Soundcheck

In this episode: Hugh Laurie is best known as the star of the former Fox drama "House," which wrapped last year. But since the release of his debut album called Let Them Talk in 2011, he’s also made a name for himself as a blues musician. He joins us to talk about his followup to that record, called Didn’t It Rain. Plus: Beth Orton made her name in the ‘90's by setting her folk songs to electronics and beats, creating the genre eventually dubbed "folktronica." She joins us (along with her husband, Sam Amidon, and pianist Thomas “Doveman” Bartlett) to play some songs off of her latest record, Sugaring Season.  And: We hear more of your best – or worst – karaoke experiences. Tell us yours at (866) 939-1612. 

Although best known for his songs like "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" and "Jump In the Line," singer Harry Belafonte has been heavily involved in civil rights, political activism and social justice since the 1950's. At 86, the "King of Calypso" hasn't put out a new album in several decades, yet he's still making plenty of headlines. In a recent opinion piece titled "Five Ways Harry Belafonte Is Greater Than Jay Z," Keli Goff -- author, political analyst and correspondent for the Web site The Root -- wrote about Belafonte and his ongoing war of words and lyrics with rapper Jay Z. Goff talks with Soundcheck host John Schaefer about social responsibility, generational divides and Belafonte's history of activism.  Interview Highlights Keli Goff, on the beginning of Belafonte's "feud" with Jay Z: A couple of years ago, Harry Belafonte said that his hope was that more mega-celebrities would use their platform for social responsibility. He chided Jay Z and Beyoncé, since they are arguably the most recognizable African American entertainers on the planet at the moment, for not doing more in terms of social responsibility. That's probably, in Jay Z's mind, the start of the beef. On Jay Z's statement that his "mere presence is charity": I really am at a loss that someone who's worth tens of millions of dollars believes that is mere presence is enough. I think most of the charitable organizations in this country who are working on issues like poverty and are struggling would actually prefer a check.  On Belafonte's various forms of activism: I take it very seriously that there are people who laid down their lives, lost opportunities, and gave up their careers so that I could sit in this chair in an integrated news program and not worry about my life. That's what Harry Belafonte did. Not only did he help integrate television with his "mere presence." He also helped fund Dr. King's family, he helped fund the Freedom Rides. He was actually one of the first African American celebrities to use his image to help mobilize the Black community around a candidate and sort of our first Civil Rights president, JFK. On the social responsibility standards to which we hold Jay Z and Beyoncé: This is the analogy I would use, and it's a sloppy one but bear with me because it's the best I can do. I think people have the right to be strippers. People have the right to be Sunday School teachers. I think it's tough to pull off being both at the same time. If Beyoncé wants to position herself as a spokesperson on behalf of the White House on healthy eating, it's contradictory and sort of hypocritical to sign a multi-million dollar with Pepsi. In the same way that if Jay Z wants to position himself as someone who cares about social responsibility-- then own that. Live up to that image.

Beat Making Lab is a project and video series started by producer Steven Levitin (a.k.a. Apple Juice Kid) and University of North Carolina professor Pierce Freelon. They travel the world with a music studio that fits in a backpack to teach budding musicians how to create positive social impact through their art. From Chapel Hill to Fiji and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Beat Making Lab is creating a community of "artivists" who mix their beats with socially conscious messages. Freelon and Levitin talk with Soundcheck host John Schaefer about the project and to define artivism for us.  Interview Highlights Pierce Freelon, on the meaning behind "artivism":  It's merging the worlds of art and activism by any medium necessary. It's taking something beautiful -- the art of beat-making which is not widely taught. Instead of just leaving that in the ivory tower on [a] college campus which is only accessible to students, we're bringing it to the streets from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Panama. That's the artivism; it's putting in the hands of community members who could really use it.      On "Health Worker Beat" from Dakar, Senegal:  We partnered with an organization called IntraHealth and they train healthworkers. Their focus in Senegal is family planning. We went to a family planning facility in Senegal with one of our students and a recording device and just started capturing sounds. There's baby squeals, there was a goat on the campus of the hospital. We took those sounds and chopped them up and made them a beat. The beat was actually produced by our students in Fiji, which was a really cool collaboration.  On measuring Beat Making Lab's success: We're still in our first year. We were in the Democratic Republic of Congo about a year ago this month. Some of the impacts have come a little later. We had a student in Congo who, was part of one of the workshops [which] was teaching kids how to blog about their experience. Through the workshop, [he] won an award which got him the opportunity to fly to Dakar, Senegal to be a part of a blogging conference. That conference was in Dakar during our Senegal Beat Making Lab. So we reconnected with this student that we'd met months ago in Congo. Off the strength of one of the lessons he learned in the Beat Making Lab curriculum he was already applying those skills in ways that were allowing him to travel the continent and engage other young bloggers and to be a part of a larger community.  

Blues trio Moreland & Arbuckle just released 7 Cities, a concept album about the 16th Century explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado and his expedition in the Kansas plains searching for the Seven Cities of Gold. While Coronado never found what he was looking for in the Heartland, guitarist Aaron Moreland & harmonica player Dustin Arbuckle certainly did — when they met at an open mic jam in Wichita, Kan. in 2001. After over a decade playing together, they've fused its rootsy influences into their own brand of blues, country, and roots music.       Set List: "Tall Boogie" "Quivira" "Modern Boy" For more photos, visit Soundcheck's Tumblr page.

In this episode: Even at 86, acclaimed singer, activist, and actor Harry Belafonte is still making plenty headlines with his recent endorsement of New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio and his long-standing public standoff with rapper Jay Z. Writer Keli Goff joins us to talk about the activism of the "King of Calypso." Then, the creators of Beat Making Lab talk about their portable electronic beat-making kits that they send to developing countries with the intention of improving communities. And Wichita, Kansas roots rockers Moreland And Arbuckle perform songs from its new concept album based around 16th century explorer Coronado.

In Japanese, the word “karaoke” means “empty orchestra.” Which makes sense -- without someone singing along, all that's left is an empty backing track. It’s only when someone picks up the mic and adds the melody back in that the song becomes whole again. Karaoke and the idea of becoming whole again are at the heart of Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield’s newest memoir, Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke. Sheffield talks with Soundcheck host John Schaefer about how the dual stories of his passion for karaoke and his second chance at love weave together in his new book.  Inspired by Rob Sheffield's book, we want to hear about your best and worst karaoke moments. Tell us your story in the comments section below, on Twitter at @Soundcheck, or leave a message at 866-939-1612.    Interview highlights:  Rob Sheffield, on how he discovered karaoke:  I was into my 30's before I ever sang karaoke. I know I have a terrible voice. I've always been someone who loves music, writes about music, but can't make music. The first time I sang karaoke, conquering that primal fear of getting up in front of people and singing -- once that primal fear was gone, all these other doors opened up. Not necessarily pleasant to listen to doors. On what makes a good karaoke singer: Talent really means nothing. It's all enthusiasm, it's all passion that you bring to it. It's one of the beautiful things about karaoke, that it really creates this accepting community. In a karaoke crowd, people don't necessarily demand that you hit the notes. It's the verve that you bring to it.  On his worst karaoke moment:  One time I tried to sing David Bowie's "Life On Mars." And I thought, I love this song, I know this song, I know all the words. I didn't realize until I got to the chorus that the song is impossible to sing. And I said, wow, I am bombing on a cosmic level here.  On seeing karaoke being done for the first time in the Talking Heads' video for "Wild Wild Life":  It was the first time I ever saw one. It was a video on MTV -- a whole room full of people, sitting at the table, and they get up to sing a line of the song. That was really, really early -- that's when karaoke was unknown here.   

In this episode: Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield talks about his new karaoke-themed memoir, Turn Around Bright Eyes. Then, members of the Soundcheck staff share some karaoke hits and misses, and ask listeners to do the same. And synth pop group Future Bible Heroes -- anchored by Magnetic Fields members Stephin Merritt, Claudia Gonson, and electronic musician Chris Ewen -- drop by the Soundcheck studio to perform songs from its first full-length album since 2002, Partygoing. 

The synth-pop ensemble Future Bible Heroes just released Partygoing, its first full-length album since 2002’s Eternal Youth. Anchored by vocalist and lyricist Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, the group's sound is crafted by Boston-based DJ Chris Ewen and Magnetic Fields member Claudia Gonson, who shares lead vocal duties with Merritt in Future Bible Heroes.  While Merritt has since stepped out of the group's latest tour due to a hearing issue related to high volumes, he joins the band for an acoustic performance amid the band's electronic session in the Soundcheck studio.       For more photos, visit Soundcheck's Tumblr page. Set List: "Living, Loving, Partygoing" "I'm Lonely and I Love It" (Stephin Merritt's Acoustic Version) "Let's Go to Sleep (And Never Come Back)"

The Bee Gees' trademark high harmonies fueled the sound of '70s chart hits like "Nights on Broadway" and "Jive Talkin'," not to mention the influential 1977 soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. But the Brothers Gibb didn’t always employ an aggressive falsetto. In fact, it was an act of desperation. We hear the story from David N. Meyer, author new book The Bee Gees: The Biography. Plus: our listeners show off their best Bee Gees impressions.  

Before they even released their debut album earlier this week, British electro-R&B duo AlunaGeorge were topping the British charts with a collaborative dance track called "White Noise." Now, the duo's full-length Body Music is out -- and it's getting some pretty positive attention. Katherine St. Asaph, who wrote about the band for MTV Hive, joins us to explain why the band is blowing up, and what the album holds. 

Kendra Morris first caught our attention last summer with her debut full length, Banshee, a moody mix of neo-soul and pop that managed to find originality and memorable songs amid a crowded field of young female soul singers. Now, the soulful New York singer is back with Mockingbird, a new record comprised entirely of soul-infused cover songs -- from Radiohead's "Karma Police" to Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Walk On By” to Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."      Morris talks about reimagining and putting her own spin on classic songs, and plays an acoustic set of her own tunes in the Soundcheck studio.   Set List: "Right Now" "Evil" "Ride On"   Kendra Morris plays an album release show at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday, August 16.

The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park is one of New York City’s most beloved summer traditions. But this year, something rather unusual is playing at the festival – a Shakespeare-based musical. Brought to you by the duo behind "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," "Love's Labour's Lost" is a hilarious mash-up of original 16th century text and a modern-day college town setting. Composer and lyricist Michael Friedman wrote the songs for the new production, and he joins us to talk about why he and director Alex Timbers were drawn to this particular play of Shakespeare's.  "Love's Labour's Lost" plays at The Public Theater's Shakespeare In The Park until August 18. 

In this episode: Music has played a pivotal role in the work of Chuck Klosterman, who wrote about hair metal in his first book, Fargo Rock City. Today, he joins us to talk about villains, as dissected in his new book, I Wear the Black Hat. Plus: Franz Ferdinand, the Scottish-bred art-pop band that staked its claim with the 2004 single “Take Me Out,” has returned with a new album called Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. The band plays live in our studio.  And: Michael Friedman composed the music for the Public Theater’s new Shakespeare In The Park musical presentation of the classic comedy "Love's Labour's Lost." He joins us to talk about setting Shakespeare to song. 

Four years after its last record, Tonight, the Glasgow-based four-piece Franz Ferdinand is set to release Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. Perhaps best known for the single "Take Me Out" from their 2004 debut album, Franz Ferdinand continues to craft infectiously catchy guitar art-pop with sly wordplay and a knowing wink. The band previews songs from the new album live in the Soundcheck studio.   Set List: "Right Action" "Fresh Strawberries" "Walk Away"

Plenty has been said about The Rolling Stones' illustrious career in books, in magazines, and in documentaries. So when Bill Janovitz set out to write about the Stones again (he wrote a book about Exile On Main St. for the 33 1/3 series), he undertook an epic task of defining the iconic rock band and its decades-spanning music in 50 songs. A founding member of Buffalo Tom and music writer, Janovitz's essays are now compiled in Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones. Janovitz tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer about undertaking this epic task and gives his thoughts on three of the 50 songs he wrote about. Interview Highlights Bill Janovitz, on why he decided to write about 50 Rolling Stones songs: When the idea was first brought to me, "Hey do you want to write another book about the Rolling Stones?", because I wrote one just on the subject of Exile On Main Street for the 33 1/3 series, I said "I don't want to write another one, basically." First of all the story's been told a million times before. Then it was presented to me [as], "What if you're doing 50 tracks for 50 years?" I said, "Well, that's an interesting hook and I would really like to write about the music, I'm not really interested in writing yet another history." This is a nice way to hang the history in the context of the music and vice versa -- how does one affect the other and how does one reflect the other?     On "Stray Cat Blues" from Beggars Banquet: It really tells us that their getting back to their roots but also keeping it up to date. I think they found a contemporary home for the blues that wasn't just some sort of period piece. It speaks a little bit of urban decay. I always heard that song as a rock star talking to a groupie and I think that certainly is in it. They're playing up that big bad wolf routine. It has that sort of pre-Taxi Driver look at a pimp's relationship with a young hooker. On his run in with Keith Richards: When I was writing the outline for this book, I actually ran into him fairly coincidentally. PEN New England, a literary organization, was giving out awards. It's first and only so far award for Lyrics of Literary Excellence. They gave it to Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen. It was an amazing assemblage of artists. Keith was there and I was lucky enough to be in the green room just through some connections. Sure enough, Keith just happens to put a drink down on a little side table next to me. He was really gracious and he really pivoted it out of this awkward moment and said, "I feel the same about Chuck Berry, man."