The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Tunisian rapper gets jail term for calling police dogs in song Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:53 AM PDT TUNIS, March 22 — A Tunisian court has sentenced a rap singer to two years in jail in absentia for insulting the police in a case likely to fuel debate over free speech under the Islamist-led government. The singer, known as Weld el 15, is on the run. Two of his associates, singers Mohamed Hedi Belgueyed and Sabrine Klibi, were in court when they received suspended sentences of six months each, a Justice Ministry source said today. Belgueyed and Klibi were arrested earlier this month for a music video in which lyrics sung by Weld el 15 describe police as dogs and accuse them of using violence unjustifiably. The two men asked the judge to pardon them before the sentences were handed down at yesterday's court proceedings. "I was only using the language of the police. They have harassed me verbally and physically. As an artist, the only way I could answer them is through art. I gave them a violent art," Weld el 15 said in a video posted on Facebook. Secular groups say freedom of creativity and expression are threatened under a coalition led by Tunisia's moderate Islamist Ennahda party, a charge the government denies. In particular, they accuse authorities of failing to prevent attacks by militant Islamist Salafis on cultural institutions and individuals. Salafis disrupted several concerts and plays last year, saying they violated Islamic principles. They also ransacked the US embassy in September during worldwide Muslim protests over an Internet video. — Reuters |
| ‘The Twist,’ ‘Saturday Night Fever’ deemed recording treasures Posted: 22 Mar 2013 06:23 AM PDT WASHINGTON, March 22 — The US Library of Congress yesterday added 25 recordings to its national registry, including dance-craze inspirations such as Chubby Checker's tune "The Twist" and the "Saturday Night Fever" movie soundtrack, and pianist Van Cliburn's landmark Cold War Tchaikovsky performance.
This year's inductees represent a wealth of musical styles, from Broadway show tunes (Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific") to iconic 1970s rock and punk ("The Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd and The Ramones' "Ramones"). The inclusion of Cliburn's 1958 recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 comes less than a month after the US pianist died in February at age 78. Cliburn was the surprise winner of the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, and his triumph and subsequent Soviet concert tour helped spur a brief thaw in US-Soviet relations. Country music singer and two-term Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis made the list with "You Are My Sunshine," as did avant-gardists Philip Glass and Robert Wilson for their five-hour opera, "Einstein on the Beach." The National Recording Registry, created by Congress, began selecting and preserving recordings in 2002 to celebrate the richness and variety of the audio heritage of the United States. Humorist, recording artist and stage star Will Rogers, blues great Janis Joplin and soprano Leontyne Price were included. Rogers was cited for his Depression-era broadcast "Bacon, Beans and Limousines," Price was honored for "A Program of Song," while Joplin's "Cheap Thrills," her second release with Big Brother and the Holding Company, was lauded for its expression of both "desperation and endurance." Spoken-word inductees included President Dwight Eisenhower's 1958 message to the nation via Atlas Satellite, and radio correspondent George Hicks' D-Day broadcasts from June 5-6, 1944. Twenty-five recordings at least 10 years old are selected annually by an expert committee and suggestions from the public. The 2012 National Recording Registry inductees: 1. "After You've Gone," Marion Harris (1918) 2. "Bacon, Beans and Limousines," Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931) 3. "Begin the Beguine," Artie Shaw (1938) 4. "You Are My Sunshine," Jimmie Davis (1940) 5. D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944) 6. "Just Because," Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947) 7. "South Pacific," Original Cast Album (1949) 8. "Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature," Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957) 9. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958) 10. President's Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958) 11. "A Program of Song," Leontyne Price (1959) 12. "The Shape of Jazz to Come," Ornette Coleman (1959) 13. "Crossing Chilly Jordan," The Blackwood Brothers (1960) 14. "The Twist," Chubby Checker (1960) 15. "Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's," Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962) 16. "Hoodoo Man Blues," Junior Wells (1965) 17. "Sounds of Silence," Simon and Garfunkel (1966) 18. "Cheap Thrills," Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968) 19. "The Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd (1973) 20. "Music Time in Africa," Leo Sarkisian, host (July 29, 1973) 21. "Wild Tchoupitoulas," The Wild Tchoupitoulas (1976) 22. "Ramones," The Ramones (1976) 23. "Saturday Night Fever," The Bee Gees, et al (1977) 24. "Einstein on the Beach," Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (1979) 25. "The Audience with Betty Carter," Betty Carter (1980) — Reuters |
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