Comments on: Are We the World?

By: gorky

gorky — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:49:07 +0000

It’s not really marketing. The Western culture created pop, jazz and rock music; teen idols and rock stars. Other countries have been aping that for years. The Beatles played dozens of countries, from South America to the Phillipines. Large Prog Rock festivals took place in Spain, Italy and Germany. In Eastern Bloc countries in the 60s and 70s, Western music was considered subversive, yet vinyl discs by the Stones, Zappa and the Velvet Underground were prized possessions – and illegal. And remember – the British were everywhere including Africa, India and the Middle East. They brought their culture and music to all these places. Coke is everywhere. McDonalds is everywhere. Starbucks is everywhere. The upshot is that there is less of a language barrier for us in a foreign country than there is for them over here.

By: terry

terry — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:29:56 +0000

I did play a lot of world music when I was on the radio but that was probably because we had a really good music director who made us try different stuff. I think we had a “push” section in the music library which had releases that the music director deemed worthy and we had to play at least a few tracks from those LPs during our shows.

I think language is a barrier to world music artists really taking hold here.

Although it is odd that American artists seem to do so well overseas. Is it just that marketing works anywhere?

By: gorky

gorky — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:07:22 +0000

Luckily I have my older Elton John stuff to sing to, so I don’t worry about that much anymore. Terry – you used to play world music. You once sent me a tape that had Thomas Mapfumo on it. It’s interesting that no one seems swayed by artists like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Sting or even Blur who work with foreign musicians.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:29:37 +0000

I agree with the language barrier thing. Besides some Russian rock, a few songs from a Czech “Idol” winner and some Armenian instrumentals (as per the “Gladiator” soundtrack)– ain’t much foreign music in my collection either.

By: terry

terry — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:27:42 +0000

Besides Celtic artists (some songs in Gaelic) and Buena Vista Social Club (which I love!) I don’t have that much world music. I think the ability to sing along is an important component to liking an artist.

By: gorky

gorky — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:04:14 +0000

Probably. I was thinking the same thing the other day as I listened to Ry Cooder’s “Chavez Ravine”, of which half the songs are in spanish. And I hear you about those Bollywood tunes! I’ll never understand that music – sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. But remember the single “Soul Makossa”? That wasn’t in English but we got it. I hear a lot of this stuff the same way.

By: Bowmar Brain

Bowmar Brain — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:12:49 +0000

I do think the language barrier is part of it. I can enjoy some of the music, but one’s inability to understand the lyrics combined with some of the intolerable singing (try watching Indian music videos for more than two minutes) creates the barrier for me. I have music of bands from all over the world, but, for the most part, they are all English language singing, other than the Beatles’ German version of I Wanna Hold Your Hand and that Queen song sung in Japanese. Does the Los Lobos version of La Bamba count?

By: gorky

gorky — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:24:33 +0000

You’ve heard Gogol Bordello, right? They were at the Warped Tour. That’s punk gypsy music – which is world music. Some world music is actually bar music – played for drunk soccer fans of fifty different countries. The only difference is your exposure to it. If you sat in a bar with me in Istanbul watching the soccer game, you would hear unfamiliar music but understand where it was coming from.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:08:26 +0000

Does England count? Otherwise, only Millencolin (wherever they are from) and Finland stadium-rock band Amorphis (don’t ask me why). I never developed a taste for much of the music you guys listen to, probably because my time outside of work is spent in bars or playing sports and that type of music doesn’t mix well with bars and sports. Probably also why I am still single, but that is another story all together.