Stories about Music from August, 2010
Armenia-Azerbaijan: More dialogue through film
With national television in Armenia and Azerbaijan controlled by the authorities or government-linked individuals, there is little opportunity for independent reporting. Now more objective and human interest stories can be found on the Internet.
Trinidad & Tobago: Music Royalties
“Fight down, fight down, and more fight down. That seems to be the life of the local artiste”: Outlish Magazine shines the spotlight on “a recent decision taken by the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association…which allegedly paves the way for radio stations to not pay royalties to their...
Ukraine: Anthem in 14 Languages
Ukraine's national anthem performed in 14 languages (Ukrainian, Greek, Tatar, Gagauz, Polish, Romanian, Georgian, Yiddish, Romani, Russian, Hungarian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani) – at Ukrainiana.
Russia: Khimki Forest and Bono's “Intervention”
Natalia Antonova comments on Bono's role in the resolution of the Khimki forest situation during his visit to Moscow earlier this week: “There was an “intervention” on behalf of Bono in regards to the destruction of the Khimki forest? Where is the evidence of this intervention?”
Russia: Bono Sings Together with Opposition Musician
Bono's (U2) visit to Russia [EN] turned out to be a highly politicized event. Some complain [RUS], Bono didn't tell Medvedev about the Khimki Forest Park, some admire his joint performance [RUS/EN] with Yuri Shevchuk, an opposition musician. Oleg Kozyrev asks [RUS], “What if Bono could spend part of his energy...
Russia: Noize MC's New Song
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about rapper Noize MC's new song: “After spending 10 days in jail for performing a song mocking police at a music festival in Volgograd, the irrepressible rapper has released a new [song and video, RUS] — mocking the police.” Robert Amsterdam's blog calls the new...
Northern Cyprus: Rihanna's Concert
Greater Surbiton writes about the controversy surrounding Rihanna's upcoming concert in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Russia: Soviet History and Tetris
Siberian Light shares “A Complete History of the Soviet Union, Arranged to the Melody of Tetris” video, found via Global Dashboard.
Ghana: A plea for music education
Graham's plea for music education in Ghana: “Bedsides football, music is perhaps one of the most loved things in Ghana yet considered to be the most trivial when it comes to education or career choices.”
Russia: Bloggers Defend Opposition Artist from Discreditation
LJ users _o_tets [RUS] and crazymozart [RUS] disprove the series of discrediting materials against famous opposition musician Yuri Shevchuk [EN]. After Shevchuk got engaged in the political debates at the beginning of 2010, a number of online publications [RUS] accused the musician of alcoholism and mental sickness.
Venezuela: Rapper Defies New Ban Against Violent Images
Venezuelan rapper OneChot is using social media to distribute his video criticizing the violence in Venezuela in days after president Chavez declared a month long ban on media's use of violent images, triggering an investigation surrounding the video's release.
Africa: African Wedding Songs Playlist
Chale's African wedding songs playlist:”I already have a good idea what will be played at my wedding. Unless, my partner comes up with some recipe of her own. My list is African songs only.”
Ghana: Footbal star ventures into music
The Ghanaian football star Asamoah Gyan has become the first footballer to venture into hiplife music.
Bolivia: Encouraging Street Children to Skateboard
The blog [es] for the Art and Culture Association of San Isidro in Bolivia shares pictures of an initiative to encourage children from the street to engage in urban sports, skateboarding specifically. The event also included a breakdancing workshop.
Macedonia, Romania: Blogger Detects Cross-Border Plagiarism
L'Acqua Al Deserto discovered [MKD] that Romanian singer Irena had recently released “a copy” of Milioner, a 2007 single by Macedonian singer/songwriter Elena Ristevska with music by Darko Dimitrov, also available in Serbian, and in English (with lyrics by Leroy Chambers). Irena's website claims [RUM] that the author of ‘her’...
Video: Music videos under 99 USD
In an industry where expenses keep rising, making and promoting a music video can get tough. The 99 Dollar Music Video website gives bands and filmmakers a chance to shine with creative videos, shot in one day, edited in one day and costing no more than 99 US Dollars.
Africa: Yes We Can: Songs About Leaving Africa
Glenna links to an album with songs about leaving Africa: “Rose Skelton, who writes the lovely blog How di Bodhi, has just compiled an album called Yes We Can: Songs About Leaving Africa.”
Tunisia: When the Singer Chants “Long Live Netanyahu”
The circulation of a video showing Tunisian singer Mohsen Sherif yelling “Long live Bibi Netanyahu!” and inviting Jews to come in droves to Djerba Island for El Ghariba pilgrimage, has triggered a wave of anger and disappointment among Tunisians. In geek speak, the video circulated on Facebook has now created a buzz.
Nigeria: Musician writes song for BBC Africa
Nigerian musician Faze has written a song for BBC Africa titled Tomorrow’s Leaders. The song is about how to improve educational system in Nigeria.
Jamaica: Buju's New Album
“Buju Banton’s new album will hit the stores the same day he hit[s] the courts…on September 13″: YardFlex.com reports.
Trinidad & Tobago: Pan Awards
Repeating Islands blogs about the steelband fraternity's upcoming awards function, in which “forty-five awards will be handed out to deserving individuals, steelbands, and organizations…”
