Stories about Music from February, 2013
Weary of Austerity, Portugal Sings a Song of Revolution
Thousands of Portuguese people have promised a massive anti-austerity protest on March 2, 2013. Leading up to the date, demonstrators have led a campaign to interrupt government ministers during their public appearances by singing a historic song used by revolutionaries who toppled the country's dictatorship in 1974.
Trinidad & Tobago's Take on The Harlem Shake
The latest Internet meme craze, the Harlem Shake, in which people dance to the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer, has now taken Trinidad and Tobago – the other side of the world from where the meme began, in Queensland, Australia – by storm. This post checks out a few of the videos...
Haiti: The Politics of Identity
Tande blogs about “the relationship between cultural identity and belonging” and recommends a Haitian musician whose work goes beyond the identity politics and “offers a compelling example of how some of these tensions play out.”
North Korea Breaks YouTube Rules Again
It's been less than a month since a video uploaded by the official North Korean account Uriminzokkiri was removed from YouTube on grounds of copyright infringement. Now another propaganda video has been removed for using the soundtrack of a video game without consent. North Korea Tech explains in detail about...
Trinidad & Tobago: Suggestions for Carnival
Mark Lyndersay offers some suggestions to the National Carnival Commission Chair, Allison Demas, after her first Carnival in office.
Jamaica: Reggae, Bleaching and Black History
It's Reggae Month and Black History Month…Jamaica Woman Tongue looks at the bleaching phenomenon against that backdrop.
VIDEO: Harlem Shakes Ukraine
Popular Internet video meme Harlem Shake [en] has reached Ukraine. On February 16, 2013, YouTube user Vladislav Stankevich [ru, en] shared a video of several costumed people dancing to the “Harlem Shake” [en] song on what appears to be Kyiv subway.
Trinidad & Tobago: Calypso Music
Calypso dead? Not quite. Calypsonians and calypso shows being lazy and unoriginal? We have plenty of that. The Eternal Pantomime explains.
A Fantastic Comeback for Trinidad & Tobago Carnival
The International Soca Monarch Competition in Trinidad and Tobago is a major highlight of the country's Carnival festivities but this year it also served as a comeback for former winner Austin “SuperBlue” Lyons, who managed to tie defending champion Machel Montano for first place and a share of the International Soca Monarch title. Bloggers think it was a masterful return to the Carnival arena.
Musicians Aim Fighting Words at the Gambia's Hardliner President
A popular music video featuring a group of artists taking aim at the president of the Gambia's tightening grip on the West African country has gone viral among Gambians home and abroad.
Listening to Colours
Original de Vilaweb. Neil Harbisson és primer ciborg reconegut oficialment per un govern i el protagonista del documental guanyador al Festival Sundance 'Cyborg Foundation', del cineasta català Rafel Duran. Harbisson va néixer amb acromatòpsia, una condició que li impedeix distingir els colors. Aquest artista visual i compositor, amb l'ajuda d'un enginyer, va inventar l'Eyeborg, un dispositiu que li serveix per percebre les freqüències que emeten els colors.
‘Les Miserables’ Parody by South Korean Air Force
The South Korean air force's “Les Miserables” parody video went viral over the week, garnering over 2.8 million hits. The video features snow-shovelling military men suffering under a vindictive superior while juggling thwarted love, a nightmare situation for South Korean men who are obliged to two years of military service.
Fatwa Snowballs, Kashmir's First All-Girl Band Calls it Quits
Pragaash, the first all-girl rock band from Kashmir, has quit after a local Muslim cleric issued a fatwa calling the girls' behavior un-Islamic. The short-lived musical group had also received online and offline abuse.
Malaysians to Psy: “Don't Perform for Corrupt Ruling Party”
Global pop sensation Psy has been invited to perform at an event in Malaysia hosted by Prime Minister Najib Razak and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, but instead of being welcomed, many fans have turned to his Facebook page pleading him not to attend and perform at the Chinese New Year event.
Creating Art to Kuti’s Legendary Beats
Mr. Jaeger has worked on several of Knitting Factory’s Fela efforts including Fela: Live In Detroit 1986, and the Ginger Baker compiled Fela: Vinyl Box Set 2. Wes Flexner speaks with the person behind the artwork for “Best of Black President Pt 2″, an extensive collection of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s music...
Death Knell for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival?
As Trinidad and Tobago gears up for its 2013 Carnival celebrations, bloggers discuss whether this is the beginning of the end of the national festival.
Jamaica: Superpower!
Don’t mind the IMF. Thanks to Volkswagen of America, Inc., we’ve been reminded yet again that Jamaica is a cultural superpower. Jamaica Woman Tongue reminds us that “the Jamaican presence at the Super Bowl wasn’t just the VW ad. It was Beyoncé doing the dutty wine, to the invigorating beat...
Jamaica: Bob's Birthday
Today is the anniversary of reggae icon Bob Marley's birth; a couple of Jamaican bloggers pay him tribute.
When Bob Marley Went to Africa
The film opens on the Ghanaian coast at the remnants of a slave post, the camera then pans over the Atlantic, finally settling on the green hills of rural Jamaica (Marley’s birthplace Nine Mile) from where it picks up Bob Marley’s story, thus cementing a link between the continent and...
Dancing to the Beat of History with Marrabenta in Mozambique
Every year around this time, Mozambicans start the year celebrating Marrabenta music. And in each rhythmic beat the country's identity and history resonates. Find out why.
Dear PSY, Don't Dance with the Prime Minister of Malaysia
Dear our idol, PSY, we love your song and we love how Gangnam Style could rock the party, however, please do not come to Malaysia. […] If you come to Malaysia, you will become the political tool and your performance will be politicized by Barisan Nasional. It is a political party...
