Deep Purple. Hmmm. Nowadays, many would be too ashamed to admit defeat when it comes to the power of the original Deep Purple. Like most great bands from the early 70s, they went on too far, too old, too “dad-rock” for today’s heavy metal fans to express deep love.

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Thanks to kabukiboy who pointed us to the mp3 and site on the ricecooker forum board, we have today an introduction of sorts to the history of rock music in China. Please do not expect anything raw, crusty, punk rock etc. This is a bunch of songs of the early pioneers, mostly slow rock and one rather thrashy power metal. We’ll get to the more cutting edge and uncommercial stuff soon enough!

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AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask in our last 30 seconds: the role you see of the artist in a time of war?

ARUNDHATI ROY: Well, I think the problem is that artists are not a homogenous lot of people, and some of them are as rightwing and establishment as they can get, you know, so the role of the artist is not different from the role of any human being. You pick your side, and then you fight, you know?

But in a country like India, I’m not seeing that many radical positions taken by writers or poets or artists, you know? It’s all the seduction of the market that has shut them up like a good medieval beheading never could.

AMY GOODMAN: And what do you think artists should do?

ARUNDHATI ROY: Exactly what anyone else should do, which is to pick your side, take your position, and then go for it, you know?

read an excellent interview with Arundhati Roy on India, Iraq, the US empire and dissent:

democracynow.org

listen to the interview:

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