NEW YORK, 2:18 AM, WED DEC 3 | 16 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@idolator.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS

Posts Tagged “China”

China, perhaps unsurprisingly, is not happy about the title of the new Guns N' Roses album; authorities are not letting the album into the country, and fans are wondering just what, exactly, the title is trying to say about Axl's attitudes toward their homeland. The best thing about this news? It means that Cornrowed Axl gets his own Wall Street Journal woodcut. [WSJ]

3 comments

The iTunes Store has been restored to service in China—minus the compilation Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace, thanks to its compilers' suggestions that a number of Olympic athletes had downloaded the album in protest. The Chinese government has not offered any comment. [Fact Magazine]

Comment

closed ports

Report: China Cuts Off Access To iTunes Store

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Chinese officials have closed access to Apple's iTunes Store after getting wind of Olympic athletes downloading Songs For Tibet, which features songs by the likes of Rush, Underworld, and Moby. (Proceeds go to "peace-related projects" that were hand-picked by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.) The ban came shortly after the Art Of Peace Foundation, which backed the project, sent out a press release saying that "over 40" athletes participating in the 2008 Olympic Games had used download cards they were given to download the album, thus "speaking" their mind about the geopolitical situation when the Games' rules forced them to remain silent on the issue. This isn't the first time musical support of Tibet has caused the Chinese government to clamp down, of course, and it's unlikely to be the last. More »

1:00 PM on Wed Aug 20 2008
By Maura Johnston
612 views, 1 comment

Latest by PengIn: Based on that comp's tracklist, the people speaking their minds have been saying "I like crap". more »

Bjork called out "Tibet, Tibet" at the end of a performance of "Declare Independence" during a concert in Shanghai earlier this year, and now every other artist performing in China will have to suffer the consequences: The Chinese Ministry of Culture will now be tightening approvals, and screening all setlists (including encores) in advance in order to prevent performances that "threaten national unity," incite "ethnic hatred," and violate "religious policy or cultural norms." [Reuters]

2 comments

international relations

Well-Loved Mumbler Of Standards Gets Shanghaied

So we've already learned that the recent hubbub over Bjork's onstage shout-out to Tibet while in China has carried over into stricter performance guidelines for international performers playing on Shanghai stages. And first up for censure is, um, Harry Connick Jr.! More »

12:30 PM on Thu Mar 13 2008
By Michaelangelo Matos
243 views, 5 comments

Bjork's "free Tibet" hubbub at a recent Chinese concert not only pissed off government officials—who'd prefer not to, you know, make such a big deal out of the whole "dictatorial relationship with Tibet" thing—but now also Chinese promoters, who are kvetching that Bjork drawing more needless attention to human rights violations and whatnot might put a crimp in their bottom line. Can't everyone just be as nice and apolitical as those capitalism-friendly Disney girls? [Reuters]

2 comments

Last week during a concert in Shanghai, Bjork ended her performance of "Declare Independence" with a call of "Tibet, Tibet"; the Chinese ministry of culture was not pleased with Bjork's outburst, saying that the song was "unapproved" and putting a statement on its Web site that says "Any attempt to separate Tibet from China will definitely be opposed by the Chinese people and all righteous men across the world." The government has said that it will now look closer at artists who are planning on playing China so as to "prevent similar cases from happening in the future." [Variety / Photo: AP]

1 comment