Play it Again Sameer: At Festival de Casablanca
With festival officials estimating 65,000 cramming into Scène Corniche El Hank to witness hip-hop artist 50 Cent’s first Moroccan visit, I was not particularly shocked to later hear that that number was bumped to 100,000. 50 himself tweeted 200,000. I suppose from the vantage point of the stage, with the endless swarm of raised fists and ‘I Love 50 Cent’ posters,... Read More
How Morocco Can Inspire the World
When Americans reflect on Morocco in 2011, the initial image brought to mind will most likely fall on April 28, when 16 people were killed in Marrakech during a bombing at the touristy Argana Café. Reports of Al Qaeda were invoked in this usually stable country, and though having denied any involvement, Islamic terror reigned once again during the American 24-hour news cycle.... Read More
Four Albums to Find in 2011
In the past, December to February were dead months in the music industry. Releases were far and few between; I’d bide my time rehashing classics by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Smashing Pumpkins while pretending spring was just around the corner listening to Bob Marley’s Talkin’ Blues. The holiday season was dominated by thematic carols sung by struggling and aging... Read More
Top Dozen Albums of 2010
After faithfully abiding by the general “Top 10″ guidelines for the past decade in my year-end lists, this year I simply had to expand it to a dozen (actually, a baker’s dozen). I’ve often found myself cutting out one or two records that, depending on my day or mood, could have been switched out for another. Not this year. More choices mean more music to... Read More