Where Da Good Wo'Pop, Citizen?

May 19, 2009 8:00 PM

In Which LT Hits Up The Metaverse For More Musical Goodness....

Hey all - just got another show at the radio station and as such am doing the obligatory Askme - this time for quality world music sites on the net - gimme your fave sites, podcasts, artists, styles, etc.

For reference, I am already down with Afropop Worldwide, Smithsonian Global Sound, etc.

This is your chance to dazzle me with your exotic loves and hidden treasures.

Stuff I love: Vartina, Tinariwen, Habib Koite and Bamada, Cheb i Sabbah, DJ Dolores, Seu Jorge, Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velasquez, Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, and on and on....

posted by Lipstick Thespian to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

My favorite music site is Pandora - you are probably already familiar with it, but, if not, the skinny is this: you input any artist or song, and it will play you other similar songs. You can then hone and tweak it by telling it which of these new songs you really like, and which you don't. It's great.
posted by firei at 8:09 PM on May 19, 2009

I'm a huge fan of Mittelalter music (aka folk metal using medieval instruments). Mainly Schandmaul for their great german-style bagpipes, and Corvus Corax for their complete reworking of the Carmina Burana from source.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:19 PM on May 19, 2009

I have no sites to recommend. Do you want artists suggestions nonetheless?
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:47 PM on May 19, 2009

Indian Electronica
Also, Nitin Sawhney
posted by Methylviolet at 9:00 PM on May 19, 2009

Here are my favorite JPOP songs of this decade or so:

70%-夕暮れのうた
冷たい花
Many Classic Moments
蛍星
Sister Ship
雲がちぎれる時
Prism
積木遊び
posted by toroi at 9:19 PM on May 19, 2009

Amadou et Mariam
Ananda Shankar
Dengue Fever
Curumin
Fela Kuti
Lhasa De Sela (that's a pretty loose def of world. ;)
Manu Dibango
Mustafa Ozkent
Tom Ze
Jorge Reyes (Ambient World)
Juana Molina (Argentinian Electronica)
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:21 PM on May 19, 2009

Radio Multikulti used to be a great Worldmusic radio station in Berlin. Unfortunately it was shut down and only the archive of past shows remains.

The site is in German, so I'll try to point you to the shows and their playlists:
- go to "Sendungen"
- select a show of your choice from the list titled "Alle Sendungen im Überblick" in the middle of the page
- now you can pick a date for either the show "Sendung vom" or the Playlist on the right side.
posted by Glow Bucket at 11:21 PM on May 19, 2009

If you like Värttinä, check out the Northside website, which has lots of similar Scandi-folk-pop-type artists, with audio samples for most of 'em.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:22 AM on May 20, 2009

Response by poster: Nebulawindphone - great minds and all that - I just picked up their Vol. 2 sampler yesterday from Ye Old Indie Recorde Shoppe here in town. Fantastic music.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:41 AM on May 20, 2009

Zdob si Zdob. Cracking band from Moldova that combine traditional Moldovan folk, punk and hip hop. A YouTube search will bring up some highlights.
posted by caffeinebomb at 8:22 AM on May 20, 2009

Response by poster: Caffeinebomb - excellent comment - love these guys already. Who else you got?
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 10:52 AM on May 20, 2009

If you don't know of them already, how about KEXP.org? They keep their shows online for 2 weeks and you can always find their playlists.

The Best Ambience (Mondays 6-9 PM Pacific)

Wo' Pop (Tuesdays 6-9 PM Pacific)
posted by Zoyashka at 11:33 AM on May 20, 2009

Response by poster: Zoyashka - I lived in Seattle for 10 years, definitely am down with Best Ambience and Wo'Pop (with your host, Derek Mozzone!)
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 3:17 PM on May 20, 2009