Will There be a Daft Punk-Theme F1 Car at Monaco This Weekend?

Running an Formula 1 team is insanely expensive, which is why it's important to line up a suite of deep-pocketed sponsors.  

Earlier this year, the Lotus team secured a deal with Columbia Records, home to Daft Punk.  This has led to speculation thatKimi Räikkönen's ride may have a definite Daft Punk theme.  

(Via Opposite Lock and John)

Where Music Has Been Declared Illegal

One of the cool things about traveling is that you have an opportunity to gain new perspectives on parts of the world that get lost in the noise when you're back home.  Here in Singapore (I'm at the Music Matters conference this week), some of the talk turned on what's happening with music in Mali.

If you've been following international events, you'll know that Mali is being wracked by civil war with Islamists in the north trying to push into the southern part of the country. The Islamists are firmly in control of the north, which means people are being forced to live by their rules.  One of their rules is that music is forbidden.

About nine months ago, the militants declared that all music was illegal and banned all of it.  Local musicians were threatened with death. Some chose exile.  Venues have been shuttered.  The world famous Festival in the Desert (which has attracted artists such as Damon Albarn and Robert Plant in the past) was chased out of the country.  The militants even rounded up guitars and drum kits and set them on fire.

This tragedy flies in the face of the fact that Mali has produced some amazing musicians, including Ali Farka Toure (check out his version of the blues), Afro-pop star Salif Keita and soul singer Rokia Traore.  There's also a thriving hip-hop scene exemplified by the socially- and politically-conscious Amkoullel. 

Music has been an entrenched party of life in Mali for centuries.  It's been use in ceremonies, rituals, celebrations and storytelling for as long as people have occupied this part of Africa.

But why ban music?  In a county where the average household gets by on $246 a year and a literacy rate of under 30%,  aren't there more pressing issues?

There are theories.  Some say that the religious fanatics view music has a distraction from worshiping and obeying God.  Others say that this is economic sabotage.  By banning one of Mali's largest exports, the rebels hope to bring the central secular government to its knees.  Or maybe it's just a tactic for terrorizing the population.

But musicians are fighting back.  Fatoumata Diawara, a singer from the south, recently organized a protest event featuring some 40 other musicians.  Their goal is to mobilize people against the repressive measures of the Islamists and to spur the government in the capital of Bamako to do...something.

The situation is worth watching.  We should wish them all the luck in the universe.

Still Hanging Out in Singapore....

I'm here in the Lion City for Music Matters, an annual gathering of music types from across Asia and other parts of the world.  There's also quite a bit of business being discussed in the background.

For example, I had a meeting with Desmond, a representitive of the Malaysian government here trying to drum up cultural business for his country.  And that includes pop and rock music.

"But aren't there issues regarding what kind of music is allowed in the country?" I asked.  "I mean, I've heard stories..."

Desmond--dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and with a goatee, paused slightly.  "I think that those reports are overblown.  Malaysia isn't necessarily like that.  As long as acts are---" Another pause.  "---I don't want to use the word 'decent,' because that sounds weird.  We are open to Western acts playing our country."

That's good because check out this story about Deep Purple when they played Malaysia in the early 80s.  Hats?

Daft Punk Helmets Selling Like Crazy

One of these would look good on the shelf next to some Darth Vader heargear.  From The Wall Street Journal:

[A]s fans awaited the release of Daft Punk's first new album in eight years, demand has soared for facsimiles of their iconic headgear. Some cash-strapped fans are proposing long-term payment plans; others are fretting over whether they will be able to find models that fit their heads.

"Price is not an object," wrote 27-year-old Boston-area fan Trevor Bates in a recent posting on a popular Daft Punk fan site, saying he was prepared to spend at least $2,000 and warning he also had "a large head."

Read the full story here. Thanks to John for the link.

New Music Discovery App Endorsed by Apple Dude Steve Wozniak

Isn't this interesting: as Apple continues to push ahead with trying to launch their streaming music service, Steve Jobs' old friend Steve Wozniak is behind a new music discovery app called Yap.  Mashable has a good description of it.  (I also like their icon.)

Yap Music, a company advised by Steve Wozniak, is moving into the burgeoning social music market after building a popular second-screen app for television.

Social music brings music to like-minded listeners and serves as a platform for artists to reach and cultivate fans. As of late, music discovery is proving to be one of the hottest verticals in tech.

Yap Music, which debuts today on the App store, is planning a head-to-head battle with Twitter #music and a slew of other established giants like Shazam, Pandora and Spotify, which is valued in the $3 billion range.

Each of these services are desperately searching for ways to find your next on-repeat-all-day song. But Yap differs in its methods of gathering data, focusing on Facebook's social graph rather than Twitter's trending topics. They're taking this approach to distribute songs, music videos and pictures to users. This move gives music creators just as much stake in the success of the service as Yap employees, and could create an army of enthusiasts and brand advocates to bolster adoption.

Efficiently tapping Facebook for music is considered to be something of a Holy Grail for people into this sort of thing.  Twiiter Music should be very worried.  Continue reading.