http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/music/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 16 Jun 2006 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2701/kal_black_like_me/ A new generation of Roma are insisting on rights and dignity, and an innovative Belgrade-based musical group is more than willing to be a voice of liberation for the lengo drom ahead. In the Romani language, lengo drom refers to the "long road." In the thousand years since the ancestors of today's Roma people left India, it has been a long road--as daring and far-flung an exodus as any people have managed to achieve. Today, with their nomadic lifestyle fading, Roma live in Israel, Brazil, Finland, the United States and the Roma "motherland," India. (In India and the Middle East, they are known as the Doma.) The greatest concentration of Romani families are in Serbia, Hungary, France, Macedonia, the Czech… Race Music Art and Culture David Moberg Fri, 17 Nov 2006 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2902/beyoncs_bootyful_bay/ She screams at the top of her lungs. A look of bewilderment dances across her honey-colored face. She whips her blond-streaked mane in a ferocious rage. R&B singer Beyoncé is in the foul throes of a Quarterlife Crisis. That's the angst twenty-somethings feel about life and the future. The pressures of careers, finances and relationships give its victims whiplash as they ponder choices. In Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties, Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner write, "While at its heart the quarterlife crisis is an identity crisis, it causes twenty-somethings' conflicting emotions to show up in different ways. Sometimes they reach a state of panic sparked by a feeling of loss and uncertainty." The beautiful and… Media Gender Music David Moberg Tue, 10 Apr 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3104/digital_revives_the_indie_pop_star/ In this new age of satellite radio and personalized playlists, only 35 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds are turning to the once mighty FM radio to find new artists. Meanwhile, online music sales nearly doubled last year to about $2 billion, or 10 percent of all sales. The reason, says Ben Zalman, radio promotion manager of the Planetary Group, a Boston based music promoter, is simple. "Although I don't think radio's days are numbered, people are getting more used to the on-demand style of consumption. If someone is in the mood to listen to Modest Mouse, they no longer have to hear the new Red Hot Chili Peppers hit five times before they can." While Internet consumption patterns have yet to render… technology music David Moberg Tue, 01 May 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3141/our_profit_margin_could_be_your_life/ The back of some crappy beer-soaked tavern is not where one expects an awakening of political consciousness. But if you've out come to see hardcore punk band HeWhoCorrupts (HWC), you're going to have one--smoky and sweaty though it may be. At some point late in the evening (or more likely, early in the morning), the CEO of HWC, Thomas Camaro, will take the mic and deliver his annual report in the form of a 12-song set. His suit is screenprinted with the company logo. His lackeys mill around, helplessly awaiting his lead like standard-issue office drones. When he begins, Camaro will outline a strategic economic program the likes of which you have never seen. At the end of a set… music corporation David Moberg Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3308/in_condemnation_of_opting_in/ Within a few days of the announcement that Punk Planet magazine (which I co-edited for three years) was shutting down, our compadre in Chicago music journalism, Pitchforkmedia.com, dropped the sad news that the underground (and indie-supporting) stalwart Sonic Youth was signing a recording deal with Starbucks. These were not synchronous events. They were causal, symbiotic even, if you are the megacorporate monolith. For 13 years,Punk Planetdevoted itself to reviewing every single independent music release we received, regardless of musical genre, and refused all big business advertising and content featuring major media players. Now it is gone, and what is taking its place? Starbucks. Critics rushed to accuse Sonic Youth of selling out. Yet the hubbub about this being a revival… art culture media reform music David Moberg Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3449/rocking_lolita_in_tehran/ At a 2001 rock concert in Tehran, Iran, members of the alternative rock band O-hum wore jeans and T-shirts. Some of them had mop tops. The lead singer jumped around with his bright red guitar as young girls screamed and boys climbed onto the stage before jumping off and body surfing the crowd. Hundreds of young Iranians packed the Russian Orthodox Church (a neutral site not under government control) to hear O-hum's Persian Rock--a blend of Western and Iranian music that lead singer Shahram Sharbaf and guitarist Shahrokh Izadkhah co-created. Juxtaposing the lyrics of Hafez, a 17th-century Persian poet, with soft Middle Eastern string instruments, drum beats and electric guitar riffs, O-hum's music was hard and distinctly rock and roll.… iran music technology David Moberg