cumar macalin & cumar aadan - Suuban

Djibouti was not my favorite country to visit, BUT... I like this, even if they are from Somalia, or Somaliland. That's close enough. I may have to go back--in winter...

Zahara - Loliwe

South Africa can be a rough place, but it can also be richly rewarding. Enjoy.

I Got You On Tape - Waking Up The Brotherhood

Sweden and Iceland are all over the English-language music charts, whether you know it or not, but what about Denmark, arguably the center of Scandinavia? There's Agnes Obel, and... more. Interesting things are happening here musically, metal-tinged metaphysics in multi-color chiaroscuro, that you can dance to--sometimes...

Hey - Gravity (그라비티)

There's more to South Korea than K-pop. Check it out...

Barbora Poláková - Nafrněná

There's no better place to be than Europe these days--hint hint--and nothing better there than East Europe, of which Czech Republic shines as founding member and gateway from the West. There is plenty of entertainment, including indie music...and a sense of humor. Watch the video...

Nyankol Mathiang----Abyuok Reil Piou (Official Music Video)

South Sudan is nobody's lost cause. Once you get past the macho electronic-fuzz-vocal booty-twerking factory-generated crap from underemployed over-zealous production companies, there is some good music to be found, mostly by women. This is their mama and role model, R.I.P....

Χρήστος Δάντης - Maya Maya - Official Video Clip

Finding songs to like from Cyprus is not an easy task for me. For one thing, there's the island's split personality between Greek and Turk, so problematic right there in forging an identity separate from those mother countries. Greeks dominate on YouTube, but it's mostly Eurovision-style hunk and hot-bod models standing among smoke machines and wind machines singing in auto-tune to drum machines--great. Once in a while something interesting pops up...

Tulsa - Estúpida

Spain is a musical monster, so trying to pick out something to symbolize it would be like doing the same in the US, if for no other reason than Spanish is a language that far extends between the boundaries of any one country, including Spain. And they rock. Ever wonder what happened to Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Shakira et al? They all went back to their native language where they could be stars again, not runner-ups, and where they gather hits and likes that surpass Beyoncé and equal Taylor. And then there are the indies, playing away for love or money or--whatever...

Cuba Music, Chill Out Coffee Shop, relaxing Cuban music, Chillout,

Cuban music, almost ALL Cuban music, is such a pleasure to listen to that any attempt to limit access to any one genre does a disservice to the rest, whether it's mambo, salsa, Afro-Cuban folk or whatever. But for a country somewhat lost in the past, it's refreshing to see it right in step with the best of modern trends. This ain't Ricky Ricardo...

Kedinada Kuudu Hadannata Enne - Sewwandi Ranathunga (@ Maa Program)

I'll have to admit that I had a hard time finding music I like from Sri Lanka, where some of the most creative work comes from street buskers. I guess it's too close to Bollywood. It seems there's a new creative edge emerging, though, so good...