Soundcheck

It's remarkable how quickly Kris Bowers has risen in the ranks of in-demand pianists. After winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 2011, the young musician and composer, 24, has gone on to work with Jose James, Marcus Miller, and the great Aretha Franklin -- not to mention Q-Tip, with whom he recorded piano tracks that found ended up on Kanye West and Jay Z's blockbuster Watch The Throne. And yet, Bowers' connection to the hip-hop world doesn't end with guest spots; threads of hip-hop, R&B and neo-soul inform the core of Bowers' sound and the songs on his genre-traversing debut, Heroes + Misfits. Like pianist Robert Glasper before him, Bowers' compositions have their grounding in rich jazz harmony and fluid improvisational melody. And yet, the production textures and deep in-the-pocket grooves imply a love for hip hop and R&B. It's an intriguing and socio-politically-minded collection that demonstrates Kris Bowers is already at ease with his sound and great musical promise, no matter the setting.

All this week on Soundcheck, we're taking getting all nostalgic for New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue -- this year, focused on New York City music. And we've asking listeners which decade you're most nostalgic for. (Call us at 866 939 1612, or leave a comment below.)  Today, New York magazine's Jody Rosen looks back at one of his favorite eras in New York, the 1920's.  "The '20s was when New York pop music came into its own in a way that we recognize as modern," Rosen tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer. "In 1925, that was the advent of electrical recording. The microphone was invented in this decade. It was sort of when popular music -- full stop -- emerged from its early history, and became something modern."  "And then, there is the influence of black music that you really feel in the American popular song," Rosen continues. "And of course, there is the scene that was the incredible cultural apotheosis of Harlem in this period, which is known as the Harlem Renaissance."     Rosen talks about a few favorite songs of the era, including the Rodgers and Hart song "Manhattan," which was performed by Ruth Tester and Allan Gould in the short film Makers Of Melody.   Later, Rosen also points to stars of the era, including Ethel Waters, the blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress, known for songs such as "Do What You Did Last Night."      

Keren Ann Zeidel is something of a musical chameleon, changing her sound or her medium from project to project. A singer-songwriter, producer, composer, and sound designer, Keren Ann has not only put out six recordings under her own name, but has written music for a variety of other formats: She wrote the original film score for the feature Yossi; has had songs featured on TV series like Grey’s Anatomy, and Six Feet Under. And even more impressive, she co-wrote the opera Red Waters with Bardi Johansson, which was produced by The Opera de Rouen and performed in four different opera houses in France.  It's been almost exactly three years since she released her critically acclaimed 2011 album, 101, a record of pristine synth pop, ghostly melodies, and shadowy noir atmosphere. And while there is still no news of a new album, (Zeidel had a baby in 2012), the Israel-born musician is now resurfacing in New York to perform at City Winery, as part of the Newish Jewish Musical Festival -- and to play in the Soundcheck studio.    

Legendary horn player, songwriter, and South African musical ambassador Hugh Masekela turns 75 years old the first week of April. In his multi-decade career, Masekela scored a smash hit with 1968's "Grazing In The Grass," but also used his music to draw attention to the political climate of his home country during the apartheid regime.     For 30 years, Masekela was a de facto political exile from South Africa, so he toured the world instead, using New York as his home base, and using his music to bridge the distance between himself and the culture he held so dear. Songs like "Riot" and "Mace And Grenades" belied their dance-able rhythms with titles and lyrics calibrated to indict the regimes that kept him away.      Masekela was able to return home in 1990, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Since that time, Masekela has acted both as musical ambassador to the world for South Africa and South African artists, but also as keeper of a cultural flame as various traditional music ideas have slowly dwindled in popularity and visibility.  In a career-spanning interview, Hugh Masekela tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer about how he keeps up a grueling touring schedule; recounts the story of how he wrote Nelson Mandela (Bring Him Back Home); and explains how he's ended up on stage with Dave Matthews, U2, and other music luminaries.  Hugh Masekela joined the Dave Matthews Band in Johannesburg, South Africa, in late 2013:  

This week on Soundcheck, we're asking our listeners to tell us about the decade of New York music that they're the most nostalgic for. Maybe it's the 1940s, because of New York performing legends like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Or the 1980s, when Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys changed the hip hop game. Or maybe you're nostalgic for a decade as recent as the 2000s -- when groups like The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs heralded in a post-punk revival and declared New York the indie rock capital of the world.  We're talking about nostalgia and New York music in collaboration with New York magazine, which this week is presenting their annual "yesteryear" issue -- this year, focused on New York City music. Tune in all week to hear from New York magazine editors, as well as Soundcheck guests and listeners talking about the decades of New York music that they fondly remember -- or wish they were a part of.  Tonight, we kick things off with New York magazine pop culture editor Lane Brown and pop music critic Jody Rosen -- with a look at why New York has been at the center of music history throughout the past 100 years.  Tell us about which decade in New York music you're nostalgic for. Call us at 866 939 1612, hit us up on Twitter at @Soundcheck, or leave a comment below. We might use your comment on an episode of Soundcheck! 

It was shortlived, but the NBC drama Smash attempted to show audiences what “really” happens behind the scenes on Broadway. Obviously, the show didn’t live up to its title -- it was cancelled after just two seasons. But, Smash might have helped pave the way for a new show that could be coming soon to a screen near you. It’s called Mozart in the Jungle – based on a memoir of the same name – and it’s a pretty racy backstage look at the world of classical music.   NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas joins us to talk about Mozart in the Jungle, whose cast and creative team include some pretty big names -- from Bernadette Peters and Malcom McDowell to Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. The show was recently picked up by Amazon, and, according to Schwartzman, could be available for viewing by the fall. We talk with Anastasia about why the idea of classical music paired with steamy sex scenes and recreational drug use is shocking for American audiences -- and what this show could do for classical music's hoity-toity reputation, if it takes off.  Watch the Mozart in the Jungle pilot via Amazon. 

With its retro, rough-and-tumble rhythm and blues sound, The Strypes have earned a reputation for a thrilling live show, playing to packed crowds ready to rock. It's impressive for any young band to already be this good on stage, and especially so when you realize how young this Irish band actually is. The members of The Strypes -- singer Ross Farrelly, guitarist Josh McClorey, bassist Pete O’Hanlon, drummer Evan Walsh -- are all in the 16 to 18 age range, and McClorey, O'Hanlon and Walsh have known each other most of their lives. So sure, these guys are still kids -- younger than One Direction, in fact -- yet they carry themselves with swagger and strut of veteran rock stars. Luckily, the band backs up up that confidence and vitality on its 2013 full-length, Snapshot. These short driving songs are crammed with ripping guitar riffs, howling harmonica, and raw, sneering vocals that add up to a sound that pulls from live-wire blues, early rock, and even a hint of punk. It's a sound that has won over fans: Snapshot sold more than 200K copies in just two weeks when it came out in the U.K. last year, earning them a spot opening for Arctic Monkeys and prominent shows at this year's South By Southwest -- and drawing the attention of Noel Gallagher, Jeff Beck, and even Elton John.

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 latest example of a video from a female artist that’s got a clear point to make about gender stereotypes. "Why do men always objectify the women in every single video?" says one of J. Lo's friends, after a supposed film director has suggested that J. Lo shoot her newest music video at a water park or at the zoo. "Why can't we for once objectify the men?" Writer Daisy Buchanan recently reviewed the video for the British publication The Telegraph, and she joins us from London to talk about why artists like Jennifer Lopez and Lily Allen have recently made videos in this vein. Plus, we talk about the impact that they could have on future music videos and gender imagery in the music business.    

Over the course of her career the late singer Nina Simone left audiences with many different impressions -- from difficult to lovable to out and out hostile. But her contributions to music, and to the struggle for civil rights, are indisputable. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we take a closer look an icon whose story is complex, and whose songs have become anthems. We take a look back at the voice behind songs like "Mississippi Goddam" with historian Ruth Feldstein, whose upcoming book is called How it Feels to be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement. This segment originally aired on Jan. 21, 2013.

Alex Chilton rocketed to fame at 16 years old as the singer of The Box Tops's smash hit "The Letter." Over the next three decades, he would continually defy popular expectations, while creating iconoclastic pop music that is now regarded as years ahead of its time. His short-lived band in the 1970s, Big Star, has exerted a massive influence on today's alternative and indie rock artists, and has been name-checked by the luminaries of latter-day pop: Pavement, R.E.M., Wilco, and many others. In the late 1970's and early '80s, Chilton grew more unpredictable and more experimental in his recordings, but never stopped following his own idiosyncratic path through the landscape of jazz, R&B, blues, and pop. Since his sudden death in 2010, his legend has continued to grow.  In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Holly George-Warren talks about Chilton's path from child superstar to unpredictable outsider to elder statesman of alternative rock, which is the subject her new biography A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man. Check out the trailer for the 2013 documentary about Chilton's band Big Star: Interview Highlights Chilton biographer Holly George-Warren on Chilton's musical catholicism: What's interesting about Alex's musical choices is that a lot of what he ended up being engaged in was really ahead of its time. People made fun of him doing "Volare" but, hey, a few years later there was this lounge music craze. Americana music which is huge now; when I heard his much-maligned Like Flies On Sherbert which came out in the late-'70s, he was doing Carter family, Cajun, American blues deconstructed, but if he had done it twenty years later it would've been huge. On Chilton's feelings about his eventual fame: He was very happy to make a good living for a change, touring the country, and when artists started covering his songs he enjoyed cashing those checks, but he realized by that point (early 1990s) trying to go for another hit was not going to happen if he was going to play the kind of music he wanted to play. 

About a month ago, I spammed my WNYC colleagues with the following email: Any of the Smiths/Morrissey fans on staff own the UK edition of Morrissey's "Autobiography," published late last year? Over the next three weeks, I’ll be leading a Soundcheck mini-project in which fans, guests and, yes, Joel read the memoir and chat about it online. The US edition omits a few words (and a photograph) that are present in the UK edition. Before I purchase the British book – in pounds, which just feels weird – does anyone have a copy of the UK edition? Willing to lend it to me for about a month? Don’t make me use a currency converter! You might say … I want the one I can’t have and it’s driving me mad. Get it? That's a Smiths lyric there at the end, an oh-so-clever wink at fellow Moz fans. See how I poked fun at the Brits and their silly money? U-S-A, U-S-A! And, "currency converter" -- genius! I was such a different person back in February. Then I read Autobiography. In this podcast finale to the Morrissey Book Club, I talk with Tony Fletcher, author of the Smiths biography A Light That Never Goes Out. Tony joined us at the launch of the Club, to comment on the 30th anniversary of the Smiths' debut LP and to issue a gentle warning that, by reading Autobiography, I'd gotten myself into a "whole lot of trouble." Tony should know: He posted a 6,000-word review of the 460-odd page book just hours after it was published. That either makes him the fastest writer and reader in the world -- or he's well connected. To be honest, my first clue that I was in over my head came before Tony's warning. Nina Blanchard, the co-worker who lent me her prized copy of the UK edition, had set it down because Morrissey's prose was "a bit much." Yet she was clearly a dedicated fan, one who later directed me to a great YouTube video inspired by the book and a truly novel piece of band merch, a Smiths knit sweater ("100% vegan-friendly acrylic"). But she couldn't stomach the book? Uh-oh. My next clue: The book's doozy of a first line. "My childhood is streets upon streets upon streets upon streets." What does that even mean? The clues kept on coming, but I didn't take them. Early in the book, Morrissey merely snipes at characters (bassist Andy Rourke, Geoff Travis of Rough Trade) whom he will roast at length later on. My Soundcheck colleagues, Katie Bishop and Mike Katzif, both quit reading the book before hitting triple-digit page numbers. If memory serves, they may have actually screamed, "Sorry, man. You're on your own!" and scampered away from our cubicles. Still, I pressed on. And dammit, I finished the thing. I'm a better person for it. But a different one. You see, since I first cracked the spine of Autobiography last month, I'm an even bigger Morrissey fan than I was before -- despite all the bonkers stuff in the book. I've been listening to solo albums I'd overlooked, like 1994's Vauxhall & I, and saying aloud (to an empty room): "Wow. There isn't a bad song on here."   I've learned some things from Morrissey's book about children's television, about the New York Dolls and about arcane parts of the British legal system. I ran a half marathon that came to symbolize the troubles and triumph I experienced while reading this book. Also, I watched Captain Phillips on my Roku. That had nothing to do with Morrissey, but man, can that Paul Greengrass make an action film or what? "Port 30 degrees! Port 30 degrees!" OK, I'm drifting. (That happened a lot while reading Autobiography.) But before I return to Mark Lewison's amazing, page-turning, legal-battle-free biography The Beatles: All These Years, Vol. I, it's time for a bit of therapy.  For this session, I mean podcast, I'm joined Tony and producer Katie Bishop for a cathartic outpouring of emotion. Because it's Morrissey, after all, and that's the way he'd want it.

Houndmouth plays a brand of straight-ahead roots rock that is undoubtedly in vogue at the moment. Which is what makes it difficult to take the temperature of the band's rising star. On the one hand, reviewers find it easy to label the New Albany, Indiana, quartet an "American Mumford & Sons" -- critically lazy shorthand for derivative country and folk rock tropes. On the other hand, the very fact that Mumford et al have name recognition is because of the sincerity and integrity with which they treat and manipulate their musical influences -- and the rapturous response that music has received.  Stylistically, it is true that the rock in which Houndmouth's members -- Matt Myers, Zak Appleby, Katie Toupin, and Shane Cody -- trade on their 2013 debut From The Hills Below The City owes a great deal to the Southern Gothic of artists like The Band. And Houndmouth is not alone in treading back through this rag-and-bone territory. But the rousing choruses and clear-eyed lyricism of a song like "Krampus" are delivering on a feeling that has very obviously been lacking in pop music for the last few years. 

In the film world, you hear about countless actors who eventually go behind the camera to become superb directors and producers -- Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, to name a few. But it's considerably rarer for an established filmmaker to go in front of the camera and find success as an actor; for every Alfred Hitchcock cameo, there's an M. Night Shyamalan. In music, that same dynamic exists. Plenty of musicians and songwriters turn to producing, engineering not only for their own music, but helming projects and writing songs for other artists. And while perhaps a bit rarer, it goes the other way too, as longtime producers and established songwriters to the front of the stage and becoming stars. 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 as singers themselves -- including one of the most ubiquitous names in pop music right now, Pharrell.   Mesfin Fekadu's Pick Three:   Sia Fekadu: "She's written for every major female pop star in the last two years, from Rihanna to Beyonce to Katy Perry to Britney Spears. But she's also an ultra-talented artist that people need to check out."   Pharrell Fekadu: "Who hasn't this man written or produced for? He has a massive hit with "Happy" but more people should do themselves a favor and listen to his funky new album G I R L."   AWOLNation Fekadu: "This rock outfit is still dominating on the charts with "Sail," and it appears folks have been calling band frontman Aaron Bruno -- who writes and produces the group's music -- to assist them. While their album came out in 2011, it still sounds oh-so-good!"  

The musical genre known as "shoegaze" already starts with one strike against it: the term doesn't even remotely do justice to the sound, so it's misused, and misunderstood. When the term was coined by the British press in the late-1980's, the artists playing this type of music weren't so much gazing at their navels as deftly manipulating palettes of guitar effects pedals to create ethereal, other-worldly sounds -- usually at maximum volume. With the recent resurrection of genre pioneers like My Bloody Valentine and its American counterpart, Medicine, we present The Soundcheck Guide To Shoegaze.  Shoegaze: A Very Brief Introduction Flavorwire senior editor Tom Hawking guides Soundcheck host John Schaefer through the dense undergrowth of early-'90s shoegaze music, pointing out highs and lows, and talking about the resurgence of the genre in the last few years.  Read Tom Hawking's thoughts about these and other shoegaze tracks at Flavorwire. MUST HEAR TRACKS: My Bloody Valentine, "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)" from My Bloody Valentine (1988) Tom Hawking:You can't really discuss shoegaze without them. Loveless is a masterpiece (and m b v is pretty good, too), but it was Isn't Anything pretty much laid the template for the genre. (Although, weirdly, a lot of the stuff that came after didn't sound a great deal like it.   Ride, "Polar Bear" from Nowhere (1990) T.H.: You can definitely see the influence of MBV here, though — the guitar sound, especially. It's a shame that Andy Bell ended up in Oasis.   Chapterhouse, "Breather" from Whirlpool (1991) T.H.: Kinda underrated band from the original shoegaze era who never really had a huge amount of success, which is strange, as their sound is as prototypically shoegaze as you can get. DEEP CUTS: Pale Saints, "A Thousand Stars Burst Open" from In Ribbons (1992) T.H.: You couldn't really get a more grandiose title, but the song itself is surprisingly pretty — if shoegaze is about a balance between dark sounds and pretty melodies, then the darkness here is more atmospheric than the distortion and hostility of MBV etc.   Medicine, "Aruca" from Shot Forth Self Living (1992) T.H.: They often get called the "American My Bloody Valentine," and you can see why – they get similarly outlandish sounds from their guitars, and this song strikes a very MBV-ish balance between noise and melody. Guitarist Jim Putnam went on to form Radar Bros, who are one of my fave bands of the 1990s.   LESS-THAN-HIGH POINT: Slowdive, "Souvlaki Space Station" from Outside Your Room (1993) T.H.: The title is kinda absurd, and the song does exemplify the genre's tendency to disappear up its own ass at times. NU-GAZE: Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, "Belong" from Belong (2011)

In the two months-and-change since The Walkmen announced that its members would be going on "extended hiatus," three of the band's members have announced solo efforts. The first out of the gate was co-writer and multi-instrumentalist Walter Martin. Martin's surprising and sweet new record, We're All Young Together, is filled with catchy melodies and sing-song lyrics. Martin began writing the songs while The Walkmen were finishing its 2012 record Heaven, when he learned he was going to have a child. The experience was a liberating one, allowing Martin to make music with an unapologetic playfulness and sincerity, as heard in songs like "Hey Sister" and the altogether educational "The Beatles (When Ringo Shook His Mop)."   The album (out May 13) features guest appearances from Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O and Nick Zinner, Matt Berninger of The National, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kat Edmonson, along with fellow Walkmen Hamilton Leithauser and Matt Barrick. And with lush illustrations of every song's lyric sheet by acclaimed artist and musician Marcellus Hall, We're All Young Together is an inventive, rowdy playtime for, yes, the whole family.   Set List: "Rattlesnakes" "Sing To Me" "I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N"