bbc: "African slaves may have been ripped from their homelands over 200 years ago but their music travelled with them and it still shapes today's music. 1Xtra traces the roots of today's R&B, Hip Hop in the drums and chants of African slaves." Listen here
BBC: "Presented by Steve Lamacq, this two-part series tells the story of the bands that changed the musical landscape in 1976.
By the mid-70s the UK was experiencing economic meltdown. Lengthening dole queues and a grey landscape of high rise disasters stood in rubbish-strewn streets. In retrospect, it was inevitable that the music of the time would be dark, nihilistic and fuelled by an energized political anger." More
wikipedia.org: "This documentary argues that during the 20th Century politicians lost the power to inspire the masses, and that the optimistic visions and ideologies they had offered were perceived to have failed. The film asserts that politicians consequently sought a new role that would restore their power and authority. Writer Adam Curtis, who also narrates the series, declares in the film's introduction that “Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us: from nightmares”. To illustrate this Curtis compares the rise of the American neoconservatives and radical Islamists, believing that both are closely connected; that some popular beliefs about these groups are inaccurate; and that both movements have benefited from exaggerating the scale of the terrorist threat." More
All three parts of this documentary can be downloaded from Archive.org
bbc.co.uk: "Ty checks out the scene in Israel where the army runs the main radio station and the playlist is all Britney and rock.
Hip hop has been going down in the background until now: Crews made up of Jews and Arabs are grabbing the mic to express themselves on the war that dominates their lives.
On both sides of the political hating the artists stand up for channelling rage into music and say it's more constructive than the politicians' solution." Listen here