Which do you prefer -- the high-pitched wails of Mariah Carey, Prince, and Brian Wilson? Or the throaty roars of Barry White, Leonard Cohen, and Nina Simone? In this week's Soundcheck Smackdown, high voices face off against low ones to determine which makes for better music.

Joining us are Mark Anthony Neal, an associate professor of Black Popular Culture at Duke University; and Jaime Lowe, a music writer and author of the book Digging for Dirt.