Gordon's band, founded in 1981, recently released the critically-acclaimed double album Daydream Nation. Gordon joins Fresh Air to discuss her experience as a woman rock musician in a male-dominated scene, playing concerts, and her desire for a larger audience.
Music scholar Barry Cooper discovered Ludwig van Beethoven's outlines for a final symphony, and decided to complete the work himself. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review of the premiere recording, on the MCA label.
Feminist scholar Barbara Katz Rothman says that feminists must confront the cultural shift toward privileging the unborn fetus over the pregnant women. New technologies and the rise of paid surrogacy, Rothman argues, have contributed to this change.
Book critic John Leonard reviews Eva Hoffman's new memoir, Lost in Translation, about the writer's childhood in Eastern Europe and later move to North America. Leonard says the book deserves the same praise as other literary memoirs like Nabokov's Speak, Memory and Kingston's The Woman Warrior.
Together, brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, along with Lamont Dozier, wrote dozens of hits for the Detroit label. They worked with other record companies in the 1970s, but, says rock historian Ed Ward, they never their earlier success with Motown.
Public health expert Ronald Bayer says that the AIDS epidemic is forcing medical professionals to rethink issues of privacy and mandatory screening. Complicating the matter is the fact that the disease disproportionately affects vulnerable communities like homosexuals, people of color, and intravenous drug users. Bayer says one of best ways to deal with AIDS is to change the sexual climate of the country, wherein individuals become more forthright about communication and protection.
TV critic David Bianculli says the drama, set it in a restaurant, took a while to find its footing, but is now on solid ground. But poor ratings have led NBC to retool the show as a half-hour program -- a decision Bianculli hopes won't diminish Tattinger's quality.
In an effort to identify a body, Philadelphia police once dressed and photographed the corpse, then distributed the photo to the public. This macabre act inspired Shubin's latest novel, Never Quite Dead.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Hoagy Sings Carmichael, which features the songwriter's performances with an excellent jazz ensemble. Whitehead says their contributions make this album Carmichael's best.
Lewitzky is based in Los Angeles where, early in her career, she danced in a number of motion pictures. Her choreography for the stage conveys simplicity of movement, divorced from any suggestion of narrative. Lewitzky performed until the age of 62.
Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews a performance of the frequent Tonight Show guest host. She says that Leno's stand-up has some social consciousness, but avoids addressing specific policies or politicians. Leno also sidesteps sexuality; when the topic does come up, Stone says Leno is lewd and misguided.
Ashe was a boundary-breaking African American tennis player who won Wimbeldon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian open. He started playing the sport in the 1950s, when courts were still segregated. In 1979, heart bypass surgery cut his career short. Ashe now writes books about the history of the black athletes. His latest, a three volume series, is called A Hard Road to Glory.
Robert Kaplow and performance group the Punsters give their satirical, dystopian take on how 1989 will turn out. They warn of computer viruses, financial collapse, and a rise of chocolate addiction among teenagers.
Janet Levine is a white, liberal South African woman and anti-apartheid activist. She later resigned from public office and exiled herself in the United States; she believed that whites' unavoidable complicity with racist policies undermined the efforts of black activists. Her memoir new memoir is called Inside Apartheid.
Rock critic Ken Tucker is only now fully absorbing Sonic Youth's 1988 album Daydream Nation. The band makes use of alternate guitar tunings, and takes its lyrical cues from sci-fi writers like Philip K. Dick. Tucker says that, while the record may be band's most accessible to date, no one could accuse Sonic Youth of playing standard rock and roll.
Jane Kramer regularly writes about the culture and politics on the continent. She says immigration -- and the xenophobic response to immigrants -- has played a big part in shaping Europe's changing identity.
Director Stephen Frears directed the adaptation of the play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, about a contest of sexual conquest and infidelity. Film critic Stephen Schiff praises how it handles eroticism. Despite some casting missteps, he believes it's "a brilliant tarentella" of a movie.
Tuckwell doesn't see his shift from French horn performance to orchestra conducting as a career change -- it's all music to him. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his experiences as a soloist and working with other conductors.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new album featuring a 1932 recording of the composer's Bolero, performed by the Orchestre des concerts Lamoureux, and helmed by Ravel himself
Critic Ken Tucker lauds the VHS release of Letter from an Unknown Woman, a 1948 drama about a philandering pianist and the mother of his child. Tucker also recommends Floating Weeds, License to Drive, and Monkey Shines.
