Posted by admin on 06 Nov 2006 | Tagged as: awards, protest
In some ways, it’s good to see Boy George back in catty form. Unless you are former members of Culture Club, that is. The singer and DJ has been scathing of his criticism of the band and its new singer, Sam Butcher, who are currently organising a 20th anniversary tour in the UK as Cultue [...]
Posted by admin on 15 Sep 2006 | Tagged as: meanings, protest
Robbie Williams, the loudmouth former member of Take That, is back in the news. It is now widely known that Williams was very unhappy during his boy band days. And according to Williams, a lot of the blame for that should be laid at the door of the then-manager Nigel Martin-Smith. In his upcoming album [...]
Posted by admin on 26 Aug 2006 | Tagged as: politics, protest
The Lebanese guerrilla leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is the subject of a song that is being circulated widely in Palestine. A five-piece wedding band, Firkat Ishaman, rewrote lyrics to an existing song to praise the man that has become a folk hero in many parts of the Middle East following the conflict between his party [...]
Posted by admin on 22 Jun 2006 | Tagged as: protest
It could only happen in US Hip-Hop: Jay Z has vowed to never sing about Cristal champagne again. Wow! The man has his principles and is determined to stand up for what is right. The reason for his righteous indignation? In totally unconfirmed reports, the head of the champagne manufacturer was claimed to have stated [...]
Posted by admin on 20 Jun 2006 | Tagged as: politics, protest
n case you’ve been away from the blogoshpere, there have been ripples of consternation when a video of a US marine singing “Hadji Girl” turned up on YouTube, and susbequently news sites across the world.
The problem came from a severe case of over-analysis and misinterpretation. The song is actually a spontaneous parody of “Team America” [...]
Posted by admin on 13 Jun 2006 | Tagged as: politics, protest
The debate concerning lyrical content will seemingly never go away. Faced with a marked increase in violence, Britain is asking questions about the media’s role. New Conservative leader David Cameron recently pointed the finger at the media and local rappers that “promote” weapons and violence. One of the rappers, Lethal Bizzle, has since hit back [...]
Posted by admin on 11 May 2006 | Tagged as: Eurovision, protest
Iceland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest is causing ripples. The song, “Congratulations”, is sung by Sylvia Night, a fictional character created by actress Agusta Eva. The song contains the line, “I’ll fucking win”. The organisers, EBU, have formally warned that if she sings the song on the night, Iceland will be breaching two rules. [...]
Posted by admin on 11 Mar 2006 | Tagged as: awards, protest, religion
Lyrics have been the subject of more debate this week. The Oscars opened the proceedings when “It’s Hard to be a Pimp Out Here” from “Hustle and Flow” won the Best Original Song. Many people questioned whether it wasn’t making prostitution glamorous. But the truth is that the song won simply as it was [...]
Posted by admin on 08 Feb 2006 | Tagged as: meanings, protest
Does this sound familiar or what? But no, we’re not talking about the bling scene in the US, these are comments made about Ghana’s once-exciting Hiplife scene, so well defined by Reggie Rockstone. Is it comforting to know that people in Ghana are asking the same questions about their popular music as us? Truth is, [...]
Posted by admin on 08 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: meanings, protest, religion
What is it with Black Metal? It reminds me of early punk when the goal was to be outrageous at any cost (remember the Christ crucified over a Swastika T-shirt?). But then people began to take it at face value and it became a whole lot less funny.
So is Black Metal an elaborate joke? Can [...]