Who sings the nation state?

If you haven't already heard the rendition of the South African National Anthem currently getting a lot of online attention, listen to the video below. But be warned: your ears may bleed.
I am currently working on a paper on the musical marketing of the upcoming soccer world cup in South Africa, and while this incident isn't directly related, I think I may try to find some way to work it in there. Funny and scary all at once.



Here is the Mail and Guardian report on current responses

More about the NYU Afrocolombian ensemble

I really hate going more than a week without a posting, especially when there is so much really great stuff happening. But I guess when the most interesting things are happening, I am also the most busy, so that is part of the problem.

Until I have time to write more about my own activities, I thought I might recommend this post to you. Michael Birenbaum Quintero is a fellow Ethnomusicology Grad Student at NYU, and is teaching the Afrocolombian ensemble I am taking this semester. He blogs about Colombia in Spanish and English (alternating paragraphs, so just scroll down if you don't see your prefered language), and has posted and written about some of the music we are learning in the ensemble.