Category: Countries

Posted on

[anjalic]

Mistress of Disguise | Seven X Eight | Feline Woman by Anjali

Twelve long years have passed since Portishead first unleashed Dummy upon an unsuspecting world, tapping into a deep, hitherto unnoticed craving for ethereal female vocals over moody, noir-tinged tracks with sophisticated electronic production and hip-hop beats. Eight years after Portishead’s final album, the revelatory PNYC Live, where can one turn to satisfy this peculiar, overly specific jones?

Well, if you’re willing to forgo the extraordinary Portishead scratching in favor of some sitar and don’t mind your spy movie music taking on an Austin Powers vibe, I suggest you give Anjali a try.

Formerly the drummer in UK Riot Grrl band the Voodoo Queens, Anjali Bhatia now claims descent from the Bhatti line of maharajas of Jaisalmer. Whether that’s true or not, her music has ventured as far from Riot Grrl radicalism as her identity. One can hear traces not only of UK trip-hop, but also of Cibo Matto and other late-nineties electronic experimenters, not to mention heavy doses of Anglo-Indian fusion, tinged with old-fashioned Bollywood goodness.

Find more MP3s at Bazaar Sounds, Anjali’s Beggar’s Banquet Site, and her personal web page.

Posted on

[why i have a job]

“Now I stand before to you deeply touched and bumbled by the honour and responsibility bestowed on me.”

You can’t make this stuff up, and I definitely don’t have to.

Posted on

[it’s official]

His Excellency Mr. BAN Ki-moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, is now United Nations Secretary-General-designate.

Beyond the big question of how his tenure will unfold, we now face the insidery game of figuring out precisely when Minister Ban will step down from his current post — he has until January 1, when he takes his oath of office as Secretary-General — and who will replace him.

Do I have any idea? I do not. The interior working of South Korean politics are, alas, still pretty opaque to me.

Posted on

[this is just horrible]

According to a statistical study of mortality rates in Iraq, there have been roughly 665,000 extra deaths there since our invasion on March 20, 2003. That’s more than 500 deaths a day. The study will be published in The Lancet, the UK’s premier journal of medicine.

That’s 2.5 percent of the population that is simply gone. One out of every 40 people. If the United States lost an equivalent number, that number would be 7.5 million.

When the president says we’ll stay the course, please be aware that this is the course we’re on.

Posted on

[why i love my job]

I just pencil-edited Minister Ban Ki-moon’s acceptance speech for the United Nations Secretary-Generalship. I have no idea whether any of my edits and interpolations will make it into the final draft, but when Ban stands at that rostrum and delivers his speech, I’ll know that I had a hand in. It’s my tiny little sliver of history, and I’m excited about it.

A link to the speech will of course be provided once it has been delivered.

Posted on

[that inscrutable asian]

The Guardian assesses the “faceless” Ban Ki-moon.

Actually, it’s a very informative article. My main quibble is in blaming low staff morale on the choice of Ban Ki-moon. No, his selection hasn’t immediately fired up the troops, but at the moment he’s working with damp wood anyway. The morale of UN staff has been low ever since the reform movement got rolling, and possibly since before then. They work for stagnant wages in crumbling, overcrowded, underheated, under-air-conditioned buildings, in a bureaucratic environment that rewards very little. Kofi Annan hasn’t managed to fix this problem, so laying their depression at Ban’s feet seems a bit unfair.

Posted on

[the two koreas]

Today’s top story involving Korea ought to be Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon’s likely appointment as UN Secretary-General.

Indeed, last night’s annual reception for National Foundation Day was packed, attended by far more dignitaries, of far higher rank, than in past years. United States Ambassador John Bolton was there — Jenny remarked that he is shorter than she expected — as were the ambassadors of the other permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Japan’s ambassador, who is currently the president of the Council. The big crowd was there, I am certain, because of the news that had come out less than an hour before the reception began that South Korea would be providing the next SG. Already the appointment was having one of its desired effects: raising South Korea’s profile in the world.

At the moment, however, the big Korea news is that the North is planning a nuclear test. The timing is fairly typical of North Korea — these are the same people who managed to stage a naval incident in 2002, killing four South Korean sailors right around the climax of the World Cup hosted in South Korea. Whether today’s announcement is meant to derail Minister Ban’s appointment or merely overshadow it is unclear, but it is certainly bad news.

Posted on

[ban’s the man]

So it looks like Ban is the man. In today’s final Security Council straw poll to determine who the Security Council will recommend for Secretary-General, Minister Ban Ki-moon of South Korea received only one “Discourage” vote, and received “Encourage” votes from all five permanent members — the only Security Council members with veto power.

So barring either a surprise shift in the Security Council or an even more unlikely rebellion by the General Assembly, which ultimately has the decisionmaking power — technically, the Security Council only recommends candidates, though historically they have recommended just one for an up-or-down vote by the General Assembly — Ban Ki-moon will be the next United Nations Secretary-General.

Update: New York Times says “Korean Virtually Assured of Top Job at U.N.“

Posted on

[because his pants say “m”]

At very long last, I think I’ve found an online copy of the video for “Muomnika?” (“뭡니까?”) by Shim Tae-yoon (심태윤) that can actually be watched by people without the South Korean citizen ID number required to log in to many Korean sites.

Go here and click on the image of the guy with the afro who’s saluting.

Once you’ve installed all the various ActiveX controls, you should see an unattractive man chatting amiably in a language you don’t understand. Be patient. He babbles for a minute or two, but then comes the video. It’s not exactly genius or anything, but it’s a helluva catchy tune, and Shim’s goofy little dance, silly afro and M-pants are what it’s really all about. That and the Korean raggamuffin rapper with the fur gloves.

Oh, and just so you know, the name of the song means “What is it?”

Posted on

[mtv-k is here]

Some time back, I told you about MTV Desi and MTV Chi, for the South Asian-American and Chinese-American markets respectively, and I mentioned that MTV-K was in the works.

MTV-K is now here.

And, as with the other two stations, I have helpfully done the work of combing through the top-ten candidate videos, weeding out the weepy piano ballads, the overblown hip-hop extravaganzas and the talentless girl bands who mostly shake their tiny, tiny booties, and leaving you with only the gems (or at least the bearable videos).

NB that this is an IE-only exercise, and that I can’t link directly to the videos, so you just have to go to the site and click on them yourself.

Big Mama have gotten a lot of attention for being overweight, ordinary-looking women with great voices in a country whose music industry has tended to reward beauty over talent. “Break Away” was their breakthrough single.

Bobby Kim has a pleasant enough voice, and “Falling in Love” is a pleasant enough song, with a pleasant enough video. Get the idea? Perfectly pleasant. Not bad. Not great, but nice. The sort of song that you would let date your daughter but not marry her.

Far East Movement is a SoCal hip-hop trio, of whom two members are Korean and one is Japanese and Chinese. They apparently did a song for Fast and Furious II: Tokyo Drift, which I somehow managed not to see. “Holla Hey” is good silly fun.

If you love Shakira’s rock numbers, you’ll like Jaurim’s “Fan Yi Ya.” Enjoy a video of an English version at their MySpace site.

“Obvious (Want You)” is a nice little punk dis from a girl who can play bass. Check out Maggie Kim’s website for her cover of “Raspberry Beret.”

And there you have it. Enjoy.