Soundcheck

For today’s Pick Three, we’re joined by the Nobel Prize-winning economist, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, author, professor and self-described “60-year-old wannabe hipster” Paul Krugman. He talks about why he stopped listening to new music years ago -- and shares three tracks that convinced him to start listening again.  Paul Krugman's Three Picks:    Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" from Funeral "Tunnels" bears listening to many, many, many times.... There's a sadness to most of the songs [on the record, Funeral], and even the ones that are uplifting, it's kind of uplifting after great sadness. And the lyrics are always elliptical, right? What exactly is "Tunnels" about? It obviously can't be a literal description of anything, and yet, somehow, I know it's exactly what it's about, even though I don't know what it's about. And that's what you want.     Lucius, "Turn It Around" from Wildewoman This song is great on the record, but it's way better live, because of the sheer joy and the excitement. And of course, they do the whole thing -- the matching outfits and the whole thing. But the quality, the musicianship -- you might get distracted by all the theatrics and the visual production, but just listen to how good they are! It's amazing. (Listen to their Soundcheck session here)     The Civil Wars, "Billie Jean" I really didn't like [the song as produced by] Michael Jackson. And then the Civil Wars... did this kind of deconstruction of "Billie Jean," really bringing it back to basics that you never heard from Michael Jackson. Just two voices and a guitar. And it is all of a sudden, "Oh, my god, what a gorgeous song that is!" Which you would actually really never have known from the recorded version from Michael Jackson.   

Doug Paisley has the kind of plaintive country veteran croon perfectly suited for delivering simple yet stirring lines on loneliness and heartache, but warm enough to find comfort from that pain. With his previous albums, the Toronto singer-songwriter set his lyrics to easy alt-country and folk tunes that recall stark Nashville ballads and 1970's Americana recordings as a way to let the songs stand on their own. But with his latest album, Strong Feelings, Paisley decided to woodshed his craft -- deliberately spending more time to flesh out his songs with richer instrumental textures (adding keyboards, and even saxophone), duet harmonies, and arrangements that rock a little harder. That's not to say Paisley has abandoned his minimalist trademark, nor his lyrical intimacy; he's still telling stories of vast pastoral landscapes, unravelling relationships, love and longing in lovely detail. The result is a confident next step for the always reliable songwriter. Hear Doug Paisley and his band perform songs from Strong Feelings in the Soundcheck studio. Set List: "Where The Light Takes You" "Song My Love Can Sing" "It's Not Too Late (To Say Goodbye)"

Thirty years ago, filmmaker Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass collaborated on Koyaanisqatsi, a film that was silent -- except for Glass' bewitching score. Koyaanisqatsi, named for a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance," became an art film classic, and spawned two follow-ups in the so-called Qatsi trilogy, Powaqqatsi and Naquoyqatsi.  Now the Reggio and Glass have collaborated again -- along with Jon Kane -- with a film that (mercifully) has an English title: Visitors. In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Reggio discusses this latest project, describes how he works with Glass, and the thematic messages of his films.

New faces and established oddballs were the big winners in the major categories at the 56th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, a self-starting hip-hop duo, won four awards, including Best New Artist, while the outsider robot-men of the dance music twosome Daft Punk took home Album of the Year and Record of the Year, plus two additional prizes. In the Song of the Year category, the 17-year-old New Zealander Lorde and her hit song "Royals" beat out more established actslike Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Pink.  Ben Sisario, who reported for the New York Times from the event, called Soundcheck to recap the festivities. He explained that rapid success is now an established part of the music business.   "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Lorde are people that most listeners had never heard of a year and a half ago," Sisario told host John Schaefer. "They completely came out of left field and used social media, and would up really conquering Top 40 radio. That's kind of a fluke story, but it's kind of the way that it happens now in the music business. The avenues to fame are different that it used to be." Older generations turned out in the rock-related categories and, of course, in the on-stage performances, which often feature artists from different generations. When asked to pick favorites, Schaefer opted for Daft Punk's romp with Pharrell, Nile Rogers and Stevie Wonder while Sisario liked the cross-genre collaboration between Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar.  "That was one that I didn't necessarily expect to be great," Sisario said. "It had some of that Grammys hallmark of 'We took one artist from this category and another artist from this category and threw them together.' You know, I think the musicians just made it work."  Hear more of Sisario and Schaefer's conversation, including their reaction to a classical-metal performance soon to be known as "Langtallica." And, watch the slightly absurd videos that made WNYC's "10 Best Grammy Moments in Vines" list.

Salaam Remi is best known for his work with Grammy-winning R&B singer Amy Winehouse; he co-produced her hit album Back To Black, along with DJ Mark Ronson, and he was working on her third album at the time of her death in 2011. He’s also worked with artists like the rapper Nas, breakout R&B singer Miguel and the Fugees. But this week, Remi released his debut solo album, One: In The Chamber, a collection of lushly orchestrated R&B tracks with vocals provided by some of his former collaborators like Corinne Bailey Rae and Akon. Remi tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer why he decided to step out of the studio and into the spotlight.  This segment originally aired on Oct. 4, 2013.

The influential British band called The Selecter formed in the late 1970s, around a style of music called 2 Tone ska -- a hi octane blend of rock, jazz and roots reggae, often with a socially conscious message. The group’s frontwoman, Pauline Black, was hailed as “The Queen of Ska” -- and she still is. Black tells her story in a recent memoir called Black By Design, and a new album, called String Theory. This segment originally aired on Sept. 24, 2013. Interview Highlights Pauline Black, on how being adopted shaped her: I do still consider myself, to a certain extent, to be an outsider. I'm mixed-race. My father was Nigerian, my mother was Jewish. I was adopted by working-class white parents in London. By the time I was four years old I was ready to go to school so they had to tell me something because, you know, kids always point out the elephant in the room. I was definitely the elephant in the room in the school I went to. It didn't come as a a shock necessarily. It did make me think. Obviously, it gives you identity issues I suppose as you grow into teenage years. Everybody has identity problems at that time. Not knowing your mother or your father - your real mother or father- it does tend to make you a little more insecure than you would normally be. On how Motown appealed to her as a teenager: It was like the information was coming from America about what it meant to be Black. I mean, James Brown named the nation Black and I thought, 'Yep, that's for me.' .... The video of [Aretha Franklin] strutting down the street singing ["Respect"] at full voice to a little Black kid in Britain, that meant a lot.     On The Selecter's new album String Theory: On Made In Britain [we were] saying 'whatever color you are, we're here. Somehow we have to deal with each other, and that is the future, and what comes out of that.' String Theory is really just taking it on and thinking about my scientific background. String Theory would suggest that we're all made of the same stuff, these little vibrating strings are all the way through the universe. That's what connects us. It seemed to be this lovely connect with our past, this string that we were following from 1979 to present day. Really saying, that we are all the same. All we have to do is embrace the fact that at the end of the day we all are human beings and the best thing we can do is stop ourselves from messing this planet up more than we have already.  

In this episode: Pauline Black, frontwoman for the influential British band The Selecter, discusses growing up multi-racial and adopted -- and talks about the socially conscious music movement known as 2 Tone ska. Then, MiWi La Lupa, a sideman who's played with David Byrne and Red Baraat turns to songwriting on his latest solo album. Hear him and his band play songs from New Way Home, in the Soundcheck studio. And, Salaam Remi -- the producer best known for his work with Grammy-winning R&B singer Amy Winehouse -- talks about why he decided to step out of the studio and into the spotlight on his debut solo album, One: In The Chamber.

You may not know MiWi La Lupa’s name, but it’s likely you’ve heard his playing. If you’re familiar with the genre-colliding “Brooklyn Banghra” band Red Baraat, that’s him playing trombone and bass trumpet. Or maybe you’ve caught him as a sideman alongside artists like David Byrne, Femi Kuti, and even with hip hop producer El-P. But now, MiWi La Lupa is stepping up to the front of the stage in a decidedly new way -- as a singer-songwriter and bandleader in his own right with his album New Way Home. Unlike the musically diverse bands he’s played in, La Lupa’s New Way Home (out Jan. 21) is an album of singular focus -- in the best way possible. Through eight concise songs, he mostly sticks to a mellow folk and country rock that highlights an adept ear for songcraft, evocative moods, and scene setting. Hear MiWi La Lupa and his band play these new songs in the Soundcheck studio.     Set List: "Radio" "A New Way Home" "Here I Am"

Daft Punk is no stranger to the Grammys. Since 1998, the French electronic duo has been nominated 13 times, and, five years ago, they won the awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic/Dance Album. But this year, Daft Punk's 2013 megahit Random Access Memories managed to break into what’s known as the “Big Four” categories -- making the group the first electronic group to ever be nominated for Album of the Year. Chris Weingarten, music editor at Rolling Stone, joins us to explain the significance of this nomination within the dance music community. Plus, he walks us through the Grammys' long and rather awkward history with dance music -- from the ill-fated 1980 "Best Disco Recording" category, to the nomination of a song from the Space Jam soundtrack for "Best Dance Recording" in 1998, to Skrillex's non-televised acceptances of three awards last year.   

Are you sick to death of "Blurred Lines?" When it comes on the radio (again), do you tune out and go stream something else? If so, you could be a part of the problem. Radio programmers at Top 40 stations are desperate to keep you tuned in and listening to ads; that’s how they pay the rent. So they’ve done some homework, and they think they might have a way of competing with music streamers like Spotify: Play fewer hit songs, more often. In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Hannah Karp explains this surprising new FM strategy detailed in her recent piece for The Wall Street Journal.

In this episode: Daft Punk is no stranger to the Grammys. Since 1998, the French electronic duo has been nominated 13 times, and, five years ago, they won the awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic/Dance Album. But this year, Daft Punk has managed to break into what’s known as the “Big Four” categories -- and has become the first group ever to be nominated for both Best Dance/Electronica Album and Album of the Year. Chris Weingarten, music editor at Rolling Stone explains why this is matters for dance music.  Then, the moody and lovely British pop group London Grammar performs songs from its new album, If You Wait, in the Soundcheck studio. And: Radio programmers at Top 40 stations are desperate to keep you tuned in and listening to ads -- that’s how they pay the rent. So they’ve done some homework, and they think they might have a way of competing with music streamers like Spotify: Play fewer hit songs, more often.

Since the beginning of the internet, there has been a question of who “owns” cyberspace. In the wake of a recent ruling from the US Court of Appeals against the FCC, the question of whether we all have equal access to the internet is again a hot debate. Interim Executive Director of the Future of Music Coalition, Casey Rae, joins John Schaefer to talk about the implications of FCC ruling on music makers, music lovers, and the industry.

Another year, another vanished venue. This weekend, Williamsburg's underground but influential D.I.Y. music space 285 Kent closed its doors for the final time, with a rousing sendoff party played by the likes of dance-instigator Dan Deacon, shoegaze metal band Deafheaven, and Canadian punk screamers F----- Up. Over its brief, three year lifespan, 285 Kent came to be known as one of the city's most reliable performance outposts for music's edgiest trendsetters. The vibe was lo-fi, vaguely legal, and truly diverse -- R&B acts like Blood Orange collided with indie rockers like Diiv, and everyone would end up sweating regardless of the tempo. The New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica was in the audience for the farewell show, and explains why 285 Kent was a special spot on the New York City music map.  Read Jon's account of 285 Kent's final evening here. Watch F------ Up close 285 Kent with a cover of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop":     Interview Highlights Jon Caramanica, on 285 Kent's broad appeal: Compare it to other venues that are maybe closely associated with a particular sound. That's something you're not going to see as much generationally -- it's not like CBGB at the height of punk. But because the sound of the young, cool New York... that sound is a more diverse sound, what you saw at 285 Kent were really diverse bookings. I've seen hip-hop there, I've seen dance music there, I've seen metal there, I've seen fake '90s grunge revival there, I've seen indie rock -- I've seen basically anything you can see in that one space. You can argue that means it didn't have an identity, but I actually think that's very reflective of what the average 18-23 year old kid who's trying to be cool and is interested in new music, that's what their palate is like, and 285 reflected that. On where the DIY movement goes next: You can't get too sad about it. I'm sad because it's a place where I saw a lot of good shows. I like to have places that are reliable, places that I trust, bookers that I trust, venues that I trust, places with an aesthetic point of view. You obviously want to mourn when one of those places goes away. But the scene doesn't exist in a place, the scene doesn't exist in a room, the scene exists in the energy and passions of the kids who bring it to those spaces.

In this episode: This past weekend the underground but influential D.I.Y. music space 285 Kent closed its doors following a three-show blowout. Only open for a little over two years, the Williamsburg venue earned a reputation for attracting a diverse cross-section of emerging artists in punk, hardcore, metal, hip hop electronic music and much more. The New York Times' music critic Jon Caramanica went to the final run of shows and discusses the impact of 285 Kent, how it represents another sign of the Brooklyn neighborhood in transition, and where the D.I.Y. music community will go next. Then: With the recent news about net neutrality, Soundcheck fills you in on how a new federal court ruling could have a significant impact on musicians, music lovers, and the music industry. Soundcheck host John Schaefer talks to Casey Rae, Interim Executive Director of Future of Music Coalition in Washington, D.C. about why you should care that net neutrality might be going away. And: Badi Assad, the renowned Brazilian guitarist and singer who can make a whole lot of different noises with her mouth at the same time, performs live in the Soundcheck studio.

Brazilian guitarist Badi Assad comes from a thoroughly musical family. Her brothers, Sergio and Odair, are a world-renowned classical guitar duo. But Assad — considered one of the greatest guitarists in Brazil — was inspired by a new addition to the family on her latest album, Between Love and Luck: her baby daughter. Assad wrote 70 songs for her new-born as she was crafting the album, which features her brand of delicious Brazilian guitar pop. Hear Assad perform a solo acoustic set in the Soundcheck studio.