Soundcheck, WNYC Radio, September 29, 2010

Acts like Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings and Eli (Paperboy) Reed present a soul sound that some cast as throwbacks to the sixties and seventies. Writer Siddhartha Mitter says that these revival acts walk a fine line between homage and pastiche. But New Yorker critic Sasha-Frere Jones, once a skeptic, says that they’re moving the genre forward.

Soundcheck, WNYC Radio, December 16, 2009

We continue our Critics’ Week coverage of the decade in music with a look at the best of world music and jazz. Siddhartha Mitter, world music critic for the Boston Globe, and Will Layman, jazz critic for PopMatters.com, give us their picks for the decade that was.

Soundcheck, WNYC, July 10, 2009

In politics, an extra-marital affair can jeopardize a career. But in music, cheating is the subject of some of the most popular songs ever, from Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” to the Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” to TLC’s “Creep.” (Don’t get us started on operas. OK, do.) We look at some of the best, with Washington Post classical music critic Anne Midgette and WNYC cultural reporter Siddhartha Mitter. Plus, we take your calls (anonymously, if you wish).