World Music redefined by blogs

Thanks to Simonini for bringing to light some devoted amateur and maverick professional ethnomusicologists who emphasize the points -- that the world's musics are infinite, its fusions and cross-influences unpredictable and all the time proliferating -- online. Free MP3s and downloads are available  from the deep African Voodoo Funk, Nigerian Igbo Likembe blog, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Ghetto Bassquake, Benn Loxo Du Taccu ("world music for the masses"), the Cool Places blog/radio show. These sites, of course, all have links to others. There's no end to what can be heard, although a quick sampling suggests that the focus is not on field recordings of so-called "primitive" peoples but rather unimaginable adaptations of the tropes that make for international hits with localized traditions and preferences. The sound quality of the files is sometimes less than pristine, but time spent surveying these sites is rewarded with abundant surprise.