Simon Reynolds on Xenomania: How Nothing is Foreign in an Internet Age

Great piece from MTV Iggy.

I hope this is true: "Recently there’s been a smatter of hipster chatter about the Egyptian dance music that gets played at Cairo street weddings." This needs to blow up. See my posts on this scene, here and here.

Viva DJs Islam Chipsy and Omar Haha and Figo.

Sakamoto Kyu, "Sukiyaki"

This song was a number one hit on US Billboard charts in 1963, something no other Japanese musician has accomplished. The original title was "Ue o muite aruko" (Walking Along, Looking Up), and for some reason, it was sold under the name Kyu Sakamoto. As Ian Condry notes, "no food is mentioned in the Japanese original."

Here's a version with English translation.

Globalization and pop music

From "As U.S. Pop Wanes Abroad, Talent Scout Looks Wide," Jeff Leeds, NY Times, December 5, 2007

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4
Sales [of pop music] began shifting more than a decade ago. In 2000 roughly 68 percent of worldwide sales derived from so-called local repertory — artists working in their native country — up from 58 percent in 1991, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a trade group in London. Though American stars like Beyoncé and the Red Hot Chili Peppers still connect with fans in territories around the world, the ranks and global appeal of major United States acts appear to be waning, many music executives say. In Spain, for instance, only one American album — the soundtrack to “High School Musical 2” — is in the most recent Top 10 chart.