Soundcheck

Peter Bebergal's new book is Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll. (Courtesy of the publisher) It's easy to forget today just how threatening rock 'n' roll music was in its infancy. Fed by deep-seated cultural and racial tensions, reactions to rock emphasized its other-ness and manifestation of long-buried and explosive impulses. All of which fed a suspicion that the music belonged to some darker force. It all started when the Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson "sold his soul" to the devil for fame and fortune. Writer Peter Bebergal says that without all this soul-selling – or at least the appearance of such -- rock 'n' roll would never have become rock 'n' roll. In his latest book, Season Of The Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock And Roll, Bebergal says that the occult -- and its influence on rock music -- is far more complex than simply biting a head off of a dove or a bat every now and then.  "The occult imagination includes not just the beliefs and practices people have," Bebergal explains in a conversation with Souncheck host John Schaefer, "but also the way people respond to those beliefs and practices. So, a Christian Fundamentalist that sees a Black Sabbath album as being demonic, that's also part of this occult imagination." Occult literally means hidden. But very often with stadium-filling rock and rollers, the occult is hiding in plain sight. "Sometimes there is a deliberate sense where the musician is trying to activate something in their fans or the media's sensibility that alerts them very quickly that they're dangerous, that they're different, that they're pushing up against the mainstream," says Bebergal. The roots of rock's occult obsession date back to American Slavery. "What you have in particular with slave songs," Bebergal explains, "is that even though their worship was Christian, the ways in which they worship were taken directly from African traditions. According to Christians of the time, such practices were 'pagan' and 'barbaric.'"  In the late 1960's, the occult du jour was Eastern mysticism. LSD was partly a catalyst, as the experiences people had on the drug lent themselves to descriptions influenced by the grammar and ideas of Eastern mysticism, such as ego-dissolution, breaking down of the self, and oneness with the universe.  "There was a way of using LSD as a tool to get at these other spiritual ideas," says Bebergal. "But that desperate search can sometimes be a dangerous one. We see that with the dissolution of [Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett's] mind, and what happened to him personally." 

George Clinton's new memoir is 'Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You?' (Courtesy of the publisher) "If it wasn't for flashbacks, I wouldn't have any memory at all," says George Clinton during his interview on Soundcheck. Over his 50-plus years in the music industry, the funk pioneer best known as the founder and driving creative force of Parliament-Funkadelic, and later, the P-Funk All-Stars, has seen -- and done -- a lot. Clinton started out as a doo-wop singer and and a songwriter in the Brill Building in the 1960s. But his sound quickly evolved into something much more rock -- and, eventually, funk -- oriented. Clinton describes that funky sound as "psychedelic versions of the songs that my mother would listen to."  "Music from way back up in the woods," he says. "Matter of fact, all the way in the jungle. We wasn't even going back to slavery -- we was going back primal."  With his '70s and '80s bands -- Parliament and Funkadelic — Clinton achieved four No. 1 R&B hits, including the anthem "One Nation Under A Groove" and "Atomic Dog," which topped the R&B charts for four weeks in 1982. Other songs like "Flash Light," "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)," "Maggot Brain," and "Mothership Connection," remain indelible, and frequently-sampled classics. And with his exuberant marathon concerts, Clinton and his sprawling, colorful band earned a reputation as one of the most memorable and unpredictable live acts around. Clinton's winding musical journey -- and his longtime struggles with a crippling crack addiction -- is chronicled in his new memoir, Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Clinton reflects on his early years bridging divided black and white audiences, his musical highs and career lows, and the invention of famous The Mothership. Interview Highlights George Clinton, on the title of his book Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?: A Memoir: I say I was hard when I started, I’ll be hard when I get through. In the meantime it’s been a challenge. But without humps, there’d be no getting over. I feel good, 73. I got something to fight for. I enjoy and welcome all that we’re going through because I think we found a way of getting the problems out to the people in the book. On finding an audience within the black and white communities: Funkadelic strived hard to become underground. We made records that we didn’t want to be played on the radio. We were too white for the black audience and too black for the white audience. And that’s how we wanted it. Because the fans that are going to like us no matter what stayed. They were smaller but they grew over time. I realized I can actually start a movement like this. Frank Zappa was like that. You have your fans who liked you for you, no matter what  you did. On the creation of Dr. Funkenstein: Neil Bogart, owner of Casablanca Records, I had wanted to be with him for years because he was a good promotion man. But he would only do it if I would be the center of attraction. And I was reluctant to do that because that wasn’t our style. I had heard that once before by Dave Kapralik, manager of Sly and the Family Stone. He thought it was too dark, you couldn’t distinguish the focal point of the band. And I would trust me more than anyone else doing that. So I reluctantly said yes and that became Dr. Funkenstein. On the inception of The Mothership and landing in Times Square: When I told him [Dave Kapralik] after we got the hit record, you don’t get paid for records in the tail end anyway but you can get help with promotion. I said, “buy me this spaceship,” and I didn’t have to finish the sentence. He went and got me a loan from the bank for a million dollars. Jules Fisher built the spaceship, did all the costuming. I told him we wanted to be able to land it on the stage...It was a funk opera. We landed the spaceship at five o’clo

Stevie Wonder has put out his fair share of hits over the years, especially that incredible stretch in the 1970s, when he released many of his best records -- Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974), and Songs In The Key Of Life (1976) -- all in a row. That era yielded big-time singles "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Sir Duke" and  "I Wish" -- all-time classic songs most know and love. But fewer people will remember the singer's very first No. 1 single from his earliest Motown years, when he was a 12-years-old child prodigy that went by "Little" Stevie Wonder. Little Stevie (Blendspace) Written and composed by Wonder's mentors, Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby, "Fingertips" was originally issued as a jazz instrumental on first studio album, 1962's The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie. But the song was later revisited during a Motortown Revue at Chicago's Regal Theater in June 1962. That live performance was released as the two-part single "Fingertips Part 1 And 2" (with Part 2 as the B-side), and later included on Wonder's 1963 album, Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius. The song became the first live, non-studio recording to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. since Johnny Standley's 1952 comic monologue "It's In The Book." Wonder remains the youngest solo artist to ever top the Hot 100 chart and that song is remarkably his only No. 1 hit during the 1960's. As part of the ongoing series, That Was A Hit?!?, pop charts analyst and writer Chris Molanphy explains to Soundcheck host John Schaefer how the improbable success of "Fingertips" and how it set preteen wunderkind Stevie Wonder on the trajectory to become the influential artist he is today. Chris Molanphy, on the original studio recording of "Fingertips" from The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962) "It’s all instrumental and just about three minutes long. If we think of Stevie Wonder and you think of the instrument he’s most famous for, it's his phenomenal harmonica. Stevie on this track is playing bongos. He’s doing it quite well, but he’s definitely not known for playing bongos." On "Fingertips Part 2" from Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius "A couple of albums later they captured Little Stevie in Chicago at a live performance. This version of “Fingertips” went on for about seven minutes, so they divided it into two parts. And it’s part two that becomes the hit, which is even more improbable. "When it sounds like Stevie is done, he starts riffing on the harmonica and plays “Mary Had A Little Lamb” trying to wind the crowd down. And then just as it starts to end he starts blowing on the harmonica again, and the band comes in again. This is when the next band is setting up, because he wasn’t the only person on the bill. A bassist from the next band yells out, it’s completely audible, “What key? What key?” He’s like, let me join in if you’re going to continue this for another two minutes."

When Moby recorded “The Last Day,” for his 2013 album, Innocents, most didn't take the title literally. Well, as it turns out, it wasn't just a song. "The Last Day" really did happen, in 2012, and we are now apparently living in a post-apocalyptic world. Moby has the photographs to prove it. His new exhibit of photographs, also called Innocents, is up and running at the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery in New York through Dec. 30. "If you remember a few years ago, there was supposedly the Mayan apocalypse," Moby says in a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer. "[But] maybe the apocalypse is rather like an unfolding. The more I thought about this, the more I thought there is a lot of evidence to support the idea that there is this benign apocalypse unfolding and we're a part of it. We have a progressive African-American president. Our next president will most likely be a wonderful, progressive woman. The world is generally moving in a more rational direction. And then there is a part of the world moving in a more atavistic, fear-based direction."  Moby's photos were inspired by his experiences in New York on September 11th. "I was on Mott Street when September 11th happened," Moby recounts. "Apart from the horrifying things that happened that day, from a semiotic perspective, one of the most interesting things for me was that after 9/11, people would take pictures of banal things in Lower Manhattan, and suddenly they'd have all this relevance and meaning. That kind of informed the photo show. And then, to make it more interesting, I invented a cult."  Moby also announced an upcoming re-release of his 2005 album Hotel -- with a bonus disc comprised of all Brian-Eno inspired ambient music. He will be performing two dates to promote its release, one of which will be at The Integratron in the desert outside of Joshua Tree. See more photos from the Innocents exhibit: Innocents (Courtesy of the Artist) Innocents (Courtesy of the Artist) Innocents (Courtesy of the Artist)

The Fortress Of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. (Courtesy of author) Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress Of Solitude is a coming-of-age saga that follows two teenage friends, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude, as they navigate adolescence, racial tensions and reality in 1970s Brooklyn. Partially an autobiographical story of Lethem's own childhood, the acclaimed 2003 novel explores New York music culture and is packed with references to Lou Reed, The Sugarhill Gang and Brian Eno. Lethem even made a mixtape to accompany the book.  The saturation of sound in the novel caught the attention of theater director Daniel Aukin, who worked with Michael Friedman -- best known composing the 2010 musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson -- to produce a musical adaptation of the book. The show is now running at the Public Theater in New York and has just been extended through Nov. 16.  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Jonathan Lethem talks about the book's adaptation, working with Friedman on the musical tone and whether the story has changed after being translated for the stage. Interview Highlights Jonathan Lethem, on being approached to do a musical for The Fortress Of Solitude: It’s the very definition of a left-field moment for me. I don’t identify with musicals the way I do with narrative film. There’s a lot of storytelling forms I respond to natively. I grew up with comics, movies and novels. What I know of musicals in my DNA comes from watching West Side Story or Wizard Of Oz on TV. The musical was a subset of my film interests. I’ve probably seen seven or eight stage musicals in my life before the director, Daniel Aukin, proposed it. I was so disconcerted but I also really liked Daniel. I was at a high water mark at the film options. It took me a while to gain confidence that it was a good idea, but I knew right away it was a diverting one. On working with Michael Friedman: Of course the mixtape didn't sound like theater music, it didn’t sound like cast recording of Pippin or something. The best case that Daniel could make was that this book was saturated with sound. That’s why it was calling out to him. The next thing he did was bring Michael Friedman. He was not a meteor in the sky like he is now, it was before Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. I think a lot of people thought he was brilliant but I didn’t know his name. He talked about the midpoint between pop music style and theater. That’s when I started to climb aboard. On using Brian Eno's “Golden Hours”: This song is quite a literal connection; it’s cited on the last page. It’s playing as one of the boys and his father are driving through the snow. It becomes pregnant with a sad strange feeling that pervades the end of that book. It’s kind of a non-ending ending. The song relates to a time in my life when listening to that seemed to suggest another world, a mystery that was unsolvable but I wanted to dwell and abide with. On Syl Johnson's song “Is It Because I’m Black”: Race is one of the big themes of the book. It was as much of a talisman song for the writing of this book as it could be. This guy was doing brilliantly sung but second rate soul songs. But then he barrels this crazy manifesto about “Why am I stuck in life.” It’s way too long for radio and it’s so on the nose. One of the things I knew writing, I had to go at the heart of the song and be unembarrassed. This book is very much saying the unsayable right out, and then working with everyone’s embarrassment that you’ve said it. Like me saying, “Yeah, I was the white kid growing up in a black neighborhood and it was really uncomfortable” and just laying stuff out there. And of course simply the emotional power of the song.  

Move over, Miley and Katy. There's a new pack of female pop artists on the rise -- and together, they just set a new all-time Billboard record.  For the first time in Billboard's 56-year history, female solo artists -- led by young singer Meghan Trainor, whose debut single "All About That Bass" has topped singles charts from New Zealand to Croatia -- have occupied the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking seven weeks. "The last time that there were this many women in the top five for more than one week was in 1999," says music writer Melinda Newman, who recently covered the trend for Billboard magazine. "And that string only lasted four weeks."  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Newman talks about whether this female singles chart domination signifies a shift in the typically male-dominated music industry -- and about the relative newcomers (with the exception of pop star Taylor Swift, whose new album 1989 comes out on Monday) who are holding down the top of the chart.  The (Current) Top Five Lineup:  1. Meghan Trainor, "All About That Bass"  2. Taylor Swift, “Shake it Off” 3. Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, “Bang Bang” 4. Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, “Black Widow” 5. Tove Lo, “Habits (Stay High)”  Interview Highlights Melinda Newman, on Meghan Trainor's single "All About That Bass," the lead single off of her upcoming debut album:  As we all know, when someone comes out of the box with this huge of a hit, it can be a blessing and a curse. This instantly becomes what they're always known for. It's really hard for someone when they have this big of an impression to keep the momentum going.  On the commonalities between the five songs in the top five:  Well, Tove Lo kind of ruined it for our theories. When Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" was in the top five, all of these songs were fairly female-empowering. None of them were traditional love songs in that "I'm nothing without my man." You look at "Shake It Off," "All About That Bass," [it was] very much "I'm an independent woman, take me as I am." With "Bang Bang" and "Black Widow," they were very much, "Hey, you come near me, you get what you get." Tove Lo kind of ruins it with "Stay High," because it's about a woman who is trying to find anything she can do to keep her mind off her man.  On whether this record-breaking trend signifies something about women in the U.S.:  Only in hindsight will we be able to look back and see what's going on. When I did my piece, there's certain people that thought this was actually a movement -- that it parallels women being powerful in the country, and that women are really standing up and taking their claim. Someone even took the throughline all the way to Hillary Clinton potentially running for president. Other people feel that this is cyclical -- that it's wonderful that this is happening, that we have new voices out there -- Taylor Swift's the only one we would have known about a few years ago -- but that it is just a cyclical phenomenon. Two years from now, the chart will look completely different. We're in a very rhythmic pop stage right now at Top 40 radio, and that tends to favor females. 

For a band that shares its namesake with a certain influential TV drama, Twin Peaks sounds nothing like the quirky and unsettling moods evoked in the David Lynch and Mark Frost series -- nor the eerie dreamscapes composed by Angelo Badalamenti. Instead, the young Chicago garage rockers simply chose their name because it "sounded cool." It does, certainly, but the band's sneering bursts of feedback and scorching guitar riffs also sound way cool -- especially when cranked up real loud. On its latest record, Wild Onion, Twin Peaks rolls through 16 short and searing bangers that owe a debt to '70s glam and Nuggets-era psyche rock -- but with the punked-up wallop of the current Bay Area scene like Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall and Chicago's own HoZac Records. You can hear that in "No Way Out," "Flavor" or "Making Breakfast," which mingles fever-inducing power chords and a Lou Reed-esque plain-sung delivery. But in tracks like "Mirror Of Time" or especially "Ordinary People," they sing in a loose and almost sweet melodic way, Twin Peaks' also shows a capacity for winsome power pop. It's this combination of melancholy and rollicking that makes Twin Peaks' equally at home in a cramped DIY space or at a smoky, laid-back hang in your parents' basement, circa 1976.  Set List: "Telephone" "I Found A New Way" "Flavor"

"Everybody knows who James Brown is," says filmmaker Alex Gibney. "But I think the impetus here was going back and looking at a couple of things that maybe had been overlooked." Gibney, whose past documentary work includes Taxi To The Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, chronicles funk pioneer James Brown's early career through the peak of his success in his new documentary, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown. And although Brown's life has certainly been studied before, the film, which airs on HBO on Oct. 27, does direct the spotlight onto some areas of his career and work -- from the jazz roots of songs like "Cold Sweat" to Brown's early days impersonating Little Richard on stage -- that perhaps haven't come to light before.  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Gibney talks about being approached by producer Mick Jagger to work on the film, and about uncovering layers of the funk star's past.  Interview Highlights Alex Gibney, on the focus of his film Mr. Dynamite:  The film's really about how he changed the culture, and he changed the culture with his music to be sure. The other thing was, he changed the culture in a lot of ways in terms of how he threw his shoulder behind the civil rights movement.  On how he developed his signature scream -- while impersonating Little Richard:  Who knew that? Nobody knew exactly what Little Richard looked like. [James Brown] literally was Little Richard, when Little Richard had to go off to LA. There were a whole bunch of dates that had to be fulfilled. And James Brown was Little Richard!  On James Brown performing on the Ed Sullivan Show:  James Brown on Ed Sullivan was a huge moment. Suddenly, this wild character who many people had seen through the Chitlin' Circuit and especially at the Apollo Theater, now they were seeing on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was the purveyor of the broadest possible sense of what was alive in culture at that moment. It was this African American world coming in to a predominantly white environment -- that was spectacular.  On James Brown and the civil rights movement:  He wanted to have a broad audience. But at the same time, he talked a lot about soul, and soul power. And for him, soul -- he defines it early in the film. He said, "Soul is all about the word 'can't.' It's what people say you can't do because you're black. If you internalize it, you realize you can do what they say you can't do." For him, that's what it was all about -- it was all about having a landscape in which you as an individual could do whatever you wanted. In some ways, he diverged from a lot of the civil rights figures in the sense that he didn't see the kind of systemic problems that were keeping people down. For him, it was all about individual empowerment. But wherever he saw obstacles in the way of individual empowerment, he fought hard to break them down.  On whether people are able to speak more honestly and openly about James Brown after his death:  Even in this film, there was a reticence -- there were a couple of people with whom I had to go back a second time to get them to talk. He was a complicated character. He was tormented by demons -- and a lot of that came out in very violent ways, both with his band and with a lot of his female companions. A lot of those demons drove his art, but also compromised who he was as a human being. That aspect, and the willingness to speak honestly about it, wouldn't have happened while he was alive. 

If you listen to any pop or mainstream rap radio, odds are you will recognize an iconic tag from the beginning of dozens of songs. But if you never understood exactly what he was saying, you're not alone. Turns out, that’s the calling card of producer Dijon McFarlane, otherwise known as DJ Mustard. He’s saying “Mustard on the beat,” and he’s saying it to the tune of 19 different Billboard Hot 100 hits in the last three years, including seven currently on the charts.  "Being DJ Mustard is great right now," says Sowmya Krishnamurthy in a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer. "In hip-hop, every year or two we have these hot producers. It's happened since time immemorial, with Pharrell and Timbaland, and now guys like Mike Will Made It, and now Mustard. They've proven themselves in the clubs and on the charts, and then everyone wants a piece." While most producers have a signature style, DJ Mustard has taken this to an extreme. At times, without the vocalist singing or rapping, it's hard to distinguish one track from the next. Critics have been quick to attack Mustard for his stylistic "consistency," but Mustard's interchangeable and easily mixable beats lend themselves to back-to-back club play, and have dominated the airways despite any sort of critical acclaim. In Mustard's words (tweets), ““Everybody say it’s so easy to make my beats. [Well] take a swing at it, you should be rich [in] no time cause I am.” Where is DJ Mustard from? McFarlane grew up in Los Angeles, DJing house parties since he was 11 years old. It wasn't until many years later that he switched from DJing to producing tracks, where he quickly became a prominent figure in the jerk-movement. For most of the aughts, the south--namely Atlanta--was the epicenter of hip-hop production. Mustard, along with YG, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Odd Future, have helped put L.A. back on the hip-hop map.  "Mustard has been instrumental in bringing back this California rap sound," says Krishnamurthy. "He started in the jerk-movement in the 2000's which was a very short lived California movement. It was really symbolized by party music. He's the guy who did the house party scene, and one of his flagship artists -- probably the artist he most takes ownership of -- is YG. Together they created this party sound and it really swept the nation after Tyga's "Rack City" [produced by DJ Mustard]. It took on a life of its own inside the strip club and outside of the strip club. And now everyone wants a piece of Mustard." What defines the DJ Mustard sound? Schaefer and Krishnamurthy identify three main features of DJ Mustard's production style, and we've added a couple more here:  The calling card. You'll hear his DJ drop "Mustard on the beat" right before the drums come in, on nearly all of his tracks. But by that point, there should already be some clues that it's a Mustard track. One of those clues is the tempo. You can expect a relatively slow, ~90 BPM tempo on most Mustard beats. This consistency allows DJ's, both in clubs and on the radio, to easily switch from one Mustard track to the next. Syncopated riffs. Punchy, sparse melodies are plucked out on rarely more than three or four different notes, usually repeated with minimal variability throughout the entire song. A similar stock of samples. Almost all of Mustard's choruses will feature a male group-vocal shouting "Ay!" on every upbeat. We're pretty sure the exact same sample is used in every song.  You'll also hear a lot of similar snaps and claps.  The synths. Mustard uses a variety of different smooth lead-synths, punchy horns, and airy pads, influenced by both contemporary EDM and the 90's house music that inspired it. He's also a fan of a simple reverb-y piano "Anytime you hear that song or feel those beats," explains Krishnamurthy, "you just want to dance. You want to start moving. It's very powerful. And no matter what, people like party music. People want to have fun. That's been a huge factor in propelling

Even at a time when the perfect three-minute single is the most commonly-traded currency for shuffle-enabled listening, there's still something wildly satisfying about long-form pop music. When a band makes room to stretch and allow for sonic exploration -- not to mention, say, a B-section, or even a second chorus -- those songs can feel like fully-formed statements capable of transporting the listener somewhere else. Cue Adult Jazz, a band that has a way of making expansive, otherworldly sounds with very little. On it's recently-released record, Gist Is, the deceivingly-named Leeds quartet crafts minimal, yet headphones-rich layers -- lovely and clanging guitar lines, horn lines, droning keyboards, intricately syncopated percussion -- full of precisely-timed starts and stops and experimental tangents. Its blend of prog and post rock, electronics -- and maybe even a touch of jazz -- serves as an instrumental bed for vocalist Harry Burgess' voice which can glide high into a choir boy falsetto that recalls James Blake or Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, or rumble in a soulful low register. It all adds up to some of the most thoughtfully composed and unique music this year.

Many in the U.S. will remember James for a single song, “Laid” – with its dryly funny, gender-bending video -- which came out on the Brian Eno-produced album of the same name in 1993. The British pop band continued on throughout the '90s, putting out a slew of other fine records. But after 1999's Millionaires failed to live up to expectations, and 2001's Eno-produced Pleased To Meet You didn't seem to recapture the band's early magic, James began to fracture and singer Tim Booth went on to pursue a solo career. After an extended hiatus, Booth rejoined James in 2007, and the band has now put out four releases since that time. The most recent, this summer's La Petite Mort, is band's best in some time. Booth's mother died while the band was working on new material, and that certainly has informed the themes that run throughout. That's especially true of the song "Moving On" -- a poignant rumination on death, but also a life-affirming anthem that shows off Booth's still-remarkable voice. Set List: "Moving On" "Walk Like You" "Out To Get You"

John Adams' 1991 opera The Death Of Klinghoffer is an operatic telling of a true story about the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled American appliance manufacturer who was singled out by Palestinian terrorists when they hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt in 1985.  Since its creation, the opera has often ignited controversy -- and the latest production is no exception. This week, the Metropolitan Opera performed the opera for the very first time, as part of a new production running until November 15. Outside of the opera's Lincoln Center home, hundreds of protesters -- including former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani -- gathered to voice their passionate distaste for the opera's choice of repertoire.  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, The New York Times classical music and dance reporter Michael Cooper describes the scene on opening night, and explains why the opera is so controversial.  Read a review from opening night of 'Death of Klinghoffer' from WQXR. Interview Highlights Michael Cooper, on why the opera is so controversial now:  When it came to New York it touched a raw nerve. Klinghoffer lived here, there’s a large Jewish community, Jews are upset about anti-Semitic events in Europe, the events in Gaza. It’s kind of a chicken and egg question. Last June, a lot of Jewish protesters pressured the Met. They came to a compromise to cancel the HD simulcast across movie theaters and included a note from Klinghoffer’s daughters in the program, but the compromise satisfied almost no one.  On the protests on opening night:  There were several hundred protesters in the traffic island across the street from the Lincoln Center including former New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani and former governor, David Patterson. It was quite an impassioned angry protest. Protesters were sitting in wheelchairs lining Columbus Ave. that they had rented for the occasion. Security was incredibly tight, everyone had to check their bags. It began a little bit late, because of heightened security.  There was one major disruption during the first half, when a man in the balcony stood up and shouted, “The murder of Klinghoffer will never be forgiven.” He was escorted out and arrested. At one point, a woman sitting behind me cried out, “This is a piece of excrement.” Of course that’s not the word she used. But she left as well and was not arrested. There were scattered boo’s at the end, and a standing ovation when composer John Adams took the stage at the end of the night. It was a very intense night at the opera.

On Thursday, Oct. 30 Soundcheck is hosting an afternoon Halloween costume party with the band Primus, who will be performing selections from its new Willy Wonka-inspired record. Go here for more details. The 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is filled with classic and oh-so-memorable songs written by the songwriting duo Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley: "The Candy Man,"I've Got A Golden Ticket," and, of course, "Oompa Loompa" -- which repeatedly serves as thematic interludes for each character. But perhaps no song from the movie has taken on a life of its own more than "Pure Imagination," performed by actor Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka himself.   As it turns out, “Pure Imagination” has been reworked, modified and reinterpreted hundreds of times by an array of artists -- from Lou Rawls to Maroon 5 to Fiona Apple. Even Primus is dipping into the world of reimagination. The delightfully quirky alt-rock weirdos are set to put out Primus And The Chocolate Factory, a new collection inspired by the music original Willy Wonka film -- and even releasing it on chocolate-colored vinyl.  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, entertainment reporter Gary Burton explains why "Pure Imagination" has become such a beloved staple, and who has recorded the best, and worst versions. Fiona Apple (2013) Gary Burton: The beginning is a counter melody; that's why it always feels off-kilter. That's why it also feels like a waltz but it's not. It is a lullaby drawing those kids and that family into that room, but there's something a tiny bit sinister about it. [Fiona Apple's version] was part of this viral commercial [for Chipotle's ad about factory farming] and that's trying to sell a nice lovely thing. That is actually worth looking at -- it's a really lovely animation. The song is probably the best cover version I’ve heard. Monty Alexander (2002) GB: If you actually look at the sheet music for the song, the chords are amazing. They’re jazz chords like E minor 11th's over A’s. I would imagine it’s pretty daunting. Maybe that’s why so many people in the jazz world have covered it because it lends itself into that theme.   Lou Rawls, from All Things In Time (1976) GB: It’s so close to the original. I mean, I guess they must have just fallen in love with that song like we all did. He had that jazz strain that we talked about earlier. The great thing about this version: it’s a light disco version for that era. But of course he does the spoken intro, and because it’s Lou Rawls he has that voice which is why I think it’s so appealing.   Jamie Cullum, from Momentum (2013) GB: It’s the structure that allows him play around with that top melody line. If you actually go to the YouTube version there are a lot of people who say, “I don't understand this.” But that’s his job, to explore the avenues with it. He’s like the old style interpreters, like a Frank Sinatra. He can really take a song and make it his own. Which is the real fine art to doing a cover version.   Russell Brand, at the 2012 London Olympics GB: I think this was one of the strangest ones, he segues into “I Am The Walrus” at some point. The guy can sing a little bit as he’s demonstrated in a couple movies.   Family Guy, "Pure Inebriation" GB: That scene has been spoofed many times that one in Family Guy, which is fantastic. The lyrics are great. And of course, as the lead singer is singing it, it's just genius.  Maroon 5, from Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise (2009) GB: It’s actually not too bad. I think everyone immediately kind of goes "Ugh!" when they hear it's Maroon 5, but it’s actually okay. John Schaefer: You’re a bit more generous then I would be.   Bucket Head from Bucketheadland (1992) and Giant Robot (1994)   The Cast Of Glee (2011)

On one of his first days at WNYC in 2007, longtime Soundcheck producer Joel Meyer scheduled an interview with Hugh Wilson, the creator and executive producer of WKRP In Cincinnati -- the TV show that inspired him to work at a radio station in the first place. Except that interview never happened: A backhoe took out Wilson's telephone minutes before the show went live. Joel's history with WKRP runs deep. He saw the show first with his family huddled around the TV during dinner time, and now he sings the show's theme song to his newborn baby. The beloved sitcom revolved around a cast of oddballs working at a struggling top-40 rock station in Cincinnati, and while it ran from on CBS from 1978 to 1982, it was a bumpy first run. It eventually ended up in syndication in the '80s, where it became a fixture of midday and late night reruns. But when the show was first released on DVD, licensing the original soundtrack -- comprised of classic rock, soul and pop hits of the time -- was difficult to negotiate, and producers were forced to include sound-alike songs. For instance, Foreigner's hit "Hot Blooded" or songs by The Commodores were replaced with vague imitations that left fans -- like Joel -- a little miffed.   Now, after a long wait, a newly-reissued deluxe box set of WKRP In Cincinnati has restored most of the show's original music. So, it's only fitting that on his last day at Soundcheck, Joel finally gets to speak with Hugh Wilson about the show, its classic rock soundtrack, and that iconic theme song. Interview Highlights WKRP creator Hugh Wilson, on restoring the original music to the show:  When we did the pilot, there was a big time debate over whether we were going to use sound-alikes -- songs that sound like The Beatles, but aren't quite. My feeling was we’d be best off not doing the show all together if were were going to use fake music. I got my way and got the music. Then years later when it came to re-license it, it all had increased 20 times in the price. Twentieth Century Fox who by then owned the rights to the show didn't want to pay it. So they put out a DVD with the music literally cut out. I think it was a disaster for them. I never watched those shows. I looked at half of one and stopped.  On writing the lyrics for the opening theme song:  I wrote the lyrics, my dear friend Tommy Wells, who has passed away, was a songwriter in Atlanta and he owned a studio there. Tommy fixed my lyrics up. He told me, "Hey. Hugh you should write the lyrics. You’ll get a check every time it plays." And so I did, I wrote them on an airplane with my wife, and that’s the last song I've written. On the actors picking music for the show:  Howard Hesseman, who's Johnny Fever -- boy, he owned a lot of vinyl. He really knew music. He said he'd like to pick his own music and I said sure. Howard loved old time rock and roll. And then the evening guy, Venus Flytrap, played by Tim Reid. Tim knew more about the type of music he liked than I did, so he picked his music. I remember going down there one day and hearing the Commodores for the first time. 

In April 1990, television viewers were welcomed into the distinctive and eerie town of Twin Peaks. The show, created by auteur David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Eraserhead) and Mark Frost  (Hill Street Blues, Fantastic Four) immediately captivated fans with its mysterious plot line, centered on the murder of a young woman named Laura Palmer.  While its first season was a hit for ABC, after its plotline got increasingly bizarre, the show was cancelled in its second season. But Twin Peaks has lived on -- not only in the cult canon, but through its innovative cinematic aura, bizarre kitschy vibe, and serialized approach. Its impact can be seen on shows like The X-Files, LOST, and even shows like The Sopranos, or this year's The Leftovers. Equally fundamental to setting the tone of the show was its original soundtrack and theme song, composed by Angelo Badalamenti. The show's original music -- which quickly shifted from charming and innocent to sinister and menacing -- was released on an internationally successful album, and its theme song picked up a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" in 1991.   Recently, after a few mysterious tweets from Lynch and Frost, it was announced that Twin Peaks will return with nine new episodes (written and directed by Frost and Lynch) on Showtime in 2016 -- 25 years after it left. Few details are known about the new episodes yet, including whether the show's iconic theme will be returning as well. In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Andy Greenwald, a staff writer for Grantland, discusses the Twin Peaks' return, how the show was unique, and whether the original music will find a place in the new version of the show Interview Highlights Andy Greenwald, on why people are excited about the return of Twin Peaks: Twin Peaks was sort of the urtext for obsessive fandom of this TV generation. It was by far the most visually creative, most strange, most bizarre, most musically interesting program of its time and it ended very unsatisfactorily for people. Unlike many other shows that have been rebooted in the short-term for cash grabs, this is something that people are pretty invested in and excited about. On Twin Peaks' distinctive theme music: I think that even as we come to the tail end of what some people have called the "Golden Age of Television" in the last ten years, original soundtracks, original scores have really not been a priority. There is a rapid turnover, a lot of demand and people have been putting their limited budgets in different directions. There are certainly a lot of TV shows that have incredible songs placed in them… but in terms of original, rich scores that really add to the experience and deepen the experience very few shows have approached the level that Twin Peaks achieved with the score by Angelo Badalamenti. On whether Twin Peaks will use its original music in its 2016 revival: I’m convinced that they will. The most important thing to remember is that after 25 years old grudges have been forgotten, high expectations weirdly have been minimized, enough time has passed. This has just purely been happiness, no real doubt, no real fear and one of the reasons for that is that unlike the original TV series this will be a limited series – nine episodes – all of which will be directed by David Lynch, written by Lynch and Mark Frost. With many of the cast members either many have passed away, many of them have aged out of the type of roles we are used to seeing them in, the music will be one of the most important ways to maintain continuity between the original series and the new version.