Nothing Compares to Insh’allah
An artist formerly known as Sinead O’Connor becomes a Peace* Symbol: Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has revealed she has renounced Catholicism and converted to Islam, taking the new name “Shuhada’ …
Read MoreTag: music
What do metalheads and Papuans have in common?
A lot apparently, according to an anthropologist: Heavy metal fans have evolved to communicate with each other like remote tribes in Papua New Guinea, a study by anthropologists has found. …
Read More
Christian Devil’s Music
A much maligned music genre has a long history and an interesting present: In 1972, when Larry Norman was still feeling optimistic about his musical career, he set out on …
Read More
Fighting racist stereotypes with gangsta rap
I don’t know how well thought out this strategy is: The video for KUDZAI’s 4 Deep In The Suburbs starts off menacingly — a police siren wails, and four figures …
Read More
The right is the new punk, the German edition
i confess to guiltily liking heavy music from Germany, from Rammstein, which is just nasty, to In Extremo, which combines thumping guitars with bagpipes and draws from varied sources, including …
Read More
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
A lifetime ago, a charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid made the UK recording history. Released on 3 December 1984, by the last day of the …
Read More
Jerusalem, if I forget you…
Some good news from Spain, where the courts have finally started fighting anti-Semitism, which so often in Europe comes disguised as anti-Zionism: A court in Spain’s southeastern Valencia province has admitted …
Read More
On Iron Maidens and the power of music
I’ve just finished watching an oldish (8 years) doco about Iron Maiden’s 2008 “Somewhere Back In Time†world tour and it got me reflecting on the wonder that is music. …
Read More