Sziget 2011 - Day 5
Sziget 2011 - Day 4
Sziget 2011 - Day 1
Go Radio
Go Radio is a pop-punk band from Tallahassee, Florida. They have one free download track on Last.fm, Any Other Heart. Turns out, this song was featured in Lastfmdiscover.com's acoustic session:
Although former Mayday Parade vocalist Jason Lancaster was looking for some much needed time off and to get away from the daily grind of being in a band, he wasn't idle very long. Jason was soon putting together and fronting Go Radio. Just after the release of the debut album Lucky Street, Jason along with Alex Reed, Matt "Burns" Poulos and Steven Kopacz stopped by for a Last.fm Discover session. Start by lsitening to the heart-wrenching story that Jason has never really told in detail behind the song "Any Other Heart".....then witness the rest of the session at Lastfmdiscover.com
They are also found on MySpace.
Asobi Seksu
Aosbi Seksu could probably run for the Best Named Award: アソビ・セクスtranslates to 'sex for fun'. They were introduced to me by my EU Law professor Johannes back in Japan (visiting from Germany). I almost missed their new shoegaze / dreampop album Fluorescence released in February 2011 off of which Trails is a free download:
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Asobi-Seksu-Trails.mp3|titles=Trails]
Tribute to Nirvana's 'Nevermind'
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's iconic Nevermind SPIN magazine asked contemporary artists to cover the album's tracks in their original order. What's even better is that the whole shebang is free to download in exchange for an email address. The SPIN website also offers some band interviews on the subject.
Edouard AD
Not much is shared about this band (guy) and I don't speak French to understand their (his) Facebook page. Nevertheless I find their (his) electronic music quite funny. Their (his) whole EP is free to listen & download on Last.fm and Soundcloud.
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Edouard-AD-The-Weird-Thing.mp3|titles=The Weird Thing]
Life's Decay
This is quite a mixture of genres, mainly dark acoustic sounds with a touch of classical. What really makes it interesting is the French vocals. After all, Life's Decay is a Paris-based duo offering several tracks as free downloads on Last.fm.
I got Inksterna (2007) in the radio but also liked Emerance (2009):
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Lifes-Decay-Inksterna.mp3|titles=Inksterna]
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Lifes-Decay-Emerance.mp3|titles=Emerance]
Zoë Keating
She is a classically trained cellist producing her own albums while composing music for TV, film and ballet. Her instumental ambient-chillout melodies set a mellow atmosphere. Zoë Keating has one free track available on Last.fm, Exurgency, however the leading track from One Cello x 16: Natoma is also available to listen to in full.
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Zoe-Keating-Exurgency.mp3|titles=Exurgency]
Neil Gaiman seems to appreciate her as well.
Also, if you like cello, don't forget to check out 2CELLOS and Misi Várnagy.
The State of Democracy and Freedom
Excerpt from the Testimony of Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas O. Melia (House Foreign Affairs Europe and Eurasia Subcommittee) “Eastern Europe: The State of Democracy and Freedom” on July 26, 2011. Source.
Several recent events are cause for significant concern about Hungary's democratic trajectory. Hungary is an important EU and NATO member. At the same time, we have seen the current one-party government use its unprecedented two-thirds parliamentary majority to lock in changes to the Constitution that could solidify its power, limit checks and balances, and unduly hamstring future democratic governments in effectively addressing new political, economic and social challenges. The government replaced members of a media oversight board, for example, with candidates aligned with the ruling party. More disconcerting, the board has been given the power to issue decrees and impose heavy fines - up to $950,000 - for news coverage it considers "unbalanced" or offensive to "human dignity."
Secretary Clinton stated during her June 30 visit, "As friends of Hungary, we … [call] for a real commitment to the independence of the judiciary, a free press, and governmental transparency." We are urging the government to temper the pace of change, to be more inclusive and to limit the number of issues covered by so-called "cardinal laws," which require a two-thirds majority to change. In particular, we will ask the government to carefully reconsider the new law on "the Right to Freedom of Conscience and Religion and on the Status of Churches, Religions and Religious Communities," which requires re-registration of all but 14 religious groups, negatively impacting the religious freedom atmosphere in Hungary. We will continue to engage Hungary in a broad dialogue in coming months, as the government works to implement its new constitution.