Asian music isn’t all bad, is it?

“Asia is the continent rhythm forgot. At best Asian music is off-brand American pop, like Sonny Bono in a karaoke bar. At worst Asian music sounds as if a truck full of wind chimes collided with a stack of empty oil drums during a birdcall contest.”
-PJ O’Rourke

I like to think I have an eclectic, worldly taste in music. When my mp3 player is on “shuffle,” it’s anything goes– from Swedish indie to Mexican pop to one of my personal favorites, the Islamic Bono (yeah, that’s right). But as open-minded as I try to be, I can’t help but agree with the quote above. I’ve simply never come across a song or band from Asia (as in “Far East” Asia) that excites me, perhaps because the the music, like so many of the Asian languages, is simply too foreign for me to even begin to understand or appreciate.

So I implore you, Vagablogging readers: Is Asia really the “continent rhythm forgot”? Are there any bands or songs out there I should seek out to fill this gaping hole in my musical education?

Of course, for more on world music, you should really be reading the good people over at Perceptive Travel.