NPR: Soundcheck Never Sounded So Good

Soundcheck Never Sounded So Good

Filed under: Music, Video

The band Headlights hails from Champaign, Illinois, but we met them at Brooklyn's Union Hall. We were first attracted to their boy-girl harmonies and full sound. The press notes namecheck Phil Spector and his 60s doo-wop groups, and we hear some classic mid-90s indie rock bands in their sound as well - but were happy to discover that they're five of the nicest people we could have hoped to meet. The music's pretty great, too. Check out their performance of "School Boys" from their album Some Racing, Some Stopping.

Zena Barakat

8:10 AM ET | 07-16-2008 | permalink

Comments

Cool concept. Poor sound quality.

Sent by Jeff | 1:28 PM ET | 07-16-2008

Er, "doo wop" is used incorrectly there. It was a '50s style based on elaborate multi-part harmonies with minimal instrumentation, and had largely died out by the time Phil Spector's golden age started in the early '60s. See, for example, "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins, or my personal favorite, the Flamingos' "I Only Have Eyes For You," which I think may well be the spookiest-sounding record ever made.

Sent by Stewart | 2:06 PM ET | 07-16-2008

@Pesca, good catch (Italian pun intended), on REO Speedwagon. As a '87 and a frustrated musician at the time, the U. of I.'s tour guides listed different musicians (John Fogerty, Joe Walsh, and REO) who became famous after they dropped out of the school. I asked the guide, "So what? If you graduate, you're screwed?" The guide didn't understand the irony.

Sent by Matthew C. Scallon @mattsteady | 5:37 PM ET | 07-16-2008

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