Go to the library or your local music store or iTunes or somewhere and find some music you like from another country. I've been finding myself enjoying more & more African and Nordic music over the last year. Good artists to try out:
Angelique Kidjo – African, Benin – genres: Afropop, Jazz, Gospel, Latin
Ashwin Batish – Indian – genre: hmm, let's call it 80's sitarpop
Chaba Fadela And Cheb Sahraoui – Algerian – genre: Raï
Cheikha Ramitti – Algerian – genre: Raï
Cheb i Sabbah – Algerian/French – genres: dj, North African, global groove
Ekova – French-based, American/Iranian/Algerian – genres: global groove, glossolalia
Gabby Pahinui – Hawaiian – genres: slack key
Garmarna – Swedish – genres: scandanavian folk, rock, trip-hop
Groupa – Swedish – genres: scandanavian folk, jazz, African, Arabic, South American
Hedningarna – Swedish/Finnish – genres: scandanavian folk, Yoik, rock, Aboriginal
Les Yeux Noirs – French – genres: Romani (gypsy), jazz, Yiddish, Klezmer
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Argentinian – genres: rock, salsa, ska, rap, jazz, folk, big band
Mac Umbra – Scottish – genres: bagpipe, salsa, drum, rock (Only place I've found them is on the collection Roots, Reels & Rhythms, but worth seeking out just for that one track)
Maryam Mursal – Somalian – genres: Somali jazz, African, blues, soul
Miriam Makeba – South African – genres: African, jazz, Xhosa, folk
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Pakistani – genres: qawwali, khayal, techno
Pierre Akendengue – Gabonese – genres: African, French, pop
Rasto – Algerian? – genres: Raï, hip hop, reggae
Samy El Bably – Egyptian – genres: Arabian, jazz
Sheila Chandra – English/Indian – genres: raga, Indian pop, Asian fusion, solo voice, drone, folk, plainsong
Sileas – Scottish – genres: folk, harp, puirt a beul
Swåp – Swedish/English – genres: folk, roots, reels
Yma Sumac – Peruvian/American – genres: Incan & South American folk, exotica, lounge (the album Mambo is an entertaining introduction which also shows off her over 3 octave range)
May I also encourage you to eschew the label "world" as one big undistinguished bucket for everything that isn't from the U.S./Canada/U.K./Australia and in English? Imagine if restaurants were classified like that!
Discardia 
Just discovered Vas – http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=9667425&s=143441 , a percussion and vocalist duo that combines Bulgarian, Middle Eastern, and Indian sounds…Azam Ali – http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=626397 has a fabulous voice!
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If you like Gamarna and Hedningarna, I highly recommend Gjallarhorn. They’re one of my favorite bands and are just outstanding musicians. See http://www.gjallarhorn.com. Some of their CDs are available in the U.S. but I haven’t seen their latest one here yet. Worth ordering all the way from Finland!
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I’ve always chuckled about the “world” label, wondering whether it implies that the US is not part of the world.
What, me be literal? 😉
On a musical note, I keep playlists for music in different languages. German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Swedish, Hindi, Breton … where do I get all this stuff, you ask? Well, I work in the Silicon Valley, where at least half my coworkers are transplants from other parts of the world. I love to swap and borrow CDs, and have found a great many interesting artists from tips from friends and coworkers.
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This is great! I have already requested five cd’s from my public library. I recommend Abdullah Ibrahim – South African jazz/folk mix.
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Hey Dinah, all the HTML in your feed is showing up escaped in my feed reader (NetNewsWire) — as in, I see all the angle brackets. Perhaps you can use an Atom feed, which doesn’t have as many problems as RSS.
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There’s a bunch of great “Nordic Roots” music on the Northside label: http://www.noside.com/ They have four $5 hour-long compilation samplers with some great music on them.
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Oh I love the Northside Nordic Roots discs!
I got the first three, gave them to my folks, and now am awaiting them again from my LaLa.com want list.
Didn’t realize there was a 4th to track down… Thanks!
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