· February, 2013

Stories about Music from February, 2013

Weary of Austerity, Portugal Sings a Song of Revolution

  27 February 2013

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

  23 February 2013

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

  22 February 2013

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

  21 February 2013

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...

VIDEO: Harlem Shakes Ukraine

  19 February 2013

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.

A Fantastic Comeback for Trinidad & Tobago Carnival

  14 February 2013

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.

Listening to Colours

  12 February 2013

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

  10 February 2013

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.

Malaysians to Psy: “Don't Perform for Corrupt Ruling Party”

  9 February 2013

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

  7 February 2013

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...

Jamaica: Superpower!

  6 February 2013

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...

When Bob Marley Went to Africa

  6 February 2013

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...

Dear PSY, Don't Dance with the Prime Minister of Malaysia

  4 February 2013

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...