firm Translation and author of the book The Tanning of America, about how hip hop became a powerful f...
<p>The latest installment in our That Was A Hit!?! series about improbable chart hits looks at Candyman's 1990 song "Knockin' Boots."</p>
<p>Hear the hip-hop artist and dancer perform new music from his just-released EP, <em>Hey</em>, in the <em>Soundcheck</em> studio.</p>