WorldcrunchManipulation and violence, animus and hypocrisy: Such is the stuff of politics on almost any given day, in any corner of the world. But, on our best days, politics holds out the possibility of actually making things better and solving our problems. These are not our best days. In the war-torn country of Colombia, a […]
The newspapers, they all went along for the ride …
BALI — In the Indonesian resort island of Bali, music hasn’t always been political. But news of a Dubai-style development has galvanized local musicians and artists. The development involves reclaiming 700 hectares of Benoa Bay in southern Bali to make way for a string of artificial islands complete with resorts, shopping centers, theme parks and high-end apartments. A consequent tolak reklamasi or “reject reclamation” movement has inspired protest songs like one by the folk band Nosstress. Copok, a singer and guitarist for the local band The Bullhead, explains why residents are against the development. “They will put culture on the […]
“Hello fetus listeners …” The Babypod is a speaker that, inserted vaginally, will expose a fetus to music of your choice inside the womb. But what kind of music should we choose?
BUENOS AIRES — Brian Molina and Maximiliano Fernández, two of Argentina’s emerging rap stars, met in jail. Molina was 11 years old when he wrote his first song. It was May 2005, and he was living at the Borchez de Otamendi home for minors in Buenos Aires. When he performed his song for friends, teachers […]
Some things never change. If you stay at the Posada de Don Rodrigo in Antigua, Guatemala, it looks like you will still be treated to the sound of a traditional marimba band, as I was 27 years ago.
PURPLE PAIN Spontaneous gatherings and tributes continued into the early hours this morning after the sudden death of Prince, the American music icon and virtuoso instrumentalist behind “Kiss” and “Purple Rain.” His body was found yesterday at his home in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen. He was 57. Authorities are investigating the death, and an […]
Prince, the American music icon and virtuoso instrumentalist behind “Kiss” and “Purple Rain” died Thursday at his home in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen. He was 57. After the immediate outpouring of online tributes from fans and celebrities alike, the world’s newspapers Friday bid farewell to Prince Rogers Nelson — a.k.a. The Kid, The Artist […]
With 11,623 pipes, the organ inside the imposing Salt Lake Tabernacle is one of the biggest in the world. It is used to accompany the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which we got to listen to during our visit, where we also learned about this uniquely American religion.
-Essay- CAIRO — Growing up in the United States in the 1980s through the noughties made most of my generation pretty hard to offend. Not because America itself is offensive, though some might argue that point, or because it is so idealistic about free expression that people there respect individuality too much to be offended, […]
A South American writer rethinks the soundtrack of his teenage revolution, concluding that his aversion to culturally significant genres was a youthful indiscretion that deprived him of musical riches.
In 10 languages, the world bids farewell to the British rock legend, who died at the age of 69.
UN TO RELIEVE STARVING SYRIAN CITY The United Nations is expected to send an aid convoy to the Syrian town of Madaya, where at least 23 people have recently starved to death. About 42,000 people in Madaya have had little to no access to food for the past two weeks, after government forces sealed off […]
TOKYO — The large speakers at Quattro Labo, a music bar near Kichijoji Station in western Tokyo, mostly play U.S. rock music from the 1960s and 1970s: Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, the Allman Brothers Band. Not only that, but the sound has a depth to it — along with the distinct scratch-and-pop effect — that […]
The killers and victims of the Paris violence are part of the same demographic, though they share different realities. Authorities haven’t heard the angst, but rap has been telling us for years how little the two groups share.
Music, books and other intellectual artifacts are increasingly being produced automatically by machines. A new book explores the ways in which artists exploit this new reality.
Argentina’s electronic music scene and clubs are perfect venues for testing the country’s latest illegal recreational drugs. The favorites then go on to the bigger markets in Europe.
I took this photo of the Vienna State Opera only seven years after it was reopened, having been badly damaged by a U.S. bombing raid toward the end of World War II. Still, Austria’s singular standing in the world of classical music was as strong as ever back then, with genius conductor Herbert von Karajan […]
My grandson has quite the collection of exotic instruments that I’ve brought to him from my travels. That includes this Chinese wind instrument called sheng, made of several reed pipes.
In central China’s Xi’an, we spent a memorable evening at a fancy hotel listening to traditional Chinese music. (The lady in the foreground was playing the guzheng, the one in the back the pipa). But what I remember most had nothing to do with the music: We were sitting next to Portugal’s then-President Mario Soares, […]
Having myself long been the conductor of a choir, it was only natural that I should snap a picture of this adorable orchestra of bamboo flutes in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
The two members of Electro Velvet, this year’s Eurovision contestant for the United Kingdom, seem like fun people. Alex Larke for instance always wears odd socks, while Bianca Nicholas can do a pretty decent impression of Christina Aguilera. None of which will help them win the contest, but hey, at least they have something else […]
It’s her “Time to Shine,” but it is her time to win? Who knows, maybe Mélanie René”s last name will help her, as she shares it with the husband of Céline Dion — the last singer to win the contest for Switzerland, back in 1988. Unfortunately, since its first participation in 1956, the country has […]
Having won five times, Sweden is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1974, a song about Napoleon’s defeat meant victory for the first time for the Scandinavian nation. And three years ago, Loreen gave Sweden its fifth win with the song “Euphoria” — which did not exactly trigger the […]
Spain’s contestant this year, 29-year-old Edurne, said that taking part in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest was the most important project of her career — and honestly, we don’t know whether that makes us happy or sad for her. The lyrics (in Spanish, bonus points) to her song “Amanecer” are about that emotional instant before […]
The Most Serene Republic of San Marino, as its official name goes, is not exactly the most serene Eurovision contestant there is. Having failed to qualify in its first four attempts, the landlocked microstate reached the Eurovision final for the first time in 2014, where it finished 24th — out of 26 contestants. This year’s […]
To this day, Poland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times, achieving its best result with a second place on the year it first participated, in 1994. About this year’s entry — the Bonnie-Tyleresque ballad “In The Name Of Love” — singer Monika Kuszynska said: “This year’s Eurovision Song Contest’s motto is Building […]
This might be one of the weirdest entries of the Eurovision Song Contest this year. For the first minute or so, Morland and Debrah Scarlett’s “A Monster Like Me” sounds a lot like a murder confession. Actual lyrics: “Honey, I’m telling the truth / I did something terrible in my early youth.” Right. In the […]
Photo: Eurovision Song Contest We’ve got so much to say about Moldova’s entry for Eurovision 2015. Not about the song per say, which is just kind of blergh, but about the music video — a cops-and-robbers-BOOM-BANG-BANG car chase directed by a second-hand Moldovan version of Michael Bay. In this masterpiece, which is a bit NSFW […]
Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 40 times since making its debut at the first edition in 1956 — it was actually one of only seven countries that competed the very first year. It has won the contest on two occasions, with Gigliola Cinquetti in 1964 and Toto Cutugno in 1990. This year’s […]
Ireland rocks at Eurovision. With seven wins since the birth of the most over-the-top singing contest, the country is actually the most successful at it. So, congrats…? But Ireland has lost its Euro-mojo, as it’s failed to reach the top five since 1997. Will this year’s contestant Molly Sterling — at 16 years old, the […]
Prior to this year, Hungary had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times since their first entry in 1994 — which was coincidentally the year they achieved their best result, placing fourth. This year’s contestant, Boglárka Csemer, who goes by the name Boggie, had already gained worldwide recognition in January 2014 with the music […]
The second highest-paid DJ in the world, a celebrity with 17 million Twitter followers, is currently touring the world. The hedonist sits down with Le Monde after a concert in Brazil.
It’s been a year since the Russian Federation annexed Crimea. The controversial move, which caused as much anger as paralysis in the West, confirmed Vladimir Putin in his role of strongman of the East. This was a move that the Russian president prefers calling a “restitution” rather than an “annexation” — a mere question of […]
With her laid-back attitude, angelic face and Jasmine revolution experience, Deena Abdelwahed carves a perfect image of a modern, forward-looking Tunisia. She will also make you dance. “I like to mix dance music that comes from the working classes. It is much more sincere. It appeals to everyone, not just the wealthy who can afford […]
You may know torch songs from Rihanna, but what about Enheduanna? In ancient Mesopotamia, she wrote the very first love songs, holding back very little. Watch her burn …
Reports of skyrocketing ticket prices for the Grateful Dead’s reunion shows in Chicago on July 3-4-5 made us long for the good old days when, as one YouTube commentator puts it, you could see the legendary San Francisco psych rock band for cheap, “sleep in the back of your car, wash up at a gas […]
CAIRO — Antique dealers, second-hand markets, auction showrooms, music lovers and historians are the cornerstones of the wondrous world of vintage vinyl records in Egypt, just as they are in similar dusty corners around the world. Egypt’s phonographic history is particularly rich in oriental music, with record labels running from the end of the 19th […]