Did anyone else have the experience I had in the mid-to-late 80s? I remember listening to albums like Peter Gabriel's So, Paul Simon's Graceland and Sting's Nothing Like The Sun, and thinking "this is where music is going...and it's gonna be so cool". I really thought that the synthesis of international rhythms and styles was going to take over, and be the music of the "post rock era". Well, was I ever mistaken! Instead of a pop rennaisance, we have all these sluts and boy bands and no talent cussers posing as rappers. What a wasteland!

I've kept listening to world music anyway (why not?...much better than what's on radio!), and have become at least somewhat familiar with things such as Brazillian samba and tropicalia, Celtic pop, west African pop, Middle Eastern rai, and artists such as Caetano Veloso (from Brazil), Clannad and Iona (both bands from Ireland), Ebenezer Obey (from Nigeria), and others. But "world beat" didn't become the Next Big Thing, and I've often wondered why. Anyone want to venture a guess?

I'll take a wild stab at it. Ethnic music is too strong to be taken straight...it must be watered down in order to be popular. It has always been an ingredient in pop music...Burt Baccarach used Brazilian ryhthms in so much of his work. Jimmy Webb & others plumbed the Celtic well before anyone heard of Celtic. The Stones used reggae. I'm not sure where I'm going with this,but maybe it will keep the thread going.........

i think it didn't beccome popular because it lacked the rebellious element to become appealing to younger generations of music listeners...

i agree that today's pop music is complete crap... but can you really imagine a typical 14 year old getting all excited about getting the new youssou n'dour album?

you've said it before in another thread reverend... we are NOT typical music listeners... and as such pop music is not meant for us...

maybe it will be the next, NEXT, big thing..... after the masses get tired of the crap

or maybe they will keep listening to crap and uh, turn into crap, and produce more crap. CRAP MAN! thats a bunch of crap!

These are all really good, insightful posts. I'd really be interested in knowing what, if any, world music some of you people are into. I guess it's only fair that I go first.

Clannad
Iona
Shadowfax (they were an American instrumental band that used a lot of ethnic sounds in their music)
Afro Celt Sound System
Caetano Veloso
Milton Nascimento
Ebenezer Obey

Add to that, of course, the many, many artists that I have a track or two of on a compilation here and there. And of course, I am a fan of Peter Gabriel, Sting, and later Paul Simon to a large degree because of their use of "world" ideas in their music.

I was really thinking that what would happen in the 90s was that ethnic rhythms would infiltrate popular music, rather than kids freaking out over the latest Brazillian or African album...but that didn't happen at all, and I was kind of shocked when it didn't...shocked and really disappointed, I might add.

Flemish Folk:
Laïs (3 girls with "angelic voices" (dixit Emmylou Harris), usually backed by a good band, sometimes a capella, singing Flemish, French, scandinavian songs...)
Kadril (fathers of Flemish folkrock, nowadays accompanied by a female singer/clarinetist)
Aedo (young band, incorporating the saxophone in folk)
(Bub) (idem as Aedo, but even more experimental)
Troissoeur (weird experimental folk with made up language, extremely exciting I find)
Daau- Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung (same as Troissoeur, but with a bit more classical approach)

Scandinavian folk:
Hedningarna (raw folkrock with electronic programming, 2 gorgeous female Finnish singers, arguably my favourite folk band)
Garmarna (electronica more on foreground here... good singer here as well)
Gjallarhorn (using Australian didgeridoo for the drone, which is a typical aspect of Scandinavian ethnic music...)
Annbjorg Lien (exciting fiddler)

Irish folk:
Dervish

Spanish/Asturian folk:
Hevia (bagpipes as most important instrument, listen to the amazing "Busindre Reel")

Middle Eastern ethnic music:
Natacha Atlas

Eastern European:
Uz Jsme Doma
Goran Bregovic

another problem is language barrier. for some people, listening to lyrics that they don't understand is a turn off. just like those people who don't like to watch a foreign film because they have to read subtitles. with music, they don't even have subtitles to read so that "foreign" shit is just untouchable for some people.

another thing is that some people may think that if the music is not from a more superior culture, they must not be that good. and that's why american music, for example, blues, jazz, rock, pop, whatever, is so popular all around the world because american culture seems to be more superior than other cultures. of course that is not always true.

I kinda disagree with panbient, the kids are most likely not going out of their way to find other stuff to listen to. they probably listen to what their peers approve, u know. of course there are exceptions, but in general, it is pretty true. also, their parents have influence on what the kids listen to. my parents listen to all kinds of stuff from different countries. and that has a lot of influence on me because they showed me that I don't have to listen to that hongkong cheesy pop music like everyfuc kingone else in hongkong.

Reverend, I know you're a fan of the AfroCelts -- so I'd suggest Shooglenifty to you. I think you would like them -- they are more upbeat than the AfroCelts without the african influence, but still quite good.

Superior Culture? So how would you explain those countries whose Culture is just as "Superior" or higher liking American Music? There are many countries that think the U.S. is pretty backwards on many things. Some even think the U.S. is still in their Wild West Frontier stage.

The wealth or lack of wealth a country has no relation to that countries Culture being Superior. In fact majority of the best music was created by those from poor families. And this can be taken to all the Arts.

satchmo, I agree with you that the best music was made by those from poor families/countries.

I was only pointing out thoughts of certain people who don't like to listen to "world music", or music not in their native language or english. just some people I met, not my opinions at all. in fact, they are not even american, they are gautamalans(spelling) and chinese.