CONCLUSION~

We loved our topic. It let us learn more about other cultures. Our topic relates music and culture, because it took one artist in a country, and showed how they were known around the world.

No Music?!?!

Music has been banned from Iran since 1979. Despite the ban, there are plenty of bands that exist and are causing a scene in Iran culture. Sounds of Silence is a documentary made in Iran that is concerned with making citizens aware of the extensive censorship that is enforced in Iran, so extensive that music is not even played within the country in fear of being persecuted. This documentary shows that even though music is banned, it still prevails and a vibrant music scene still exists in Iran. This just shows that nothing can stop people from expressing themselves the way they want to.
~Nikki Grimm
http://www.powerofculture.nl/en/current/2007/july/musicians_iran.html

Sasha

I know what you are thinking, when i seen the name Sasha i thought it was a girl too. Sasha, real name Alexander Coe, was born in North Wales, UK. He is a much-renowned DJ, and pretty good looking if i say so my self. He became famous in the late 80's and in the early 90's. He played in clubs such as Shelly's, the Hacienda, and most notably Renaissance. He formed a partnership with John Digweed, still holding strong today. He turned out such mixes as Urban Soul, M People, Creative Thieves, and the Pet Shop Boys.

Sasha. (2008). Discogs. Retrieved from April 18th from http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sasha.
~Britney Whittaker

Protest the Hero

Protest the hero is a Canadian band from Ontario. in 2003 they released an EP called a calculated use of Sound, this cd was punk influenced and had very political lyrics. their first full length album Kezia released in 2005 was a completely different sound from their Ep. Kezia is a mix of many different styles, vocalist Rody Walker's voice has evolved a lot and added a lot of new elements to their sound separating them from other bands. Their riffs are metal enough to earn the respect of the metal scene yet their high pitched emoish vocals and hardcore breakdowns drew the scene kids. Protest the hero is a great band with an amazing stage presence, fun to listen to songs, and very original style.

Matt Taylor
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wbfyxqlsld6e~T1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_the_Hero

She's A Japanese Superstar

Utada Hikaru is not only a J-pop star (Japanese) but she is also from a well known musical family from New York City in which she was born.
Hikaru compsed her first Japanese song at the age of eleven and her first english one at thirteen. With her first Japanese album released in 1999 entitled "First Love", she has since sold nine million copies. Also during the first week of release,completely breaking the record of first-week sales of a debut album, her CD hit number one on the Japanese charts.
After her switch from Toshiba EMI to Island-Universal Music Japan, she saddend many of her fans because she decided to record an English-language album. She then came out with a song entitled, "Exodus 04," because many fans interpreted her lyrics as a good bye to Japan, many were devastated. After her release in September 2004, Utada is labeled to have to record for the largest-ever one-day shipment of an English language album, during Mariah Carey's previous record of 500,000. Part of the reason why that song was so popular was because Timbaland and Mars Volta produced as well as drummer, Jon Theodore.
One popular song that many might be familiar with is "Devil Inside." With that song Utada Hikaru got her first U.S mainstream debut.

Shanae Harris

Jeffries, D. (2007) All Music Guide Retrieved from,http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Hikaru,_Utada/Biography/.

Bare Naked Who??

The Barenaked Ladies, straight out of Canada, hit the American music scene in 1993 with their album, Gordon. Hits included "If I had a Million Dollars" and "One Week". Any teenager in the 1990's currently has these hits on their IPod. This group has a great combination of humor and talent. This is what makes this stand out among others in their music genre. Although their first album went platinum in Canada, they were forbidden from playing at an event near City Hall in Toronto because the mayor found the band's name to be degrading and discriminatory towards women. This is very evident that this was not the intention of the band. They simply meant for the name to be random and humorous. They are a great group of guys who write songs that can lift your spirits at any time of the day in any mood.
Nikki Grimm

Leahey, Andew (). Barenaked Ladies. Retrieved 11 April 2008 from allmusic: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:apfyxqq5ldke~T1

It's Karan With An "a"

Ranking herself among some of Ireland's most talented singers, such as Sharon Shannon, Maire Brennan, and Capercaillie, Karan Casey is truly one confident singer. She is said to have, "a voice that represents one of the true glories of Irish music today" according to Wall Street Journal writer, Earle Hitchner. Like many other artists Casey started singing at a young age in her church choir in the southeastern side of Waterford. She studied both voice and piano at University College Dublin, and then attended the Royal Irish Academy of Music. In the late 80's she began to copy the Ella Fitzgerald style of singing; scat singing, in which she began to sing in pubs in Dublin. While still attending school, she not only worked in pubs, but she also started her own singing group entitled, "Dorothy." After her jazz singing career, which she thanks for her traditional Irish folklore success, she immigrated to New York, where she then attended Brooklyn's Long Island University.
After playing for a short while with a band, she formed the group "Solas" with Seamus Egan, John Doyle, John Williams, and Winifred Horan. In the meantime, she also worked on her solo career while doing music with "Solas."
Honestly, I would never think to listen to the genre of folk music, but I did give one of Casey's song entitled "Where Are You Tonight I Wonder" a go. It wasn't bad at all. I could hear the scat singing that she included within her piece and understand why she thanks the genre of jazz music for her success. I recommend all to give folk music and Karan Casey a try.



Shanae Harris



Wilson, M. (2008). Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/casey_karan/bio.jhtml