By Jeffrey Wasserstrom This posting about the politics of pop concerts in Shanghai is mostly about an American duo (Jan and Dean), whose hits included “Surf City,” and the hard-to-categorize Icelandic songstress Bjork, who last week made headlines and drew the ire of the Chinese state by saying the words “Tibet, Tibet” after performing a song called “Declare Independence" (on the heels of which, there was apparent tinkering with Harry Connick Jr.'s song list at......

So everyone is reporting what we warned you about. Here's what the AP said: China's Culture Ministry has nixed a concert this month by rap artist Jay-Z at Shanghai's Hongkou Stadium, citing a need to protect local hip-hop fans from nasty lyrics, a report said Wednesday. "Some of Jay-Z's songs contain too much vulgar language," the state-run Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted Sun Yun, of promoter KS Production Co., in explaining the ministry's reason for refusing......

We didn't go to the Rolling Stones concert last night. And we have only heard from one person who did go, second hand at that. Here's the message we received today: my mate said the stones were ho-hum. bad sound. late start. no cabs at the end and rain. no beer. but mick jagger pretty strong performance. The Associated Press, the AFP and Reuters all had people at the show. They all talked about the......

The Rolling Stones arrived in Shanghai yesterday and the media noticed. We read a couple of these stories before we got bored. The San Francisco Chronicle reports on how a "mix of censorship, daunting bureaucracy and an immature commercial market" make Mainland China a "wasteland" (read, Michael Bolton, Elton John, Backstreet Boys, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, etc.) when it comes to an international music scene. The story says 65 to 70 percent of the Rolling......

Rapper and hardened TV detective Ice-T has been booked[1] to play at Shanghai's Club Pegasus on July 21, alongside fellow Rhyme Syndicate member Afrika Islam. As an originator of "true story" gangsta rap, as well as the man who did battle with ultra-conservative Tipper Gore over his heavy metal band's single "Cop Killer," we can't help but admire the ambitious promoters who've orchestrated the New Jack Hustler's impending arrival in China. Just two years ago,......