Reactionary ringtones
National Public Radio reports that Chinese police have swept Tibetan markets in recent months looking for banned music, arresting several individuals for using “reactionary ringtones” on their cell phones. [Read more →]
Entries Tagged as 'politics'
National Public Radio reports that Chinese police have swept Tibetan markets in recent months looking for banned music, arresting several individuals for using “reactionary ringtones” on their cell phones. [Read more →]
Music and Obama’s inauguration
Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony was graced with two sensitive musical performances. First, Aretha Franklin delivered a powerful, rousing version of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” (aka “America”). In 1831, Samuel F. Smith set new words to the tune of the British national anthem “God Save the King/Queen,” and the song served as a de facto national anthem for the U.S. for much of the 19th century. Aretha’s rendition transformed the rather tepid lyrics into something profound, proving that she still deserves the title Queen of Soul (take THAT, “Hey, Nineteen”!). [Read more →]
The revealing musical tastes of McCain and Obama
I usually don’t write about politics, but Richard Scheinin wrote an article in today’s San Jose Mercury News that brings together music and politics — specifically, the music picks of Barack Obama and John McCain — and the opportunity proved too tempting to pass up. Looking at the “Top 10″ lists the two senators compiled for Blender Magazine, Scheinin makes the interesting point that the choice of music reveals something important about each candidate. [Read more →]
Bjork strikes the right chord on Tibet
So China’s feelings are hurt by Bjork’s actions at a recent concert where she shouted “Tibet!” after performing the song “Declare Independence.” Although she has dedicated the song to a variety of independence movements in different performances, making this statement in China was courageous. If we censored ourselves because of concerns about hurting the feelings of people in different countries, South Africa would still be under apartheid, and the U.S. would still be reneging on its treaty commitments to Native Americans (oh, whoops, strike that last one).
Bjork deserves credit for doing the right thing. The Tibetans deserve to be able to practice Buddhism freely and honor their spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama. Musicians around the world have a rich tradition of using music to protest injustice. Go, Bjork!
Copyright © 2008 Song of Fire. Design by Anthony Baggett.