Ayatollah Khamenei doesn't want to face the music--

Strange that I didn't get to this story the minute I saw it--

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.

In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."

Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he said.

Music is an emotional and creative act. I think he is probably irked quite a bit with music that doesn't support his theocracy. I bet the young people that protested against the tilted table elections last year listened to a lot of music, you think? I suppose he probably doesn't care much for dancing either. If I were another sort of blogger entirely (like, one with an audience) I'd suggest inundating him with your surplus tunes--like mix-tapes from old significant others that you were gonna throw out anyway, or pop music you bought when you were younger that totally had a "Best Used by" date. It would be weird in a "Why is my mailbox so full of Gloria Estefan and Richard Marx CD's?" kind of way. Or copies of Footloose.

Instead, I'll just link to something like this: