Something lighter

What if the song actually described the video?

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Folk legend Odetta dead at 77

Sad news out of New York.  Here’s her low range…

And here’s her higher range…

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The annotated Dylan administration

A lot of protest music has been written over the last eight years: some good, some not so much.  (Neil, you know I love you, but “let’s impeach the President for lying” is just lazy.)  Amidst this, the old standards have also been dragged out for a walk around the block.  The master himself recently [...]

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Gagner épique!

A comfortable four years removed from my last French class, I’m not even sure that translates right.  But consider it your cheap setup for election year zydeco:

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Pitch-perfect campaigning (with lots of hidden music videos)

As we recently discussed, the Obama team has perfected the zeitgeist campaign.  Some of it is intentional, (the text messages, the basketball,) while the rest (the internet memes) just sorta happens.  Music is another important element of this.  Everyone knows Republicans make poor DJs, and Senator Obama has collected an impressive variety of musical endorsements.
Democrats [...]

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Ban Ki-Moon raps

I know you all read OGhiphop.com, so you’ve probably seen this already.  But if you haven’t, well, the United Nations Association recently gave an award to Jay-Z.  Following Signor Carter, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon dropped a rhyme of his own:

While I like to think he just freestyled that, it’s was [...]

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Pimp my neighborhood

Things to do on a Sunday afternoon in Eastern Market:
-Hear the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation Band, outdoors, for free.
-Read the Sunday Washington Post that someone left on a table outside of Port City Java.
-Buy Street Sense since you already saved your $1.50 on the Post.
-Witness a street-corner argument between a Redskins fan and [...]

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Hot Buttered Soul

Last week, Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Corruption) introduced a resolution honoring the life and music of the late Isaac Hayes. With 20 co-sponsors, the bill praises Hayes for his “vocal performances, songwriting, humanitarian work, and television and motion picture endeavors, and as a radio show host, pianist, saxophone player, restaurateur, and cookbook author.” [...]

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Follow-up: Republican DJs

Mireille’s post on Republican DJs reminded me of National Review Online’s list of the top 50 conservative rock songs.  The Review has a complex relationship with rock music, praising Elvis’ appeal to “love” and “heterosexual sex” while criticizing the emergence of “homosexual rock”.
So this is really too easy, but it’s worth a rundown of the [...]

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Watch your parkin meters

Radio Liberty today reported on demonstrations against Iranian rock star Mohsen Namjoo.  Namjoo, who blends traditional Persian music with rock, jazz, and blues, is under fire for including verses from the Koran in his lyrics.  Religious leaders call it an “insult:”
“When the Koran is being read, everyone should remain silent and listen,” [Islamic scholar Abbas] [...]

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