история одной мелодии

Оказывается, у серф-хита Дика Дейла "Misirlou", известного всем по саундтреку Pulp Fiction, старые ближневосточные корни: http://www.dinosaurgardens.com/archives/297
(via MetaFilter)

И у самого Дика Дейла тоже ближневосточные корни.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Dale:

Dick Dale (born Richard Anthony Monsour on May 4, 1937, in Quincy, Massachusetts) is a pioneer of surf rock and one of the most influential guitarists of the early 1960s. He experimented with reverb and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers.

... He was born to a Lebanese father and a Polish mother, and soon learned to play the drums, the ukulele, the trumpet and finally the guitar. Among his early musical influences was his uncle, an oud player performing belly dance music. Much of his early music shows a middle eastern influence; Dale is often credited as one of the first electric guitarist to employ exotic scales in his playing.

Так что вот.

тайны маркетинга

Уже давно наблюдаю над процессом огламуривания коньячных бутылок и картонок для них, а также всевозможных подарочных наборов, а разгадка-то, оказывается, одна:

Since the early 1990s, cognac has seen a significant transformation in its American consumer base, from a predominantly older, affluent white demographic to a younger, urban, and significantly African-American crowd. The spirit has become ingrained in hip-hop culture, celebrated in songs by artists ranging from Tupac Shakur to Busta Rhymes to Lil Jon, among many others. It is estimated that between 60 and 80% of the American cognac market is African American, the majority of whom have indicated in studies that the endorsement of popular musical artists is a factor in their preference for the drink, which also spawned its nickname 'Yak' (or 'Yack'). Many have credited hip-hop culture as the savior of cognac; after nearly floundering in 1998 due to economic crisis in Asia - cognac's #1 market at the time - the cognac industry has seen its annual sales climb to approximately $1 billion in America by 2003, a growth paralleled by hip-hop's rise into the mainstream of American music.

Работают на целевую аудиторию, ага.

(музыкой навеяло)