[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzPjjdzfkWo[/youtube]
One of the currently trending songs in the Western Erueope that I can actually listen to.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Z2tgJo8Hg[/youtube]
It’s rhythmically driven, that’s for sure, though I’m not sure the simplicity is a necessary restraint. And even then, I’m not sure the issue is simplicity versus complexity; I think the problem is quite simply that the music isn’t all that interesting. I can forgive lack of originality – their tendency to reuse other people’s music, for example – but I can’t forgive lack of quality.
Yes, you can say that, but my point is that their kind of war isn’t particularly interesting kind of war. As such, it’s not the kind of war that I like to see in art. Beauty has always been the purpose of art, and by generalizing that concept, you can arrive at the conclusion that the purpose of art is to represent the ideal world. That includes physical conflicts between groups, since that’s part of it, but not any kind of war. That is my issue, if you’re willing to appreciate it.
I think you’re forgetting that we’re talking about art and that art isn’t supposed to represent any random bit of reality – or any reality for that matter. Art is entirely about representing what is lacking in reality – whether that’s something that exists but is for whatever inaccessible (e.g. because it is rare), something that used to exist but no longer does or something that never existed but is desired. Looking from that angle, it makes sense for war to have idealistic rather than realistic representations in art. I not only have no problem with that, I think that’s precisely the goal of art and that everything else is a huge mistake comitted by people who have no artistic talent, who are at best technically proficient, but who nonetheless, for various reasons, dabble in art. Art isn’t history, and as such, it isn’t supposed to represent real events with as much accuracy as possible. Those parts of the world that are ugly, e.g. those that involve irrational behavior, may have historical value but they have no artistic value whatsoever. And don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being a historian, but don’t confuse it with being an artist.
The point that I am trying to get across is that the main protagonist of a story should be a knight rather than a thug. Or rather, he is allowed to be a thug only under the condition that his character is developed into something greater. It should not be presented as greatness itself. I don’t see that in rap. And whenever a piece of music, or a work of art in general, is promoted on the ground of being realistic (e.g. because it is accurately representing ghetto life or because it’s sending positive messages) rather than idealistic, I have to wonder who stands behind it and for what reason; it reeks of propaganda.
They are also pushing for obese protagonists, transsexual protagonists, ugly protagonists, dumb protagonists, mentally deranged protagonists and so on. They have a system in place that ensures that this is precisely what people are going to do – write stories that idealize things that aren’t ideal. And they aren’t asking people to write stories about people who, despite being flawed in some ways (e.g. despite being physically deformed and hideous to look at), have certain qualities thanks to which they end up succeeding in their lives. No, they are literally asking people to idealize things that aren’t ideal. They want you, for example, to write stories where males are physically attracted to obese women. That’s the push. And if you don’t go along with it, people will complain and your job as a writer will be jeopardized. And I have no reason to think that rap music, and all that gangster culture, isn’t part of it.
Except that art isn’t, has never been, about communicating real life experiences – with or without style. This is evident from the fact that when you engage with a piece of art you are not doing so in order to hear what someone else has to say. Albeit I can understand why people think so. Given that the entire entertainment industry is part of the propaganda machine, I suppose it’s in their interest to promote the idea that the point of art is to “communicate ideas” in order to make it easier for their subjects to swallow and spread their ideas propaganda.
What are you smoking? The hellish chaos of war is much better articulated in death metal than rap. Rap simply is not more warlike than metal. There are some hard hitting rap songs for sure, but as a genre compared to metal?.. are you fucking kidding me? And to say black people are more familiar with violence and thus rap is more warlike is another ridiculous statement with no bearing on reality. White people are by far more violent (and it’s a more sophisticated violence ) than black people as a whole. In white societies there is a far greater tension between civility and barbarism than what you see in third world societies which are only more “violent” in terms of street crime (not in terms of their capacity for waging war). This distinction becomes even more refined when you compare western to eastern Europe (western Europe being more sophisticated than eastern Europe (that includes even Russia).
Tasavallan Presidentti (Eero Raittinen, Pekka Pöyry, Vesa Aaltonen, Jukka Talonen, Heikki Virtanen), “Caught from the Air”, 1974.
Enjoy it!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZYFNK54hjg[/youtube]
The singer of the band is singing a bit in English - sorry ! -, but the band is from Finland and reminds me of the North of Europe in 1974. 
=D>
I like it very much!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fblr9PmoH0Y[/youtube]
With no intention whatsoever, and to my surprise, this is 4th song composed by Zeljko Joksimovic that I posted in this thread.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0JLhi7I8Tw[/youtube]
“Vranje suite” performed by Ensemble “Kolo”. Beyond charming.
_
This Intro tho… 
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1NAZsvbao[/youtube]
…which reminds me of this [equally excellent] intro…
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8XkXndBC3U[/youtube]
_
bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-613 … 1F933C408C Can’t say I’ve watched it, in years…
Eurovision: Who will win - and other questions answered
[size=85]By Daniel Rosney
Newsbeat reporter in Turin, Italy
Published 1 day ago[/size]
The world’s largest music competition is taking place this week in Turin, Italy.
Nearly 200 million viewers are expected to watch the Eurovision Song Contest being held in the country after Måneskin won last year’s competition.
There are 40 countries taking part with hopes of taking home the trophy and an invite to host the event in 2023.
Each song must be no longer than three minutes, and can have a maximum of six people involved in the performance.
• Find out more about some of this year’s most talked about artists
Thanks for posting music from Haindling, Kathrina. I like Haindling. 
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Rl5AEzCns[/youtube]
Hubert von Goisern with his yodel music. What about that?
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfJMJw3uwxk[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XszKjYiiDK8[/youtube]
According to this page:
60% Ukraine
11% Sweden
10% United Kingdom
5% Italy
5% Spain
1% Serbia
But what about Moldova?
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9RJQPZsj8E[/youtube]
So Moldova ended up being ranked as #2 by the public vote. Pretty much the exact opposite of the jury vote. Marina Abramovic, on the other hand, ended up 4th.
Portugal, Estonia and Iceland had pretty good songs though – one of the best.
I forgot all about it, so didn’t get to watch it… so par for the Eurovision-Contest-course yet again, for me.