March 3rd is Music Freedom Day

Today is Freemuse.org's Music Freedom Day. According to World Music Central.org,

"Radio stations, newspapers and musicians across five continents are set to collaborate in raising awareness of the plight of censored musicians all across the globe. Meant as a statement of its commitment to fighting music censorship and supporting freedom of expression for all artists, Freemuse's Music Freedom Day will leap headlong into an open global conversation that will cross language barriers and cultural differences.

Part of the Music Freedom Day conversation will include a concert and seminar in Oslo, Norway that will be broadcast across the globe. This year's participants will include Kris Kristofferson from the US, Ferhat Tunc from Turkey, Mari Boine from Norway and Chiwoniso Maraire from Zimbabwe."

Although I doubt any American radio stations owned by corporate giants (ClearChannel, etc) will bother participating or even discussing Music Freedom Day, today would be a great day to play your Public Enemy, Dead Prez, The Coup, Body Count, 2 Live Crew, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Manson, Dixie Chicks, or any other band, crew, group, or individual who has taken a stand musically.

Some interesting links pertaining to music around the world:

Cuban Hip-Hoppers For Peace

The ACLU's brief list of censored American Music

An old report on a Moroccan Metal Fest

And last but not least, via Global Voices Online, an Iranian rap video by Taham telling a story from the ancient poetic opus Shahnameh. I might not understand any of the words, but the video is impressive and the beat is unlike anything you would hear in the US.

Enjoy your Music Freedom Day, and in the words of Kid Rock,

"If it looks good, you'll see it;
if it sounds good, you'll hear it,
if it's marketed good, you'll buy it;
but ... if it's real, you'll feel it."