Mixed Media

Hey, remember Knut? He was the high-profile, environmental poster-bear who made an appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair with Leonardo diCaprio during "Knut-mania," a time when Europeans flocked by the millions to see him in his Berlin zoo. He was so hot that a neighboring animal died and no one noticed.

The appeal of "Cute Knut" was in his miniature size; he was a cute little white fuzzball who romped around with his keeper. But, times are changing. The paparazzi attention has subsided and the chubby cub has been asked to slim down. It's all summed up in a Der Spiegel headline: "Fatty Knut Put on Strict Diet."

Knut's caretakers claim he weighs 132 lbs, but they're not sure because their scale only goes up to 110 lbs. Apparently, they're keeping a vigilant watch on him to ensure Knut doesn't steal scraps from the kitchen table while his meals are being prepared.

Critiques of his appearance, tales of bad behavior—Lindsay Lohan could have told him such is the life of a media darling.

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One-upping Brian Eno, diminutive New York electronic musician Moby has created a web site that offers royalty-free music for films. The project, called "Moby Gratis," features 70 unreleased compositions that independent filmmakers can use to accompany their movies. Moby told Billboard magazine that he wanted to "help out the independent film community" since licensing music can be "the hardest part" of low-budget filmmaking. If Moby's past output is any indication, half the songs will be hypnotic, melancholy tracks that sample obscure blues musicians, and the other half will be irritating, pseudo-mystical synthy treacle that makes you want to scrub your ears out with Fugazi. Choose carefully, young directors!

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Outspoken Princeton professor, decorated scholar, and bestselling author Cornel West recently released a political hip-hop album that features songs about topics like September 11th, racial profiling, the "N" word, and the Bush administration. It's no wonder that Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations has been slugged "Edutainment to the fullest."

With a spoken word delivery backed by hip-hop beats, West reminds me of Gil Scott-Heron, a political spoken word artist from the 60s and 70s. Similar to Scott-Heron and also the 70s spoken word group the Last Poets, West's CD skewers our nation's political and ethical choices through music. But with guests like Prince, Andre 3000, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, and KRS-One, this album has a more current sound.

In an NPR interview about the CD, West explained that "A paradigm shift is taking place in hip hop. It's going back to the best of the tradition, by connecting with young folk…In the end it's about dignity and respect." And I think 2007 is ripe for it.

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Ozomatli, the Los Angeles-based Latin-rock-funk band, is touring the world on the government's dime.

U.S. officials, who I'm sure are eager to present an image of an America different from the footage of soldiers fighting insurgents in Iraq, recently sent the Grammy-winning band to Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia on a U.S. State Department grant. Their trip included visits to orphanages, schools, and community centers. They also hosted master classes and music workshops.

A government-sponsored trip of diplomacy really does suit this funk band, which was founded 12 years ago—at a labor workers' protest—to promote issues of social justice and community involvement.

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