149 BEAT POLICE

NEED A GREAT, EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER OR PERSONAL TUTOR? Contact Teacher Jack!

[Convenient New Feature: ARCHIVE of All Articles]

BEAT POLICE ENFORCE GOVERNMENT MUSICAL RHYTHMS

In a bizarre attempt to fight the Western “pollution” of its traditional values, the Russian Republic of Chechnya recently banned all dance music that was either too fast or too slow.

Musa Dadayev, Chechnya’s Minister of Culture, recently put out a statement that makes illegal most modern dance music genres that are typically played in clubs all over the world, from house and techno to dubstep and drum’n’bass.

Dadayev said that “all musical, vocal and choreographic works should only have tempos between 80–116 beats per minute,” in order to please the native Chechen mentality and sense of rhythm.

Russian media reports that Chechen artists have until June 1 to rewrite all music that does not conform with the new rhythm requirements.

“Borrowing musical culture from other countries is inadmissible,” Dadayev said. “We must bring to the people and to the future of our children the cultural heritage of the Chechen people. This includes the entire spectrum of moral and ethical standards of life for Chechens.”

The Chechen government, controlled by strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, wants to preserve the country’s traditional rhythm, and that means excluding from Chechnya’s daily life all musical, vocal, and dance works outside the 80–116 BPM range.

“I have announced the final decision, agreed to by the head of the Chechen Republic,” Musa Dadayev said.

If enforced, the new rule will ban many Western music types, including pop, disco, and rock, leaving Chechens to enjoy only their traditional music genres like khalkaran yish orilli yish.

This regulation is just a rather unconventional way of limiting Western influence on the Russian republic’s conservative Muslim culture.

There may be some hope, however. Hip-hop and rap, which are typically played at speeds between 60 and 140 beats per minute, might, at least in theory, still qualify to please the traditional Chechen “sense of rhythm,” but it is very hard to imagine Dadayev and Kadyrov getting down with Diddy and Ye, especially after someone translates their lyrics!

No specific punishments have been announced so far, but in Chechnya, the beat definitely does not go on.

SOURCE: odditycentral.com