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 (3) | e-mail post

BPP Funny Pharm

Filed under: Video

As you know, the BPP is no stranger to fun and games. Today, we take on the wide world of pharmaceutical companies. Prilosec, Celebrex, Lipitor, Cialis, Yaz, where do they come up with this stuff? It probably has some complex scientific background, but no matter! After watching this video, you will have the tools to succeed at any pharmaceutical conference, cocktail party, or BPP gathering.

Meena Ramamurthy

9:26 AM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

iPhone 3G, So Close!

Filed under: Video

Win Rosenfeld

3:26 PM ET | 07-10-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Langhorne Slim Plays the Real Bryant Park

Filed under: Video

In recent years, Langhorne Slim's combination of thoughtful lyrics and energetic live performances has earned him a reputation as an up-and-coming folk rocker with a punk sensibility. A while back, he came by the BPP for an interview and in-studio performance.

Afterward, he and his band wandered out into Bryant Park, one of Midtown Manhattan's most beloved green spaces, in the middle of the lunch rush. With little fanfare, they set up in the park and started playing. Some people slowly turned their chairs in the direction of the music, while others barely glanced up from their salads. In the end, most of the unsuspecting crowd applauded. Some grabbed pens and paper to write down his name, so they could ask their kids about him.

Win Rosenfeld

10:56 AM ET | 07- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Farewell to Rachel Martin

Filed under: Inside The BPP, Video

For this edition of the "BPP Picture Show," our weekly behind-the-scenes feature, we say farewell to our host Rachel Martin. Rachel leaves us to join ABC News as a DC-based weekend correspondent. We'll miss you, Rachel. All our love, and best of luck.

Zena Barakat

9:57 AM ET | 06-28-2008 | permalink | comments (27) | e-mail post

The Quavers Perform at the BPP

Filed under: Music, Video

The Brooklyn-based band The Quavers use all sorts of gadgets to create their self-described "porch techno" music. Here's their performance of "Green Plastic Soldiers."

Zena Barakat

10:03 AM ET | 06-26-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Should Raw Milk Be More Accessible?

Filed under: Video

Watch this video and tell us what you think. (After that check out more of our raw milk story.)

Dan Pashman

9:14 AM ET | 06-25-2008 | permalink | comments (37) | e-mail post

Top Three Japanese Game Shows

Filed under: Video

Today on the show we talked to Gavin Purcell , the blogger behind TV in Japan, about the magic of Japanese game shows. This week ABC premieres its new show "I Survived A Japanese Game Show." Purcell gave us some good insight on what makes these shows so fun to watch, and why they might not translate perfectly to mainstream American audiences.

Of course, Japanese game shows have been bringing joy to YouTubers for years. Frankly it's a wonder it took a major American network this long to start ripping them off. Here's my personal top three. I don't even know what most of them are called, but they're awesome. Vote for which one you like best, and submit your own for consideration...

NUMBER THREE

Continue reading "Top Three Japanese Game Shows" »

Dan Pashman

9:01 AM ET | 06-24-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

All Access: Anthony Karen's Insider Images

Filed under: Video

From body-writhing voodoo rituals in Haiti, to white-robed Ku Klux Klan initiations deep in the backwoods of the South-- photographer Anthony Karen has been able to get access to some of the most notorious and mysterious sub-cultures in the world.

Win Rosenfeld

8:34 AM ET | 06-23-2008 | permalink | comments (28) | e-mail post

The White-Collar Perp Walk

Filed under: Video

This week, hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin became the first Wall Street executives to get caught up in the government's crackdown of the subprime mortgage crisis.

The FBI suggests this is just the beginning of these kinds of arrests. It is investigating 19 major companies for wrongdoing related to the subprime mortgage crisis. So the question is: are we are returning to the era of the high-ranking executive perp walk?

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

Zena Barakat

7:14 PM ET | 06-20-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

G. Love Spreads the, uh, Love

Filed under: Music, Video

G. Love stopped by the BPP studios to play "Peace, Love and Happiness" off his new album, Superhero Brother.

Zena Barakat

5:40 PM ET | 06-18-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Video: Mason Jennings Rocks

Filed under: Music, Video

Mason Jennings performed songs from his new album In the Ever at the BPP studios. Here's a video of his hilarious song: "Your New Man." Watch until the end, when he tells the stories behind his tattoos.

Zena Barakat

4:46 PM ET | 06-16-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

BPP Picture Show: Autographed Axe

Filed under: Video

NPR New York audio engineer Josh Rogosin can be heard plucking his travel guitar from time to time when the bureau is otherwise silent. A few years back, it occurred to him that he could amass some pretty impressive autographs by keeping it in the office for visiting musicians to sign. It is truly something to behold.

So, go ahead...behold it:

Win Rosenfeld

5:00 PM ET | 06-13-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Video: The World's Highest BMX Jump

Filed under: Video

Watch the interview of BMX rider Kevin Robinson with Mike Pesca, and see the big record-breaking jump. You can also read the first-hand account by BPP's Paul Hechinger.

Zena Barakat

4:51 PM ET | 06-13-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Video: Alanis Uncut

Filed under: Video

Maybe you caught Rachel's interview with the forty-times platinum recording artist on the show this morning and felt like you just didn't get enough. Here's the (practically) uncut version for the Alanis hardcores:

Win Rosenfeld

5:40 PM ET | 06-12-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Alanis Morissette Plays the BPP

Filed under: Video

Alanis Morissette dropped by the BPP yesterday to chat about her latest album, Flavors of Entanglement. She calls the new record her most mature yet, and on it, she explores themes both personal and political. Morissette incorporates new electronic elements and collaborations that manage to really push the envelope creatively all while staying true to the voice behind Jagged Little Pill.

Here's "Incomplete":

Bonus: Check out "Underneath" after the jump.

Continue reading "Alanis Morissette Plays the BPP" »

Win Rosenfeld

8:24 AM ET | 06-12-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Cycling Activists Take to the L.A. Freeways

Filed under: Video

On the show today, we heard from the Crimanimalz -- a group of L.A. bike riders who've begun monthly rides on the interstates around Santa Monica. Their motto: If you rode a bike, you'd be home by now.

The Crimanimalz got their start over the fall, when they decided to create an alternative to the Critical Mass rides in Santa Monica. They tried a few kinds of pedestrian or bike theater, but nothing has caught the attention of the community -- and law enforcement -- like riding down the freeway. They've now ridden twice, in April with a dozen or so people and again in May with double that.

For the record, the California Highway Patrol says riding a bike on the freeway is dangerous and illegal. It comes with the risk of death and a ticket north of $100.

Bonus: Crimanimalz blog a night ride.

Laura Conaway

7:44 AM ET | 06-12-2008 | permalink | comments (23) | e-mail post

Hayden Performs at the BPP

Filed under: Music, Video

Toronto-based Hayden dropped by the BPP studios to play his beautiful, heartbreaking tunes. Here's Worthy of Your Esteem from his new album, In Field & Town.

Zena Barakat

8:22 AM ET | 06- 9-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The Day Florent's Hostess Met Her Match

Filed under: Video

Darinka Chase, the hostess with the amazing beehive hair.

Zena Barakat/NPR

 

Manhattan's meat-packing district used to be just that: A few blocks in New York City choked with butchers and wheezing freight trucks.

Today, however, the neighborhood is a well-known and trendy spot for some of New York City's fanciest shops and restaurants. (Think "Sex and the City," which some people blame for the neighborhood's demise.)

When I walked around the Meat Market on Sunday, I saw a sign bolted on a building for a long-departed tenant: "Lambs Unlimited." Underneath, people ate brunch on white table cloths to music set by a turntable DJ. On the next block, a Helmut Lang store. Around the corner, Restaurant Florent.

Founded in 1985, Florent is set to close on June 29. The landlord raised the monthly rent from $6,000 to $30,000, and owner Florent Morellet's counter-offer of $18,000 was not accepted.

Watch our video (it's also after the jump) about Morellet and the closing of this beloved downtown mecca.

And here's a story that's not in the video, about the only celebrity who ever flummoxed the hostess . . .

Continue reading "The Day Florent's Hostess Met Her Match" »

Zena Barakat

8:50 AM ET | 06- 5-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Video: Mates of State

Filed under: Music, Video

It's a family affair for the duo Mates of State. When husband-and-wife Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner came to the BPP studios, they brought their kids and Kori's mom babysat. They call their blog Band on the Diaper Run.

Forget everything you think you know about rockstars. Mates of State have a picture-perfect Connecticut suburban life and it's cool.

Here's My Only Offer from their new album Re-Arrange Us.

Zena Barakat

1:06 PM ET | 05-28-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Video: Letters to the Next President

Filed under: Video

Artist Sheryl Oring says her latest project, "I Wish to Say," came out of her growing concern that "not enough voices were being heard about the state of affairs in this country."

To help fix that, Oring set up tables in public places all around the country armed with her vintage manually operated typewriter, and asked intrigued passersby to sit down for a few moments and dictate a letter to the future president of the United States.

So far, Oring has typed tens of thousands of notes from people all over the world and sent them to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Her first book, I Wish to Say, is collection of those letters. Sheryl was in Bryant Park last week, just downstairs from our studio, typing letters all day long. Here's how it went:

Win Rosenfeld

8:24 AM ET | 05-28-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Langhorne Slim Plays the Real Bryant Park

Filed under: Video

In recent years, Langhorne Slim's combination of thoughtful lyrics and energetic live performances has earned him a reputation as an up-and-coming folk rocker with a punk sensibility. A few weeks ago he came by the BPP for an interview and in-studio performance.

Afterward, he and his band wandered out into Bryant Park, one of Midtown Manhattan's most beloved green spaces, in the middle of the lunch rush. With little fanfare, they set up in the park and started playing. Some people slowly turned their chairs in the direction of the music, while others barely glanced up from their salads. In the end, most of the unsuspecting crowd applauded. Some grabbed pens and paper to write down his name, so they could ask their kids about him.

Win Rosenfeld

5:39 PM ET | 05-21-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Video: Sondre Lerche on the BPP Jukebox

Filed under: Music, Video

Although the U.N. declared this week that Iceland is the best place in the world to live, former six-time champ Norway still has Sondre Lerche to brag about. At the tender age of 25, this singer/songwriter has written the music for a major motion picture and toured with Aha, Elvis Costello and Beth Orton. He stopped by the studio yesterday to play us a couple of tunes from his new album. Check out his performance of "To Be Surprised":

Laura Conaway

8:32 AM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Bat Mitzvah Flies Free

Filed under: City Living, Video

On Wednesday night, I went with Bill Chappell to Fort Marcy Park in Fairfax, Virginia, for the release of his beloved Bat Mitzvah.

For the last five months, Bat Mitzvah had been living the good life under the care of bat rehabilitator Leslie Sturges with all the mealworms and darkness a little bat could want, but the time had come for her to fly home.

For me, watching her disappear into the darkness was a little sad, but Leslie didn't feel that way at all.

"The wonderful thing about rehab is to have a wild creature share your life for a little bit and then go finish being wild," she said. "You know, our interest is not in keeping them -- it is in helping them go on. All these wild animals are up against such pressure from people right now that any little thing we can do to help them live a healthy life we feel like we kind of owe it to them."

She sounded just a like a proud mother.

Caitlin Kenney

3:36 PM ET | 05-16-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The Physics of Bowling (Or: When Harry Met Alley)

Filed under: Video

Today we did a segment that combined everything I love: bowling. Actually, it was an interesting look at the physics of bowling, in which we talked with Paul Ridenour, research engineer at the United States Bowling Congress. They just wrapped up a two year study on bowling ball motion, conducted in response to fears that fancy new balls are making bowling more about technology than skill. They conducted their tests using "Harry," a ball-rolling robot that is the feature of this awesomely deadpan video on the USBC's website, entitled, "When Harry Met Alley." Enjoy...

Dan Pashman

1:10 PM ET | 05-16-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Best Busker Balla Tounkara Performs at the BPP

Filed under: Music, Video

Balla Tounkara, kora player and singer handily won our first BPP Best Busker contest last week. Tounkara claims that he's a 40th generation kora player, and based on the way he played that rare instrument at the BPP yesterday, it's a hard point to argue. Here he is, your champion, Balla Tounkara with his original piece, "Nina".

BONUS: After the jump, Balla discusses his rare and possibly "powerful" instrument with Rachel.

Continue reading "Best Busker Balla Tounkara Performs at the BPP " »

Win Rosenfeld

7:33 AM ET | 05-16-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

New York Announces Winning Subway Buskers

Filed under: City Living, News, Video

A big thanks to everyone who voted in our best subway busker contest. Tomorrow on the BPP, winner Balla Tounkara will perform during our broadcast. Tune in to hear his beautiful voice and intricate picking on the kora, a Malian instrument with 21 strings.

And moments ago, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the winners of the Music Under New York auditions. All four of the musicians in our contest were accepted into the Music Under New York Program. Kip Rosser, the theremin player in the audition story, was also accepted.

So next time you're in New York City, you might see these great musicians performing in the most coveted spots in the subway system.

Congratulations to all.

Zena Barakat

2:33 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Into the Wild: A Little Bat's Trip to, and from, Rehab

Filed under: City Living, Video

On Wednesday night, I got to watch the little bat I found in December getting released back into the wild!

Leslie Sturges, who has been looking after the bat since NPR became a bit obsessed with it -- How does it survive this brutal cold? Why is it all alone? -- had pronounced Bat Mitzvah healthy and ready to return to full-time bat duties.

Leslie says the bat, a silver-haired female, is likely pregnant, though we weren't going to breach its privacy enough to find out for sure.

I visited Leslie's BatWorld NOVA (that's Northern Virginia for acronym-ophobes) on my bike a couple weeks ago and checked out the rehab process. That's her, holding the bat in the clip below. Soon, with Caitlin Kenney's help, we'll be posting more video -- including a clip from the release!

Bill Chappell

7:41 AM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Band Uses Security Cameras to Make Video

Filed under: Video

The Get Out Clause, an unsigned British band, wanted to make a music video. Lacking a more obvious way to make one, the Get Out Close turned to the closed-circuit security cameras that have become so omnipresent in British life.

They performed "Paper" for the security cameras, then filed freedom of information requests for the footage.

Bonus: Band rocks Big Brother

Laura Conaway

7:30 AM ET | 05-14-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Video Clip: A Walk to Beautiful

Filed under: Video

"A Walk to Beautiful" is the true story of five Ethiopian women who suffer from fistula, a devastating childbirth injury and their journey to find new hope for better lives. Instead of living in a culture that ostracizes them for the disability, they make the long difficult trip to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in search of a cure and a new life.

Filmmaker Mary Olive Smith was on the BPP this morning & she brought a clip from this award-winning film:

Win Rosenfeld

9:01 AM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Cricket Players Bring a Beautiful Game Stateside

Filed under: City Living, Video

From Elsa Butler:

For those of us who grew up with the American pastime of baseball, cricket can be a confusing game. For immigrants from places like Guyana, the Caribbean islands, India and Pakistan, cricket is a way of life. "I was born in India, I've been playing for a long time," says Sohom Datta, a senior at Stuyvesant High School who helped start his school's cricket team.

But when families move to the United States, kids end up playing American sports like basketball and football in school.

"My favorite quote about that is that when Indian kids come to Britain, they're still cricket crazy. When they go to America, they forget about cricket," says Datta. "That stuck with me."

That is quickly changing. The New York Department of Education introduced cricket into the public school system and the response was tremendous. It's only the first season, but the varsity league is already in full swing. Teams signed up from Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens.

As in baseball, there are bats and balls, but no bases to be found. Instead, the batters run back and forth between "stumps." The pitchers are called "bowlers." They try to knock little wooden "bails" off the "wickets" -- three wooden sticks stuck in the ground.

Several kids in the league have never played before, but they say they're having blast learning an unconventional sport.

Laura Conaway

7:43 AM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

A Little More Fun with Jason Mraz

Filed under: Music, Video

Today's show took another listen to Jason Mraz, who came to the BPP studios awhile back to play some tunes. Here's his performance of a track from his first album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come:

Laura Conaway

7:19 AM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

On the Victory Train: Balla Tounkara

Filed under: Music, Video

The Baby Soda Jazz Band made a furious last-minute run over the weekend, but they couldn't catch Balla Tounkara. The koura player from Mali has won the Bryant Park Project's first ever audience poll for subway buskers.

Tounkara was one of 50 musical acts to audition for New York City's Music Underground program. Every year, the subway system gives 20 performers coveted spots throughout its network of stations.

When voting ended this morning at 6 o'clock, we'd had 6141 ballots cast. I'll drop a screenshot of the results after the jump.

Now we're off to find Tounkara so we can have him in to play for the BPP.

Continue reading "On the Victory Train: Balla Tounkara" »

Laura Conaway

7:03 AM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Fetch 2.0: Guy Builds Machine for His Dog

Filed under: Video