Public diplomacy has become something of a buzzword in foreign policy circles. But to lighten things up at the end of the week, I’m launching a new blog feature called Music Diplomacy. Each week I’ll post a song that has something to do with foreign affairs or foreign policy. Sometimes, like this week’s rollout, it will be a pretty strong connection. But other times, it might just be a song I like that happens to make passing reference to a foreign country or city. Other criteria will include availability, sound quality, relevance, and general funkiness, not necessarily in that order. Requests, suggestions and feedback are all welcome.
To kick things off, it seems like there’s no other place to start than this Warren Zevon classic from 1982. The sound quality’s terrible, and some of the details are a bit off, but other than that, what can you say? After 27 years, the Middle East is still the Middle East. So major points for relevance. Plus, if I’m not mistaken, the guy on the kit is Brooklyn native, Liberty DeVitto, one of the most underrated drummers of all time. Looks like another threat to world peace. Send the Envoy: