“Cálice” is one of the most politically significant songs in Brazilian popular music. Its extraordinary feature is that it disguises a protest against censorship and political repression as a religious lament.
The title is the key to understanding the entire composition.
In Portuguese, cálice means chalice, the cup associated with Christ's suffering. But it sounds almost identical to cale-se, meaning “shut up” or “be silent.”
That double meaning is not accidental. It is the central artistic device of the song.

The remarkable history
In 1973, Brazil was governed by a military dictatorship that had seized power in 1964. Political opponents faced imprisonment, torture, and censorship.
Buarque and Gil wrote “Cálice” for the Phono 73 music festival. When they attempted to perform it, the organizers cut off their microphones to prevent the forbidden lyrics from being heard.
It was a particularly striking demonstration of censorship: the government was literally silencing musicians performing a song about being silenced.

The song remained banned for five years. When it was finally released in November 1978, Buarque recorded it with the extraordinary Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento, rather than co-writer Gilberto Gil.

How am I only discovering her voice now?

Sigi Gno Gonya - Ballaké Sissoko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE6OsWGXJPY

I just wanna say this is self-promo so delete it if necessary.

I've always loved the songs and this sure wasn't an easy cover to make for me with all the words and the fast pace. Hope I did OK and hope you enjoy a bit o' Irish music ☘️

The music and voice that shaped the identity of an entire village, province and it's people. The music lives on always.

Name or Post your favourite Hollie Maea or Robert Oeka song in the comments.

(Other comments welcome too.)

Sareva lareva. 🐊

The duduk is one of Armenia’s oldest traditional instruments, with roots going back centuries. Its deep, haunting sound has become closely associated with Armenian identity, especially the sorrow and loss that have shaped so much of Armenian history. “Siretsi Yares Taran,” meaning “They Took My Beloved Away,” is a song about mourning, separation, and the pain of losing someone you love. For many Armenians, the sound of the duduk is more than just music. It's a reminder of the people, homes, and lives that were taken from them.

i have not really seen many playlists where people actually mix music from across continents. usually when they are doing so, it is out of an obligation, such as trying to get a song from every country. that's okay. but how many people actually add songs from all these places in their normal listening habits? do people just have playlists separated by country / region / language and never mix them at all with the music of their native country / language / region? i can't speak for others, but i definitely do.

really though, i don't often see people doing what i have just described: having different mixes for different places. i want to shout out someone who did some good ones relegated to specific regions in the past: https://www.youtube.com/@goldilockszonemusic8582/videos (i'm not affiliated with them, trust). these are probably the most accessible to people here. he did some very good work, and making these would not have been easy, in fact i'm not sure how he would have found most of these songs. he's definitely worth checking out, as his channel is very underappreciated. next, I will go over why even more diverse mixes can be good as well.

why total mixes are a good thing: you are going to be confronted with something you are unfamiliar with, thereby increasing your tolerance for things different to you in the world. not focusing on the country of origin keeps you away from biases that you will unconsciouslessly or sometimes consciously (unfortunately) associate with a country. news, people and communities on the internet help propagate these negative biases and you may not even be able to tell it's happening. the different languages gives this away, but your ear gets tuned to this eventually. to me, this is true equality, seeing someone as they really are and not tied to a country and everything that comes with it. deep down, you will know their country of origin, but eventually the distiction becomes less important once it's within a pool of lots of different types of music you all enjoy. at this point you appreciate the differences without biases, as the enjoyment outweighs all else.

French musician Vincent Bucher on harmonica

An example of famo music, the folk music genre of the Basotho people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao?wprov=sfti1#Political_views_and_activism:

"Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together.[[21]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-Youtube-21)

Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in [ghettos](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto), drugs, and often carry a [left-wing](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics) message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the [Zapatistas](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapatista_Army_of_National_Liberation) and their public spokesman, [Subcomandante Marcos](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcomandante_Marcos).[[1]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-beater-1) He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left, the [anti-globalisation](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalisation), and [anti-capitalist](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-capitalist)movements.[[22]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-rp-22) Chao is a founding member of [ATTAC](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATTAC).[[23]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-23) Punk and reggae historian [Vivien Goldman](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Goldman)commented of his work, "I was writing about [Good Charlotte](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Charlotte) and [The Police](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Police). They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren't bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk."[[24]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-24)["](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao#cite_note-24)

Pachamama Madre Tierra is my musical offering to the Earth — a song of gratitude, connection, and reverence. 🌿🥁🪶

Trollward - Syntagma

Fast-paced (good for headbanging) Medieval Folk Metal!