From New English Review, Ibn Warraq on Mozart and Orientalism. Hip-hop, as a culture and a musical genre, moves at lightning speed; keeping up requires an awareness of our expectations and a willingness to revisit our assumptions. A review of Understanding Music: Philosophy and Interpretation by Roger Scruton. A review of Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott DeVeaux. Sure, it's violent, but can you dance to it?: A British scholar examines abuse narratives in pop music. Placing songs in advertising remains a touchy subject; PopMatters spoke with a few artists whose music has appeared in advertising to find out what motivates them to do what some people claim is “selling out”. John Rockwell reviews Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-1992 by Tim Lawrence. Composer Jean Sibelius's ties to Nazi Germany come under new scrutiny. Rango, the ancient Sudanese music of healing, is under threat from religious orthodoxy — but the musicians are fighting back. A review of Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South by Patrick Huber. A review of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout. What you hear is not a chorus: A look at the truly original thing about "Rapper’s Delight". Rock ‘n’ roll, it seems, does middle-age awfully well; and not just from the gray-haired set who have been there, and who now look back upon it fondly. A review of The Gilded Stage: A Social History of Opera by Daniel Snowman. Nature's Rejects: Jan Swafford on the music of the castrati. Re-Meet the Beatles: A series on the still Fab Four. Why doesn’t listening to modern classical music matter any more?
