· October, 2008

Stories about Music from October, 2008

Trinidad & Tobago: The Price of Progress

  30 October 2008

Maximilian Forte, writing at Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center, posts a video of Trinidadian calypsonian King Austin's song Progress, which he calls “a critique of the ideology and practice of progress, from the vantage points of environmental unsustainability, exploitation, inequality, and the resultant social strife.”

Bangladesh: A blog about the movie “Monpura”

  24 October 2008

‘Monpura’ is a recent Bangladeshi cinema that has own the hearts of many Bangladeshis especially the youth. Here is a blog dedicated to everything about the movie. Faizul Khan Tanim reviews its popular soundtrack.

Japan: The Illegal Download Explained, on 2-Channel

  23 October 2008

Over the last years, the sometimes raucous nature of the Japanese Internet has repeatedly come under fire over concerns about issues such as harmful content and copyright infringement. Now the spotlight is back again, with news that legislation to ban downloads of copyrighted content is moving ahead as planned, despite earlier delays.

Brazil: A Musical Doctrine

  23 October 2008

Lou Gold, from VisionShare, blogs (in English and Portuguese) and posts some videos about the musical doctrine of Santo Daime and his personal happiness about the recent visit of an important Daime family and its musical entourage to Brasilia, Brazil.

Poland: Notes on the Countryside, Politics, Etc.

  21 October 2008

Sylwia Presley writes about her parents’ village in Poland and ‘golden Polish fall’, among other things: “There is a sense of magic in the fact that Poles do not clear the paths from leaves – it makes the parks look like a golden carpet at this time of the year.”

Caribbean: Remembering Alton Ellis

  13 October 2008

Jamaican musician Alton Ellis, the "godfather of rocksteady", died on Friday 10 October, 2008. Jamaican bloggers look back at his career and pay tribute to a musical legend.

Lusosphere: The origins of the American Banjo in Africa

  12 October 2008

Emerson Santiago [pt] writes at Patafurdia Magazine about akonting, the musical instrument found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. “The Portuguese colonizers and the North American slaves owners began to call the instrument “Banjo”, coming from the Quimbundo word “m'banza” (language of the second largest ethnic group in...

Brazil: The country pays homage to the Samba master

  12 October 2008

If he was alive today, Cartola, one of the key figures in samba music, would be celebrating 100 years this October 11. Cartola composed over 500 songs, deeply loved by Brazilians, who today published their favorite song or poem, videos, photos and bits and pieces of the history of this legend.

Costa Rica: Disappointment in Latin American Idol Results

  10 October 2008

Cristian Cambronero of Fusil de Chispas writes about the grand finale of Latin American Idol, where Costa Rican Maria Jose was up to the last minute singing for the first place. Much to the national disappointment, she didn't win, ending the three months of nail biting as Panama's singer walked...

Nicaragua: Bands without legal documents receiving sponsorships

  1 October 2008

Nicaraguan blogger Ingrid Bergman denounces several bands for apparently not having any legal conformation documents and having no problem in spite of this to snag juicy sponsorships. In the blog Sweet Orchid , the author points out local bands such as Milly Majuc , Carga Cerrada and División Urbana are...