Soundcheck

Carl Douglas' 1974 song "Kung Fu Fighting" was such an unlikely smash that Soundcheck features it in the intro theme for our occasional series That Was A Hit?!? But the song itself has gone unexplored. Until now.   The Jamaican-born Douglas and his Indian producer Biddu wrote the song after walking past a group of kids shadow-boxing to the music coming out of a pinball machine. Douglas remarked, "It looks like everyone is kung fu fighting," and he immediately heard the whole song in his head, and had to write it down. The song was recorded as a throwaway B-side in ten minutes, but became a number one hit in more than a dozen countries, and made Douglas the first Jamaican to top the American charts. "Kung Fu Fighting" has sold more than 11 million copies.  Despite attempts to capitalize on the song's success -- see 1975's "Dance The Kung Fu" -- Douglas remains a one-hit wonder. The song's place in the cultural consciousness seems secure, however; witness the recent remake of the tune by Cee-lo Green and Jack Black for the Kung Fu Panda film franchise.   In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Chris Molanphy, pop chart analyst and contributor to NPR Music, Pitchfork, Slate, and elsewhere, gives context to what he calls "one of the most accidental hits of all time." Check out this not-at-all lip sync'ed performance of "Kung Fu Fighting":  

A star-studded guest list doesn't always guarantee a great party. If, for example, that party included Jackson Browne, the Jayhawks, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, Father John Misty, Wilco's Pat Sansone... you'd likely wonder whether and where you'd ever actually find the host. And what sort would he be?  This is Jonathan Wilson's party, and, fortunately, you'll find him front and center on Fanfare, his second album. It's an epic love poem to '70s California rock. In lesser hands, guests like Browne, Crosby, and Nash would be included merely to reprise their younger days, or add some gray-haired "authenticity" to the proceedings. But Fanfare is entirely Wilson's creation. The guest list is a roster of folks who created that sound the first time around, and hear something in Wilson's music that reminds them why they do what they do. Sure, at times the guitar solos go too long and the whole things screams of studio excess. But if Wilson was looking for some authenticity, he could hardly have done better than to build on the excesses of the signature sound in question.   

If you've been watching the Olympics throughout the past week, you've undoubtedly heard the oh-so-recognizable Olympics theme song that we all associate with the Games. (Sing it with me now: Da, da, da dum dum dum dum...)   Or, wait. Maybe you associate this music with the Olympics instead?   As it turns out, those are two separate pieces of music, although on TV, we often hear them together. The first one was composed by the French-American composer Leo Arnaud in 1958 -- and it wasn't used for the Olympics until ABC started using it for their 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics coverage. The second piece is by John Williams, and was commissioned by the Olympic committee for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. According to Olympic historian Dr. Bill Guegold, the two pieces were merged together in an arrangement in 1996 -- and the mashup still survives today. (Check out the transition at :46 below.)    That's just one interesting thing that we learned from Dr. Guegold, whose book “100 Years of Olympic Music: 1896 to 1996" is full of Olympic-sized surprises about the history of music at the games. For example: Did you know that until 1948, there was an arts competition at each Olympics? Music was just one facet of the "Olympic Games Arts Competitions," as they were called -- but hundreds of amateur composers from around the world would submit works to be judged, and hopefully, awarded a medal. This piece, called "Toward A New Life" by Czech composer Josef Suk, won the silver medal at the 1932 Games. (We think it deserved a gold, but that's just us.)    Another thing that we learned from Dr. Guegold? While we Americans associate the Arnaud and Williams pieces with the Olympics coverage that we see here in the U.S., other nations associate completely different music with the Olympics. According to a recent unofficial survey of Olympic historians by Dr. Guegold, one of the pieces often heard during Olympics broadcasts in New Zealand and Great Britain is "Fanfare for the Common Man" -- both the original version, and the Emerson Lake and Palmer version. (Side note: Is it possible that this music video, filmed in 1977 in the entirely empty Montreal Olympic Stadium, convinced both of these nations that the ELP version deserved a lasting place in their national Olympic broadcasts? We may never know.)   

For the past week, our listeners and guests have offered up their nominations for "the most romantic song ever." Cases were made, stories were told and a few tears were shed. Our final conclusion: If you think it's the most romantic ever, who are we to tell you otherwise? However, we are going to listen to some of our favorite entries today, including those from a very passionate Smiths fan, a 13-year-old gymnast who loves One Direction, and two radio colleagues, WNYC's Anna Sale and WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon.  And if that's not enough for you: We compiled nearly all of your entries into this Spotify playlist. (In case you need to set the mood. You're welcome.) Plus: John Schaefer's 12 Most Romantic Songs Ever (Maybe). And: live music from Elizabeth & the Catapult.

After the release of its self-titled debut EP in 2006, Elizabeth And The Catapult became something of a popular but underground staple in the Lower East Side in Manhattan. But after the success of 2010's acclaimed album, The Other Side Of Zero, frontwoman Elizabeth Ziman stepped away from it all. In that time she took up the guitar, busked in the Brooklyn subways, played drums with Kishi Bashi, and wrote music for films with her friend Paul Brill.  But now, Ziman has reunited with her old bandmates Dan Molad and Pete Lalis (both of whom also play with the band Lucius) for a new record, Like It Never Happened. A classically-trained pianist and vocalist who attended Berklee College of Music, Ziman has always brought a sophisticated musicianship to her baroque songs, with whimsical, yet topical lyrics and warm, jazz-infused pop arrangements. And with songs like "More Than Enough" and the title track, the band sounds as good as ever. Hear Elizabeth and the Catapult perform songs from Like It Never Happened in the Soundcheck studio.  

Last week on our primer to Russian music and culture, From Russia With Soundcheck, Regina Spektor told us about the "Bob Dylan of Russia," Vladmir Vysotsky. His anti-establishment message became the first rumblings of an entire underground generation of rebel music in Russia, reaching its fullest expression in Siberian punk rock.  Bryan Swirsky is the curator of a set of compilations focusing on punk music throughout the former Soviet republics. In a conversation with host John Schaefer, Swirsky talks about why Siberian punk in particular has such depth, and about the close-knit group of artists that formed the nexus of this music.

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, we're is still collecting your nominations for the Most Romantic Song Ever. But it’s important to pay tribute to the, how shall we put it, less successful entries in the love-song genre. Mario Correa -- writer and Entertainment Weekly Radio host -- offered up these three “disastrous love songs” for Soundcheck's occasional series That Was a Hit!?!, about songs that perhaps never should have made it to the charts.     Actual Disaster: Maureen McGovern, “The Morning After” (a.k.a. “Love Theme from The Poseidon Adventure”) This was the granddaddy of [disaster-movie theme songs]. In the [1972] movie, the Poseidon is capsized by that rogue wave, but the song is sung at a happy point right before the wave hits. It was originally supposed to be an out-and-out love song, called “Why Must There Be a Morning After”, as in the “morning after” lovemaking. But then when they were writing it, they decided to make it more about the disaster. It ended up as a mish-mash between a love song and survival of a massive sea disaster.     Very Icky Disaster: Benny Mardones, “Into the Night” It’s a beautiful song when you listen to it -- not very closely. Here’s the problem: It was originally going to be called “She’s Just Sixteen Years Old.” Now, a record producer wisely said to the [then 34-year-old] songwriter and performer, Benny Mardones, “Let’s change that title.”     The Disastrously Crowded Relationship: Kenny Rogers, “What About Me?” (feat. Kim Carnes and James Ingram) It was a big hit in 1984 -- No. 15 on the charts. You had these singers from very different worlds coming together in this very awkward threesome. It’s not clear to me who is loving who in this song? As a kid, I was very intrigued by which two singers were the couple. Later in the song, the lovers switch and the “odd man out” is a different person. In case you’re keeping score folks, at the end of song, it’s Kim Carnes who sings, “What about me?”

Tom Brosseau is a North Dakota balladeer living in Los Angeles; as such, his bright, close-miked acoustic guitar arrangements are set off by refreshingly contemporary lyrics. "Cradle Your Device," the lead single from Grass Punks -- Brosseau's first solo release in five years -- recalls Dan Bern or John Darnielle with its plainspoken lament for a lover lost in her cellphone.  Brosseau says he prefers recording at home with a "Radio Shack mic and tape machine," yet his productions are anything but lo-fi. Recorded by Sean Watkins, multi-instrumentalist of the soon-to-reunite trio Nickel Creek, the spare two-guitar, two-harmony mixes sound rich and full. On "Tami," Brosseau conjures a first kiss with what he calls the "ideals of the songwriters of yesteryear: relatable lyrics in three minutes time or less." Hear Brosseau perform songs from Grass Punks in the Soundcheck studio.   For more photos, visit Soundcheck's Tumblr page. Set List: "Cradle Your Device" "Love High John The Conqueror Root"  "We Were Meant To Be Together"

This past weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ very first live television performance here in the U.S. However, today we thought we’d take a look at the Beatles – not on the small screen, but on the big screen. We talk with Kristen Meinzer and Rafer Guzman, co-hosts of The Takeaway’s Movie Date podcast, about the Beatles' impact on film.  Rafer Guzman, on "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!": I think they really have a great chemistry and a great rapport together. Even though they're kind of, a little bit following a script, a little bit ad-libbing, they all have a real charisma and a real chemistry that I think comes off the screen. Even George, the quiet one, gets a few lines in here and there. But I think they're actually quite good as themselves.    Rafer Guzman on "Help!":  I think "Help!" actually was their attempt to be something more of a movie -- it had an actual plot.... There's some bad guys -- Leo McKern plays one of the bad guys, Eleanor Bron, great British comedienne -- are trying to get Ringo, and I think they're going to hold some kind of crazy sacrifice... it's a ridiculous plot, and I think critics liked it a little bit less than "Hard Day's Night," perhaps for that reason.    Kristen Meinzer on the use of the Beatles' music in soundtracks:  Usually the reason why you have a whole soundtrack of remakes versus a whole soundtrack of Beatles songs is... it's not easy to get the rights to those songs. But Sean Penn tried to get the rights to all the songs for his movie I Am Sam, back in 2001.... He didn't want to have covers, but in the end he had to because he couldn't get the rights -- and the covers I think turned out beautifully. They're just fantastic. One of my favorite songs is by Rufus Wainwright. He does a version of "Across the Universe" that is just so stunningly, achingly beautiful. 

The Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord is not, in fact, the name of an instrument invented Dr. Seuss -- though if it was, it would make four notes, descending (ahem) from the tonic, down a whole step, down a whole step, down a half step to the fifth. In other words, it would create the sound of the bass in this song:     David Garland, host of WNYC's Spinning On Air, has compiled more than 50 tracks that feature this distinctive musical footprint known as the Andalusian Cadence. In a conversation with Soundcheck's John Schaefer, Garland argues that the Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord may be the most-used theme in Western music, and he explains how -- and why -- you can hear this sonic architecture in everything from "Greensleeves" to *NSYNC. Visit the Spinning On Air episode page to see David Garland's 50+ track playlist featuring the "Andalusian Cadence."

Benmont Tench has spent a majority of his 37-year musical career out of the spotlight. Best known as an original member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the veteran keyboardist has backed the Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Fiona Apple, Elvis Costello, and Bob Dylan. But now the go-to sideman is stepping out with his debut solo album, You Should Be So Lucky. Produced by the legendary Glyn Johns, the record (out Feb. 18) was recorded old school -- on analog tape -- a core band that features names like Don Was and Blake Mills, and a whole cast of friends and collaborators: Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Ringo Starr, and many more. The result is a collection of original songs (except "Corrina Corrina" and a cover of Dylan's "Duquesne Whistle") that highlight Tench's tasteful skillful piano and organ playing and enigmatic singing voice. Hear Tench perform solo piano and guitar renditions of songs from his new album live in the Soundcheck studio.   Set List: "Veronica Said" "You Should Be So Lucky" "Blonde Girl, Blue Dress"

When Soundcheck wants to talk about the music and the brain, Daniel Levitin has been our go-to guy. So when author and neuroscientist -- whose books include the bestsellers This Is Your Brain On Music and The World In Six Songs -- was approaching his 1000th interview, he said he wanted to mark the occasion on Soundcheck. So Levitin dropped by to share a playlist of some of his favorite songs as part of our Pick Three series. Daniel Levitin's Pick Three   Translator, "You're Everywhere That I'm Not" I was playing in a band in San Francisco, and had just broken up, and I heard this on public radio, on KUSF. And I was so excited. It had all that great youthful optimism and enthusiasm of the early Beatles, and I just found the melody infectious and the lyrics so fun and clever. And I had to pull over on the side of the road while I was driving. I was so excited by “You’re Everywhere That I’m Not” that as soon as I got home I called the record company, and I said “I will do anything I have to do to work for you. I want to be part of this.” I didn’t with Translator, but I got hired by 415 Records. I love the jangly guitars, I love that bass line, and then the two voices: Steve Barton -- who wrote and sings the lead on this song -- has this clear bell-like McCartney voice. And then on the chorus, Robert Darling comes in with that smoky, Lennon-like voice, and they mix so well.   Slings & Arrows, "Irish Green" (co-written by Daniel Levitin) It was very much a reality check to be a songwriter and a musician and then to hear demo tapes and realize how much extraordinary talent there was out there that is never going to be heard for one reason or another. This was one of the demos, in the pile of tapes around the time of the MC Hammer demo. I love this band: It was… a Michigan-based singer-songwriter… And I agreed to produce them towards getting them record deal, and I ended up joining the band and playing bass. This is just a demo -- we were never able to get a deal. For me, it’s one of these examples of a great song that should’ve seen the light of day, but didn’t for who knows why.   Tom Brosseau, "Here Comes The Water Now" from Grand Forks So a year ago, I went to hear The Punch Brothers… I was very excited to see Chris Thile, who had just gotten the MacArthur Genius award. And I was blown away -- as was the entire house, 3000 people -- by the opening act: this guy Tom Brosseau, a North Dakota singer-songwriter. And what touched me right away was the vulnerability in his voice, the sincerity and honesty of what he was doing as a singer-songwriter. Being from California, I’ve always been partial to that sort of self-disclosive, vulnerable -- you could call it the California singer-songwriter sound. And I went out and got all of his albums, and I just think he’s an amazing talent  

Since her debut in 2008, Malaysian pop star Yuna's rise to international acclaim has been remarkable. In a relatively short time, the award-winning singer and observant Muslim has not only become a major star and earned accolades in own country, but she's now reaching audiences in the United States, thanks to a smooth jazz-inflected R&B-meets-disco sound and her beguiling voice. It doesn't hurt that Yuna has also collaborated with Pharrell on her song "Live Your Life" from her self-titled international debut album, and on her latest record, Nocturnal, with Robin Hannibal -- the the Danish producer and member of Rhye and Quadron. The album is a richly textured collection of sleek and fizzy songs -- like her single "Rescue" -- that carry a lot of emotional depth and power.   Set List: "Falling" "Rescue" "Escape"

Minneapolis singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith has a knack for the kind of sweet, catchy melodies and pop embellishments that soften the fact that so many of his songs ruminate on love, despair, and grief. Much like Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard, there's an aching timelessness in Messersmith's voice -- even as he reflects on darkness with evocative lyrics that pack a punch with a concise economy. Following a string of very fine self-released records -- including the excellent The Reluctant Graveyard in 2010, and 2012's Paper Moon -- Messersmith's latest, Heart Murmurs (out Feb. 4), is his first on a label. And the album is another superb collection of haunting and infectious pop standards -- from the nostalgia-inducing "Ghost" to the anthemic love song "Tourniquet." It's yet another high water mark from a songwriter with plenty of stories yet to tell. Hear Messersmith perform songs from Heart Murmurs in the Soundcheck studio.   Set List: "Ghost" "It's Only Dancing" "I Want To Be Your One Night Stand"

All week, Soundcheck has been exploring Russian culture and music, in the run up to the Olympic opening ceremonies in Sochi. We've visited everything from the Soviet underground to modern Moscow, but the only place we haven't been is our own backyard.  If you take the Q train out to edge of Brooklyn, you'll surface in Brighton Beach, an enclave on the ocean where several generations of Russian immigrants and descendants live and work. Alexander Rudoy grew up in the Soviet Union, in what is now Ukraine. These days, he is the owner of Aria Entertainment and co-choreographer of the musical theater show at Tatiana’s, a restaurant on Brighton Beach. He takes Soundcheck host John Schaefer on a guided tour of sorts through the Russian-language entertainment venues and performers active on the Brighton Beach scene.    Watch a short documentary tour of Brighton Beach: