Meshell Ndegeocello turns familiar songs inside out
Fresh Air

Meshell Ndegeocello turns familiar songs inside out

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 19, 202645 min
  • Interview
  • Music

Grammy-winning singer, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello helped shape the sound that became known as "neo-soul," but she's spent more than three decades resisting the labels placed on her and her music. Now, on her new album, Synonym, she's reimagining familiar songs, including duets made famous by Sonny and Cher and the Human League. But these aren't simply new arrangements. “This album is not just about rearranging chords and rhythms, but also about queerness and self-expression, visibility, liberation," she tells Tonya Mosley. Meshell talks about her "soulful" musical influences, growing up in the Baptist church, and why she loves 'Wicked.'<...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 11 of 12 · 1:20

That's Michelle Indeguachello with John Mellencamp covering Van Morrison's Wild Night in 1994.

,

easy categorization.

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B21:20
  • C18:41
  • B217:41
  • C121:33
  • B225:01
  • C233:58
  • B240:03
  • C145:01

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 39%A2 36%B1 17%B2 8%C1 0%
  • 92% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 149 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 162 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This week on Up First, the midterms less than 15 days away. President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and former President Obama all crisscrossing the country, rallying voters in key races from Michigan to Georgia to North Carolina. Join us every morning as we guide you through the home stretch of this election season

0:20

Up First on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. My guest today is Michelle Indigiocello.

0:28

And you might recognize her vocals and bass from this song. That's Michelle Indeguachello with John Mellencamp covering Van Morrison's Wild Night in 1994. By then, Indeguachello was already making a name for herself with music that defied easy categorization.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (44 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy