Soundcheck

One of the sweetest voices of soul’s golden era in the 1970s, Bill Withers is best known for hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me,” about growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town. In 2010, Withers joined us in studio to talk about the documentary Still Bill, which chronicled his life and career. Bill Withers, the artist behind the classic “Just the Two of Us,” and “Grandma's Hands,” (it was his favorite song), died on Friday at 81.

New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra joined us with her band and an impressive array of pedals, playing songs from her album Vows back in 2012. You might recognize her from her guest vocals on Gotye's multi-platinum hit "Somebody That I Used To Know." She also appeared in the viral video for that song as well - wearing nothing but a coat of paint. Kimbra joined us with her band and an impressive array of pedals for an in-studio performance, playing songs from Vows. She blew us away with her powerful vocals and expressive performance. And we weren't the only ones who were impressed: Her performance of "Settle Down" in the Soundcheck studio quickly became the most viewed video on WNYC's YouTube channel. Here's this from the archives...

Set List:

In recent years, oldies radio stations have inched further into the future - and have begun to focus on favorites from the '70s (and even '80s) rather than from the '50s and '60s. So we wondered, forty years from now - in 2052 - will songs of the '90s, '00s and '10s make it onto oldies radio? What will be in heavy rotation - and what will be left off of the playlist? We ask Chris Molanphy - author of the "100 & Single" Billboard charts column in the Village Voice – and we talk with Scott Shannon - who was, back in 2012, a WPLJ host and creator of the syndicated radio network The True Oldies Channel - about the state of oldies today. 

Check out Chris Molanphy's playlist (chronological listing):

Twenty songs we’ll still be hearing on oldies radio in 2052

by Chris Molanphy

(In chronological order by original release)

1. Sir Mix-a-Lot, “Baby Got Back” (1992) – This hit was underestimated by critics in ’92, compared with Arrested Development’s “Tennessee”

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

2. Pearl Jam, “Yellow Ledbetter” (1992) – An example of how classic-rock acts are eventually remembered for a song that wasn’t their biggest radio hit.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 97)

3. Radiohead, “Creep” (1993) – Still their U.S. biggest hit, and though they’ve recorded greater albums this is still most likely to be in rotation decades from now.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 34)

4. Snoop (Doggy) Dogg, “Gin and Juice” (1994) – Because a great line is a great line, and “With my mind on my money and my money on my mind” is a great one.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 8)

5. Mariah Carey, “Always Be My Baby” (1996) – She was the biggest pop star of the ’90s, but a lot of her hits got burned out long ago; this one hasn’t.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

6. Sublime, “What I Got” (1996) – Because bros and stoners, like it or not, are going to have a new “The Joker”/”Slow Ride.”

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: N/A—Airplay chart peak No. 29)

7. Blur, “Song 2” (1997) – Sports will still be the way we hear a lot of pop songs.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: N/A—Airplay chart peak No. 55)

8. Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way” (1999) – Great song; but also the Chinese brothers’ lip-dub (2005) was one of YouTube’s first viral videos—the future of hits.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 6)

9. Eminem, “Lose Yourself” (2002) – He won an Oscar for it, essentially because it’s this generation’s “Gonna Fly Now”/“Eye of the Tiger.”

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

10. Coldplay, “Clocks” (2002) – Every generation has its easy-listening songs.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 29)

11. The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army” (2003) – Because you can’t stop a good bassline, even when it’s actually played on a guitar.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 76)

12. The Postal Service, “Such Great Heights” or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps” (2003) – One of these will be the “Just Like Heaven” of our era—the hipster love song.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: N/A, No. 87)

13. OutKast, “Hey Ya!” (2003) – Burned out in its heyday but will probably never die.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

14. Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone” (2005) – It will be the Millennial generation’s “sass anthem,” akin to “Respect” or “I Will Survive”

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 2)

15. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” (2006) – Because of its malleability as a song; decades hence it might be a folk classic.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 2)

16. Rihanna, “Umbrella” (2007) – It’s the lyrics: beneath its hip-hop exterior lie the bones of an old-time, sentimental love ballad.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

17. Beyoncé, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008) – Weddings alone guarantee this a permanent hit-parade spot.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

18. Jay-Z, “Empire State of Mind” (2009) – Rap’s Frank Sinatra ensured himself decades of royalties with his own Yankee-game-worthy perennial.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 1)

19. Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance” (2009) – Its nonsense lyric is “wamp-baba-lula” worthy; its video is a classic.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 2)

20. Taio Cruz, “Dynamite” (2010) – I’ve never met a kid under 10 who doesn’t love it, and they will all be in their fifties in 2052.

(Peak on Billboard’s Hot 100: No. 2)

Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca presents an infusion of rap, funk, reggaeton and electronic music, performing songs from his latest record in studio. Yesun is the Havana-born artist’s ninth solo album, it explores the music of his homeland, and incorporates electronic beats, spoken word, and retro-modern keyboards. "[It's] the album I’ve always wanted to make, all my influences are here. All the sounds and vibes that make me who I am.” - Rosa Gollan

Watch the session here:

Oklahoma-raised, Brooklyn- and DC-based artist Bartees Strange presents his re-imaginings of songs by The National in studio. Both a heartfelt homage and a political act of critique, he takes inspiration from the music, the lyrics, and even the cover art to examine how black artists can find room in white spaces.

The idea for his debut EP, Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy (out March 13), started when Strange attended a concert of The National in 2019 and he was surprised by how few black people were there to watch, and he asked himself the questions: "Why was it so rare to see black people at shows like these, to see black musicians freed from reductive definitions of genre, to see black acts with this level of success in a genre that is deeply informed by legacies of black music in America?"

So he focused his attention on reinterpreting and translating their songs through a personal lens, acknowledging the possibilities and contradictions within the genre.

Read more at Bandcamp.

Watch the session here:

Rebecca Foon, the cellist, producer, composer and climate activist, is a central part of the Montreal new music scene. She's a former member of Thee Silver Mt. Zion, co-founded the progressive chamber band Esmerine, and created albums of cello and electronic soundscapes under the name Saltland. But her new album features a lot more piano, other instruments, and the the quiet kick of her own cello-like voice. The album’s called Waxing Moon, and it’s come out under Rebecca Foon’s own name. Cellist and pianist Rebecca Foon performs some of this new material, in-studio. 

Watch the session here:

The quartet of “Dublin folk miscreants” called Lankum reworks traditional folk songs so that they are infused with an “urban punk” vibe as well as some psychedelic drone. Made of brothers Ian Lynch (uillean pipes, tin whistle, vocals), Daragh Lynch (vocals, guitar) alongside Cormac Mac Diarmada (fiddle) and Radie Peat (harmonium, accordion, vocals), the band deconstructs and reassembles traditional Irish songs, allowing them to grow and breathe, yet bathing them in a dark and raw energy. Lankum’s press makes no bones about their wide-ranging interests in Krautrock to drone to ambient to Brian Eno, and describes them as “born of years criss-crossing the folk, squat and experimental scenes. The band plays some of their distinct drone-folk, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik

Set list: "Katie Cruel," "Bear Creek," "Rocky Road to Dublin"

Stream this Web Extra, "Rocky Road to Dublin" from Lankum:

Here's a video of their song, "The Young People":

The Brooklyn-based collective The World/Inferno Friendship Society is a righteous gumbo of dark cabaret, which might touch on punk, ska, blues, rockenroll, klezmer, gospel, and jazz. With catchy tunes, and pizzazz-filled energy, World/Inferno pushes the limits of what could possibly be perceived as punk rock. Their brand-new record is hot off the presses, All Borders Are Porous To Cats, and it brings the band to make some mischief, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik

Watch the live session here:

In her music, singer and producer Katie Gately delivers spectral singing, layers of electronics, and an array of unusual sampled sounds for an effect that is unsettling, yet somehow inviting. Her latest record, Loom, was created in reaction to her late mother's illness, and is a lovely and challenging soundworld into which she poured her heart. Katie Gately performs some of these songs, in-studio.

Watch the session here: 

British singer-songwriter Jack Penate gets spiritual with soul and mysticism, and throws down raw emotion with pop polish. He reflects about his decade of hiatus and cites his inspirations: Turkish and Iranian psychedelic music as well as the influence of powerful classic gospel by the Chicago Pastor T. L. Barrett and his youth-focused ministry. Also, he talks about scouting the dramatic cliffs, stone quarry, and cave in Dorset as part of the video shoot for "Murder," and poetry by his grandfather, Mervyn Peake. Jack Penate plays stripped-down arrangements of songs from his latest record, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik