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Rap mogul JAY-Z has stunned the music world by announcing his decision to step down as Def Jam Records president in 2008.The hitmaker, real name Shawn Carter, retired from making music when he took the executive job in 2005.He has since returned to the charts, and now plans to release more material once his three-year contract expires in 2008.In a statement released on Christmas Eve (24Dec07), Jay-Z said, “It’s time for me to take on new challenges. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to build upon the Def Jam legacy, helping to move the company into a new era of artistic success.”Jay-Z will remain one of Def Jam’s top artists.

The music was so powerful, so propulsively swinging that fellow musicians found it hard to believe Monday that such a force of nature as Oscar Peterson had finally been stilled.

“It’s hard for me to believe even now,” said fellow pianist Hank Jones, a jazz legend in his own right. “I just thought Oscar would be around for another 100 years. This is one of the saddest days of my life.”

Oscar Peterson, an icon of jazz piano in Canada and around the world, has died at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy of recordings replete with jaw-dropping virtuosity and legions of musicians trying to match his matchless sound.

Those flashing rivers of quicksilver runs were a big part of his sound, but when musicians talk about what made Peterson great they always eventually get around to rhythm.

“He just drove the whole bus,” said Senator Tommy Banks, a jazz pianist who once played a duet version of “Satin Doll” with Peterson on a live TV broadcast.

“He was the kindest, gentlest, most forgiving person on the face of the earth, but when you sit down to paint next to Picasso it’s fairly daunting. It was frightening.

“He generated enormous swing.”

Composer and pianist Roger Kellaway was the musical director of a June 8 tribute to Peterson that featured luminaries such as pianist Marian McPartland and trumpeter Clark Terry.

“I always wanted to be able to play with as much power as he had,” said Kellaway, whose latest disc is entitled “Heroes” in Peterson’s honour.

“When (jazz writer) Gene Lees asked me, ‘What is it about Oscar that you love?’ I said, ‘The will to swing.’ “

Lees, a former editor of Down Beat magazine and a friend of Peterson’s for nearly 60 years, decided that phrase summed up the music so well it became the title of his biography of Peterson.

“He was just one of the most amazing musicians I’ve ever heard in my life. I’ve known probably most of the major jazz musicians and Oscar was one of the greatest of them.

“Very rarely have human hands been disciplined to that level. On a good night, he was scary.”

While blazing runs up and down the keyboard may be the most common memory of Peterson’s playing, Jones reminds fans of Peterson’s touch on ballads.

“He had a beautiful approach to ballads, which a lot of pianists forget,” said Jones.

Peterson was also a schooled and disciplined musician, who demanded the same of his sidemen.

Jones relays a story told him by Herb Ellis, guitarist in one of Peterson’s classic trios. He and bassist Ray Brown got lost in one of Peterson’s complex arrangements and faked their way through until they could catch up to their boss.

“When they got off the bandstand, Oscar said, ‘I would greatly appreciate it if I could get a child’s portion of harmony.’ “

Pianists around the world look up to Peterson, said Jones.

“Everything that Oscar did, the word used would be astounding. He had such great technique and agility, anything he could think of he could play.

“Listening to Oscar was a learning experience. Every time you heard him, you’d say, ‘Oh, that’s just marvellous.’ I wish I could do that.”

Throughout his career, Peterson stayed true to his musical roots in the swing and early bebop eras.

“What Oscar had was a summational position,” said Lees. “Everything that had gone on in jazz history up until that time was in his playing. All of it.”

Lees recalls the jazz composer Lalo Schifrin comparing Peterson’s music to that of the classical composer and pianist Franz Lizst.

“(Schifrin) said, ‘Somebody once said, Lizst conquered the piano; Chopin seduced it.’ He said ‘Oscar is our Lizst.’ “

Although the worlds of both jazz and popular music as a whole have changed many times since Peterson’s first recordings, Jones says his influence is still with us.

“I don’t think anybody can listen to Oscar without being affected, and certainly being inspired by Oscar’s playing.

“He would have left a more definite impression me, but I couldn’t execute some of the things he did,” laughs Jones.

“He’s somebody who will never be replaced. You cannot replace Oscar Peterson.”

Lees said “I don’t think there’s ever been a pianist in jazz of the later generation who wasn’t influenced by him.”

Oscar Peterson has simply become part of the musical air we breathe, said Banks.

“It keeps coming back and people keep trying to emulate it. All pop music becomes invested sooner or later with the contributions of giants like he.”

Herbie Hancock, another legendary jazz pianist, said Peterson’s impact was profound.

“Oscar Peterson redefined swing for modern jazz pianists for the latter half of the 20th century,” Hancock said. “I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. … No one will ever be able to take his place.”

Jazz impresario Quincy Jones said it was a blessing to have worked with Peterson.

” He was one of the last of the giants, but his music and contributions will be eternal,” Jones said.

Jazz pianist Marian McPartland called Peterson “the finest technician that I have seen.”

McPartland said she first met Peterson when she and her husband, jazz cornetist Jimmy McPartland, opened for him in Toronto in the 1940s.

“From that point on we became such goods friends, and he was always wonderful to me and I have always felt very close to him,” she said. “I played at his tribute concert at Carnegie Hall earlier this year and performed ‘Tenderly,’ which was always my favorite piece of his.”

Pianist Billy Taylor called Peterson one of the finest jazz pianists of his time. “He set the pace for just about everybody that followed him.”

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Eldar Djangirov said he wouldn’t have been a musician if he hadn’t heard Peterson play. “He was on top for as long as he played. He would play things with one hand that most piano players couldn’t do with both of their hands.”

West Coast big-band leader Dal Richards backed Peterson at a Vancouver show that was part of the jazz great’s first Canadian tour in the late 1940s and met him several times over the years.

“He was a giant, as we all know, of jazz but more than that he was a perfect gentleman; he was a wonderful man,” said Richards, still performing with his band as he heads towards his 90th birthday next month.

Richards said Peterson never discussed with him the pressure he was under as a pioneering black star whose appeal crossed racial lines. Besides breaking colour lines, Richards said Peterson has left lasting musical legacy for modern performers such as Victoria’s Michael Kaeshammer.

“He’s spoken of with reverence amongst piano players, even when he was performing with some handicap in later life,” said Richards.

“He was looked upon as the man pretty much, certainly by Canadians and almost all Americans, as a pianist. He was the one”.

Some of what fellow musicians and other notables had to say about the death of Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson:

“I consider him the major influence that formed my roots in jazz piano playing. … No one will ever be able to take his place.” - Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.

“He was one of the last of the giants, but his music and contributions will be eternal.” - Jazz impresario Quincy Jones.

“He set the pace for just about everybody that followed him.” - Pianist Billy Taylor.

“I just thought Oscar would be around for another 100 years. This is one of the saddest days of my life.” - Jazz pianist Hank Jones.

“I always wanted to be able to play with as much power as he had.” - Pianist and composer Roger Kellaway.

“He was just one of the most amazing musicians I’ve ever heard in my life. I’ve known probably most of the major jazz musicians and Oscar was one of the greatest of them.” - Jazz writer Gene Lees, author of the Peterson biography “The Will to Swing.”

“He was a giant, as we all know, of jazz but more than that he was a perfect gentleman; he was a wonderful man.” - Vancouver bandleader Dal Richards, still performing as he heads towards his 90th birthday next month.

“His drawing power, his mystique as a musician, was so big that he remained at the top of his game until the end … Oscar Peterson has been the musician every musician in the world can look up to and aspire to.” - Andre Menard, artistic director and co-founder of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

“One of the bright lights of jazz has gone out.” - French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“His musical legacy will live on, as will his generous spirit in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.” - Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner.

“They were both moved to meet each other. These were two men with humble beginnings who rose to very illustrious levels.” - Former prime minister Jean Chretien on a meeting he arranged between Peterson and South African leader Nelson Mandela.

“He just drove the whole bus.” - Senator Tommy Banks, also a pianist.

, Contributor, Jakarta

Even though it is now almost four decades old (officially opened on Aug. 24, 1968 by Governor Ali Sadikin), for people in general, the Jakarta Academy (Akademi Jakarta: AJ) may sound unfamiliar.

Many young people today do not know what Jakarta Academy is.

At several point news involving Jakarta Academy has emerged, but they were not stories that put the Jakarta Academy in its proper light as a respectable board of artists/cultural academicians.

The appreciation toward Jakarta Academy in society today seems insignificant. Yet, there used to be a time when Jakarta Academy was highly praised-way back when Ali Sadikin was still the governor of Jakarta. That era has passed; things have changed.

What followed that era were controversies. Once every three years, when the time came to name new members of the Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta: DKJ) to be changed, various opinions surfaced regarding Jakarta Academy’s right to appoint those members.

The year 2002 was a year of tension in this regard. Many disagreed with the Jakarta Academy’s methods for choosing the members of the Jakarta Art Council.

Those who opposed were always the loudest. Some even thought that it would be best if the artists did the picking, just like they did in 1968. A group that calls themselves Masyarakat Seniman Jakarta (Jakarta Artists Community) tried to push that concept, and (as expected) was unsuccessful.

There were only three active members in the Jakarta Academy in 2002: Iravati Sudiarso, Ramadhan KH, and Taufik Abdullah, and yet they managed to form the new DKJ under the captainship of Ratna Sarumpaet.

The leadership of this woman activist brought in a disciplined, rigorous atmosphere, but sometimes deviated from the established working system of the institution. At one point, paintings were moved from DKJ to her house for safety measures, because their maintenance was apparently unsatisfactory.

The maintenance cost, however, was still charged to DKJ. As expected, this decision was protested by the artists, especially the painters. The critics were of the opinion that this just proved that Jakarta Academy’s choice of personnel was questionable, and the paintings were finally returned to the Jakarta Art Council’s office.

Initially, there were 10 inaugural members of the Jakarta Academy. They comprised artists/cultural academicians who, according to DKJ, met the following requirements: established in any field of arts/culture; proven to continuously excel in that field; and generally known as a cultural intellect.

Those first 10 were Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (Director), Moh. Said Rekso Hadioprodjo (Vice Director), and Mochtar Lubis (Vice Director), with Affandi, Asrul Sani, D. Djajakusuma, H.B. Jassin, Popo Iskandar, Rusli, and Soedjatmoko as members. It is indubitable that these artists were the gems of their time. Their names exuded authority and accountability.

It is worth noting here that the early years of the Jakarta Arts Center — Taman Ismail Marzuki are often referred to as "the honeymoon", which lasted until Ali Sadikin left the office of governor of Jakarta. There was no anticipation of what should be done after the inevitable end of this honeymoon.

After Sadikin, still inevitably, the process of Golkar-ization made its way into Jakarta Arts Center. Pancasila became the sole principle in every aspect of life in this country. The artists got their Pancasila courses (P4), including the writers.

The honeymoon turned into years of tension and hesitation in dealing with the new bureaucracy that was more political in nature than anything else.

Meanwhile, a number of the elders at the Jakarta Academy died, one after the other. Affandi, Said, and Takdir passed away. Jakarta Academy chose their replacements. Budiardji and Mukti Ali became two new members. Soedjatmoko then retired because he was appointed as the new rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. He was replaced by Umar Kayam. The membership of Jakarta Academy began to resemble a random patchwork quilt pattern.

Until its new formation in 2002, with 27 members, Jakarta Academy’s membership had never exceeded 10 people. Unfortunately, many of the newly named members were not in good health, such as Asrul Sani, Mochtar Lubis, and Mukti Ali. The three of them died in 2004; Rusli in 2005, Ramadhan KH in 2006, and Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri in 2007. Now there are only 21 members, with Taufik Abdullah as Director, and Goenawan Mohamad and Misbah Yusa Biran as Vice Directors.

Questions could be posed: When looking in the mirror, how does Jakarta Academy see itself? Several people, such as Ignas Kleden, Nono Anwar Makarim, Sitor Situmorang, and Mochtar Pabottingi, seem to avoid Jakarta Academy events.

Some others do not seem to meet the "well-known cultural intellect" requisite. How will Jakarta Academy solve its internal problems?

The Jakarta Academy ceremony that bestowed Sutardji Calzoum Bachri and Ali Sadikin awards on Dec. 10 underlined the reasons why Jakarta Academy must pull through its current identity crisis.

Amid the mass amnesia about its better days and doubts about its current ability, the ceremony re-announced the existence of Jakarta Academy, showing that it is still meaningful. The pros and cons regarding the art awards have been around since Rendra (1975), and probably will always be. What is clear is that eventually the presentation of the awards became little more than a matter of routine-since 2003 they have been handed out regularly, with two being given out in 2004, and three in 2006.

Yet, because the presentation has become so routine, the award’s prestige has declined.

This year’s prizes, however, have, somehow, seemed to have the potential to revive a bit of the glory of Jakarta Academy’s better days.

A case in point is the cultural oration by Sutardji Calzoum Bachri that has emerged from the event as an important factor in reviving and enhancing the appreciation towards this awards ceremony. He articulately expressed his attitude toward and place in the history of our arts, especially literature.

However, the same cannot be said for the award presentation ceremony for poet Sutardji and former governor Ali Sadikin. The selection of the venue, Teater Kecil (Little Theater), alone spotlighted the chronic diseases of poor planning and poor implementation that have plagued the Jakarta Academy secretariat from the outset.

No matter how valid and appropriate the bestowing of the Jakarta Academy Charter of Merit for Groundbreaking Efforts in Culture and Civilization on Ali Sadikin, the cramped venue, with its narrow rows of chairs allowing very little space to move, let alone allow old friends to congratulate the governor properly with handshakes and warm greetings.

Even the highly respected governor being honored that evening found it difficult to move around. It was a disgrace.

Not that the art center is not a good place to hold prestigious events of this vast import. Sutardji’s 66th birthday celebration on July 19, planned, managed and presented by Yayasan Panggung Melayu (the Melayu Stage Foundation), took place in the art center’s Graha Bakti Budaya theater.

Over a thousand guests, among them ministers, governors, regents, and community figures of various backgrounds, were accommodated in a space and setting completely appropriate for celebrating togetherness in the way artists and their community should be celebrating. To compare those events would be contrasting amateurs with professionals.

In reality, although the awards event did allow the public to catch a brief glimpse of the brilliance of the world of art and culture and its importance to the continuing development of Indonesian civilization, Jakarta Academy’s secretariat missed a prime opportunity to set up a much bigger comeback for the think tank just because of poor planning and presentation.

The various fresh and critical ideas from the individuals present that night, which were supposed to be heard directly by a larger chosen audience, fell on the ears of only 80 people. Why? Why is it that this important event was so poorly publicized and badly scheduled in such a cramped venue, taking things so sadly awry?

The truth is, Jakarta Academy has been needing a real, functional secretariat for so very long; one that can work effectively with the intelligence, spirit, system, and equipment needed. The secretariat should be such that the Jakarta Academy members should be able to communicate with it whenever, from wherever.

Considering that the members of the Jakarta Academy are highly mobile, a professional secretariat has to be able to create a working network. With all the available information technology, everything should be easier. This demand would really not be at all hard to meet in terms of human resources and means. The most difficult thing is to make Jakarta Academy realize this so that corrections and changes can be made.

Finally, as a small note for the end of the year, Jakarta Academy should conduct a dialogue with the current governor of Jakarta regarding the ongoing situation and condition of the Jakarta Arts Center and formulate a cooperative commitment to eliminate the administrative and procedural elements that trap the Jakarta Arts Center management and the Jakarta Art Council in a bureaucratic jumble.

The bureaucrats tasked with facilitating art and cultural activities must learn to take into consideration that art events and performances are not a matter of routine, they are creative efforts; prestigious efforts that require in-depth, careful planning and professional presentation.

Often, out of misunderstanding, the bureaucrats have seemed to be paying no attention to this, and tensions have become unavoidable. Most often, the bureaucrats have had the clout to push through what they considered appropriate, but this has not always meant that their decisions and policies are right or apt in terms of the important and pivotal role played in society by the arts and culture.

The Jakarta Academy provides the one true ray of hope for the art and culture community to put the Jakarta Arts Center onto a new path of development toward making Jakarta another cultural center of the world.

This goal was a part of the vision of Ali Sadikin and was also mentioned over and over again by former governor Sutiyoso.

Now is the time for everyone to stop just talking about the problems and to take concrete action toward transforming Jakarta Academy and the Jakarta Arts Center into the dynamic and authoritative vehicles necessary to powering a well-planned, meaningful and life altering cultural movement for Indonesia.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Eagles are typically categorized as rock music but they would probably happily accept an offer to play on the Grand Ole Opry, the venerable country music radio show performed live in Nashville, singer Don Henley says.

“That would be an honour,” Henley told the Associated Press recently.

And why not? The group that once epitomized the excesses of ’70s rock stardom has the biggest-selling country album of the year so far with “Long Road Out of Eden.”

The double-disc set, The Eagles first studio album in 28 years, has sold two million in the United States and topped Billboard’s country album chart for four weeks since its Oct. 30 release, edging out country stars Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.

While the Eagles have always had a kinship with country music, they have mostly been thought of as a rock band with country influences. Today, they are placed squarely in the country camp, but Henley is not complaining.

“As long as we’re on the charts. Any chart will do,” he joked from his Dallas home.

“I’m sort of proud of that,” he continued. “I’m glad that we’ve been accepted because there is some rather pointed political commentary on this album. Others have found the going to be difficult. I think we’ve been around for so long that people know what to expect from us and just take what they like.”

Henley, 60, cannot totally explain the success of “Long Road Out of Eden.” While some of it may be Baby Boomer nostalgia, he believes it comes down to the quality of the work.

“People ask ‘Why are you still doing this? You’ve accomplished everything. There’s nothing left.’ I never hear painters being asked why they still want to paint after 60 or novelists why they want to write after age 60,” he said.

“It’s insulting, as if we’re only doing it for the money and the glory and not for the creative and spiritual aspect. Writing songs and performing for people is my life. It’s what keeps me young and interested and curious and vital.”

The album’s first single, “How Long,” is a sturdy country rocker that recalls early hits like “Take it Easy.” The song reached No. 24 on the country singles chart, their best showing since “Lyin’ Eyes” went to No. 8 in 1975.

The second single, “Busy Being Fabulous,” is due out next month and feels more pop than country, but Henley says the Eagles have always been a “musical mutt,” influenced by all forms of American music.

“We don’t sit down and calculate or target anything,” he said. “It’s hard enough just to write songs, and they come out in various ways. We’ve always done that. ‘Hotel California’ had a lot of different material, and so did ‘One of These Nights.’ So it’s not like this album is radically different.”

What is different, though, is country music. There’s been a lot of cross-pollination between rock and pop and country, and “country music is now akin to what my generation was listening to in the ’60s and ’70s,” Henley said.

“Certainly, country is one of the last bastions of good songwriting - and of singing in tune,” he added.

Though they are most closely identified with Los Angeles, the Eagles have strong ties to Nashville. Henley has sung duets with Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire and Kenny Rogers. It was Rogers who brought Henley and his then-band Shiloh from Texas to California in the late ’60s to produce their album.

More recently, guitarist Joe Walsh joined Kenny Chesney for some shows, and all of the Eagles - Henley, Walsh, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit - performed together at last month’s Country Music Association Awards.

All of this is gratifying, Henley says, but these days the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has other things to think about.

“Frankly, right now I’m more focused on my daughter’s 12th birthday coming up,” he said.

Chingy has been known to drop booty-shakin’ jams ever since "Jackpot," his 2003 debut.But now, at 27, he’s ready to make us … think?On the St. Louis rapper’s new CD "Hate It or Love It" — easily his best — Chingy has turned away from songs like "Make That Ass Talk" and let us see his more thoughtful side. "Lovely Ladies" pays homage to the women in his life, including his mother, aunts and sister. "How We Feel," featuring Anthony Hamilton, is Chingy’s version of "What’s Going On."The CD also features female-friendly "Fly Like Me" featuring Amerie; "Gimme Dat," a reunion with Ludacris and Bobby Valentino; an angry-sounding title track; and several other worthy party jams such as "Check My Swag" and "Kick Drum."The thoughtful side has been there all along but has been overshadowed by his irresistible and popular club songs, he says."I’ve always made music like this, since I was 13 or 14," says the Walnut Park native who now spends most of his time in Atlanta.Like any good rapper, Chingy has been paying attention to current events and is speaking out. "A lot of messed-up stuff has happened, and people need to hear some of that so they can be aware," he said. "It’s time to start paying attention to what’s going on in the ghettos and ‘hoods, rather than attacking hip-hop. Attack the problem hip-hop was built from, and then fix that." "Hate It or Love It" is Chingy’s first CD since reuniting with the Atlanta-based, Ludacris-Chaka Zulu-fronted Disturbing Tha Peace camp a year ago. They fell out publicly a few years ago over money. It’s also his first album with Def Jam Records after three on Capitol.During a recent interview in New York the day before "Hate It or Love It" dropped, Chingy had more to say about the new CD, declining CD sales, his return to the Disturbing Tha Peace camp, haters and more.That comes from me getting back with Disturbing Tha Peace. I know there will be haters, people who didn’t want to see this happen. But there are also people who want to see me back.There was a little anger involved, but I’m not an angry individual at all. I get mad like everyone else, but I keep a smile on my face so you’d never know it.These are people who don’t like another man’s situation because they’re not in that position. They’re on the outside looking in, and they’re judging. I come across that a lot, almost every day.It’s a beautiful thing. The whole situation was a misunderstanding … like falling out with a family member, when you’re not cool for a while and then you get back cool. Now, it’s like I never left. Everyone’s on the same page.A lot of politicians say we degrade women, so I did that song to show appreciation to all the women in my life, let them know we don’t just call them bitches and hos. But that is a reality. There are bitches and hos out there.Capitol promotes singles more than albums, and they kept dropping the ball. They didn’t go full throttle. Peoples’ expectations are so high nowadays, if you don’t do three or four (million), it’s not good enough. They overlook that you’re still doing good. They want you to do great-great-great.

TOKYO - Japanese monks and nuns hit the catwalk in Tokyo on Saturday in a bid to spread Buddhism among younger people in this rapidly aging society.

The fashion show opened with a Buddhist prayer set to a hip-hop beat at the centuries-old Tsukiji Honganji temple, where nearly 40 monks and nuns from eight major Buddhist sects showed off elaborate robes in an effort to win back believers.

Five monks from each school walked on the runway, then chanted prayers and wrapped up in a grand finale with confetti resembling lotus petals.

Buddhist monks traditionally wear simple black robes. But to appeal to more fashion-conscious youth, the monks wore green and yellow clothes, some with gold embroidery. Others wore elaborate, multilayered robes.

“Their robes were gorgeous,” said Sayaka Anma, one of the audience in her 20s, after the monks’ show. “I was a bit surprised in the beginning, but it was very moving.”

More than 1,200 years after it first arrived from mainland Asia, Buddhism in Japan is in crisis, priests say.

Almost three-quarters of Japan’s population of 120 million are registered as Buddhist, but for many, the only time they enter a temple is to attend a funeral. That has sent many of the country’s 75,000 temples into financial trouble.

Japan’s aging population has meant more funerals, but the declining population and birth rate means fewer young people to share the bill to keep temples afloat.

“We wanted to show the young people that Buddhism is cool, and temples are not a place just for funerals,” said Koji Matsubara, a chief monk at Tsukiji.

The Tsukiji Honganji offers theological seminars in English for foreign visitors, and has fitted its main hall with a pipe organ for western-style weddings to attract young couples. Some other temples have also introduced cafes, art galleries and other innovations to reach out to young people who are interested in a different lifestyle.

“Many of us priests share the sense of crisis, and a need to do something to reach out to people,” said priest Kosuke Kikkawa, 37, one of the organizers of Saturday’s event. “We won’t change Buddha’s teachings, but perhaps we need a different presentation that can touch the feelings of the people today.”

The Ministry for Culture and Islamic Guidance said illegal studios would be closed and rap singers “confronted”.

An official condemned rappers for using very vulgar words, but it was not clear if the whole genre was being banned.

Rap music in Farsi is increasingly popular among young men in Tehran, with lyrics covering political, social and sexual themes.

Iranians wanting to record an album or stage a concert need to get official permission.

Some songs are approved by the ministry, but most are circulated through a growing underground market for rap.

The culture ministry official, Mohammad Dashtgoli, was quoted by the official Irna news agency as saying he wanted to “find a solution” to internet distribution of the music.

Iranian rappers are inspired by the Iranian exile community in Los Angeles - one of the main centres of American rap.

Young Iranian singers are trying to replicate the accents and subject material used by many US artists.

The campaign is the latest attempt by the Iranian authorities to stop Western values gaining ground at the expense of traditional Islamic morality, correspondents say.

Earlier this month Iranian newspapers printed a list of vices that the police would target, including “decadent” films, drugs and alcohol.

But their main focus appears to be women wearing make-up and using hats instead of headscarves.

In the last six months, tens of thousands of women have been warned or arrested because of their clothes.

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly backed the police action.

Seven is supposed to be a lucky number, and for some Canadian musicians, 2007 was truly the year of the jackpot. Top spot among Fortune’s darlings belonged to Feist, who scored a double bonanza when Apple Inc. chose not just her single (1234) but her video for a relentless series of TV ads pitching the iPod. World fame and four Grammy nominations ensued. Not bad for a down-to-earth anti-diva from Calgary who, before she refashioned herself as a pop chanteuse, nearly shredded her vocal cords wailing with punk bands.

Fortune also smiled on Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Montreal conductor who snagged two major posts across the Atlantic (principal conductor in Rotterdam, principal guest conductor with the London Philharmonic) even though he had almost no profile in Europe. As of next fall, when our world-renowned singers (including Ben Heppner, Adrianne Pieczonka and Measha Bruggergosman, all of whom had good years) cross the water, they may have a compatriot leading the orchestra.

Nelly Furtado surged back into view in 2007, mainly because she had the luck to pick the right guy to write and produce her album for her. Timbaland, whom Furtado barely acknowledged as she triumphed at last spring’s Juno Awards, refashioned her sound completely, adding her to the string of prominent musicians (including Justin Timberlake, Bjork, Duran Duran and Madonna) who went to the ubiquitous beat doctor for career refreshment this year.

Montreal pop musician Patrick Watson came from behind with his Close to Paradise disc to snag the second annual Polaris Prize for best Canadian album, beating Feist and Arcade Fire among others. Also in Montreal, Kent Nagano lived up to almost all the high expectations that greeted him when he arrived as new music director of l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, though the orchestra has yet to announce any serious recording projects with its American-born conductor, in spite of a $100,000 annual grant from the city to raise the orchestra’s recording profile.

Gram Parsons knew how to live.

“The simple facts are these,” David Meyer writesin “Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsonsand His Cosmic American Music,” a new biography on thepioneer of country-rock music. “Gram Parsons lookedlike a movie star, sang like an angel, wrote like a poet,slept with every woman he wanted, took the most and the bestdrugs, hung out with the coolest people, and set the musicaltrends for the next two generations.”

But it was his death that made Parsons a legend.

And like everything else he did, Gram Parsons made surethat it was a spectacular parting shot.

After he died from a drug overdose on Sept. 19, 1973, hisfriends granted the 26-year-old musical prodigy’s lastrequest by stealing his body at the Los AngelesInternational Airport, from where it was to be shipped toLouisiana for a proper burial, and returning it to hisspiritual hideaway at California’s Joshua Tree NationalMonument, where they set fire to the casket in a primitiveattempt to cremate his body.

Thirty-five years later, that story - along with a musicallegacy that inspired and influenced everyone from the Byrdsand the Rolling Stones to Emmylou Harris and LucindaWilliams - has made Parsons even larger in death than he wasin life.

“His personality is inseparable from his music,”Meyer says. “His music has a lot of power and drawspeople in, but also it’s the idea of the way he livedand died.

“He has one of the most famous deaths in rockhistory, and certainly one of the strangest.”

Before the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt made country-rockcommercial, it was Parsons who paved the way.

A native son of Waycross, Ga., Parsons grew up in WinterHaven, Fla., where his family made (and squandered) afortune in Florida’s citrus industry. He idolizedElvis, and by his early teens, he was already playing incover bands. Rich and spoiled, he got away with in talentwhat he lacked in discipline.

Although he was reared in the cradle of country music, itwasn’t until his abbreviated stay at HarvardUniversity, where he left after one semester, that Parsonsheard Merle Haggard for the first time and decided that wasthe music for him.

He later helped steer the seminal ’60spsychedelic-rock band the Byrds in a country direction withtheir groundbreaking “Sweethearts of the Rodeo”album in 1968, and within that same year, he

In yet another setback for Remy Ma, the rapper’s friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph has filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against her, according to Reuters. Remy Ma (real name: Reminisce Smith) is accused of shooting Barnes-Joseph in July after a dispute that took place on a street in New York.

In the suit, reportedly filed in a New York court on Friday, Barnes-Joseph accuses Remy Ma of “willfully, wantonly and maliciously” shooting her. The suit also names the rapper’s record companies, including Universal Music Group and Sure Shot Recordings, as defendants, alleging they encouraged Remy Ma to engage in violent behavior as part of her image.

Ivan Fisher, her lawyer, said Barnes-Joseph’s lawsuit was “looking for the deepest pocket it could find” and called it “irresponsible,” according to Reuters.

Barnes-Joseph reportedly claims in the suit that she suffered severe physical harm and mental anguish after the July shooting, which took place on a New York street after a dispute over money missing from the rapper’s belongings. Remy Ma fled the scene but later turned herself in and was charged on counts of attempted murder, assault and weapon possession.

Remy Ma is due to stand trail next year on charges of gang assault and witness tampering stemming from an August incident in which prosecutors say the rapper ordered a group of men to attack Barnes-Joseph’s boyfriend. The man suffered a shattered jaw in the attack, according to The Associated Press. Remy Ma has pleaded not guilty to the charges, vehemently denying that she shot Barnes-Joseph. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.