WIDR World

RIGHT ON! The WIDR Web stream is back up and running… oh my goodness… I didn’t think I would see the day… Click on the WIDR Logo to the left, and it should open up the link… or, if you’re using iTunes or some such thing, copy this URL - http://141.218.159.163:8100/listen.m3u - and open the stream through your player of choice. Happy days… oh… and I’ll be posting the latest WIDR World podcast momentarily… so that should be available for you, too. Just click the podcast link at the top of the page. Life is good…

WIDR Week kicks off this weekend… and we have lofty goals. If you appreciate what you hear on WIDR on a regular basis, please consider giving whatever you feel you can afford. We know that times are tough on you… but understand that they are equally tough on us. When items come up for the chopping block at educational institutions, “extracurricular” things like WIDR could be the first to go… if we’re not pulling our weight, don’t think for a second that WMU is going to make up the difference when the budget is tight.

To donate to WIDR online, click here. Be sure to select WIDR FM in the gift designation section of the form. Thank you!

That being said… to kick off WIDR Week, and to get folks in the know about the upcoming WMU International Festival, several of the International Studies student groups are going to be coming down to the station to share music from their area of the world, and to talk about what they’re doing for the International Festival… the line-up at this time is:

3:00 - 3:30 Society for Central Asian Studies
3:30 - 4:00 Trio Student Success
4:00 - 4:40 Egyptian Students
4:30 - 5:00 Malaysian Student Association
5:00 - 5:30 Saudi Arabian Students
5:30 - 6:00 Hillel

So tune in this week… let your conscience be your guide… and donate…

In recognition of Music Freedom Day… including an interview with Moh Alileche…
In reverse order… Artist - Song - CD/LP… Links for all the artists… click away… good stuff awaits…

Moh Alileche Tragedy Tragedy: A Tribute to Lounès Matoub
Porno Para Ricardo
Gilberto Gil
Caetano Veloso Onde O Rio E Mais Baiano Livro
Os Mutantes Ave Lucifer Everything is Possible
Miriam Makeba Emabhaceni Sangoma
Miriam Makeba Uyadela The Voice of Africa
Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited Mamvemne Chimurenga Explosion
Maryam Mursal Somalia, Don’t Shame Yourself The Journey
Fela Anikulapo Kuti Army Arrangement Army Arrangement
Salman Ahmad (From Junoon) Interview… http://freemuse.org/sw11317.asp
Junoon Mahiwal Azadi
Farida Mahwash Come to Me in the Morning / Pashtu Teahouse music of Afghanistan (1977)
Moh Alileche Fear The Source of Water (Taawit)
Lounès Matoub La Giffle
Moh Alileche Algeria’s Troubles Tragedy: A Tribute to Lounès Matoub
Lounès Matoub Elle S’arrache
Boukman Eksperyans Libète (Freedom! Let’s Take It!) Libète (Freedom! Let’s Take It!)
Kazem Al Saher Al Titnahad
Serge Gainsbourg Je t’aime moi non plus (click for video)
Luigi Tenco Io Sono Uno (click here for 1964 performance of the song) Tenco
Porno Para Ricardo El Commandante … Politica
The Ukranians Anarchy in the UK Respublika

Listen to WIDR World this week from 3-6 pm (and on podcasts, click the link at the top of the page) and help recognize Music Freedom Day, which is to be recognized worldwide on March 3rd. Visit FreeMuse.org for more information on international events. Locally, WIDR World is going to be playing music from some of the many musicians whose voices have been challenged over the years. During the 3 o’clock hour, I am pleased to tell you that I will have a special guest to talk about the topic as it relates to his music and the struggle of the Imazighen (otherwise referred to as Berber) people of North Africa. Moh Alileche now resides in California, but his music continues to promote the Imazighen language and culture. Over the past decade, Moh Alileche has made special efforts to keep the memory of Lounès Matoub, a Kabyle singer from Algeria whose strong voice was silenced by assassins in 1998, alive. Read more about Lounès Matoub here. Listen to WIDR World on Sunday, March 2nd!

There is a movement afoot to promote the awareness of worldwide censorship and musical freedom. I found a great web site that is devoted to the subject. You should visit it.

This website and the free music movements are wonderful endeavors, and it rekindles my excitement about international music, and the power that it has to change the world… always for the better… There is no bad music; some music is better than others… but the creative forces within the human spirit are always good forces… sometimes shocking in their attempts to shock… sometimes shockingly annoying to my ears… but it is all good… and the idea that people are censored or jailed or barred from their homes for channeling their lives into song… well, there’s two things I have to say about that… 1) the repression from others is a wonderful, driving, creative force, because the music is that much sweeter as forbidden fruit, and has that much more emotion and power behind it. It really has something important to say, and it matters that it be said. 2) When people are exiled from their homes, and find other communities to share, it does provide for a wonderful opportunity for new blends of music to be made. I have long been an advocate for multi-cultural music. When cultures collide, wonderful pieces of art are often created. There are too many to mention, but suffice it to say that I’ve almost always enjoyed music that crosses national boundaries. Free music is the best kind of music there is.

Methinks that perhaps it will be easier to keep things up to date if the whole site is kept more simple. Not sure if it’s true… so bear with me as I move into the new digs. Should have all the same ideas where content is concerned - brief music reviews, world music news, and concert dates/local happenings that will be of interest to the WIDR World listeners. Again… bear with me… and stay tuned.