Soraya

If you don't know Soraya, and her music, I highly recommend you listen to her CD's. In this country where female pop singers are celebrities for having a medicore voice, there are women with voices that transcends the rest. They aren't many from around the world, and Soraya is one of them. But sadly she passed away May 10, 2006 from breast cancer, the continuation of a family history. After her diagnosis years before she became an advocate for breast cancer awareness.

So what am I getting at? We should be embracing the range and diversity of music in the world. There is so much out there beside "American" pop music, much of which can educate and inform us of the world, and with any luck, we'll find a new genre of music and musicians. And that could lead to listening to non-traditional stations where World Music or other music is their broadcast. And that just might make you want to ask the real questions of the world and listening to "alternative" news and music stations for the diversity of news, views and people.

Well, I realize where I live, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington, has a number of excellent radio stations where I don't have to just listen to the top-40 of any typical American musical genre. There is KBCS which has jazz, world music (3-5 pm every day, a great way to hear the variety), and the great Democracy Now program. There is King-FM perhaps the best classical music station around, not your top 40 classical hits, but the whole history of the music with rarely a repeat. And lastly there is KPLU. It has jazz but really great blues on weekends evenings.

Back to my point, which is that I can't say enough to listen to World music of any country or genre. You'll not only find music didn't originate here or stay here. You'll find artist that will touch your spirit, your soul, your heart, and make you feel a part of the world. You'll learn history of people, because in many countries it's a part of their social and political history. And you might find yourself walking past the top-40 CD displays in music stores to the look for better music and artists. Give a listen and expand your horizons.