Seeing a gorgeous dancer on stage with a heavy-metal band is nothing unusual.

But when the dancer is Lebanese and the singer Israeli and they hold the flags of their respective countries -- which remain in a state of war -- alongside each other, you have a recipe for potential trouble.

The controversial joint appearance and performance by Lebanese belly dancer Johanna Fakhry (reportedly based in France) and the Israeli heavy-metal band Orphaned Land last month at the Hellfest music festival in Clisson, France only recently emerged in the news and is now stirring the pot.

Amateur video footage purportedly showing the performance depicts a member of Orphaned Land singing in what appears to be Hebrew while Fakhry dances around him wearing traditional belly dancer's grab and holding a Lebanese flag.

She then approaches the singer and helps him hold a large Israeli flag before taking her own Lebanese flag and brandishing it alongside the Israeli before the audience.

"Statement number one / the syrian people will not be humiliated / statement number one / we sure won't stay like this / statement number one / from the Houran comes good news / statement number one / the syrian people are revolting..."

The lyrics to the latest underground anthem of the Syrian uprising are bolder than most of the chants heard so far in the streets, and could help galvanize a movement that has spread in fits and starts outside the small rural town of Deraa where it began.

"Biyan raqam wahid" or "statement number one" was released online anonymously, and for good reason. The song appears to call for outright revolution and takes on the government over corruption, sectarian fear-mongering and violent repression, accusations that could easily land the artists in jail. (Warning, there is some graphic, violent imagery in the video.)

"We live in silence/ It's been years / how long do we have to stay like this--dead / they are always promising reform and freedom / but it seems there is no will / and opinions are banned" it begins, and later: "we have never been against any sect / we are hand in hand against the fake authority."

Sometimes, art imitates life, but other times it struggles just to keep up. So perhaps it is fitting that one of the most popular new songs dedicated to the uprising in Egypt is named after a hashtag on Twitter, news junkies' virtual lifeline to the popular protests sweeping the country.

The song "#Jan25," produced by Sami Matar and featuring North American and Arab hip-hop artists Freeway, the Narcicyst, Omar Offendum, Amir Sulaiman and Ayah, has so far racked up more than 60,000 views on YouTube and injected new life into the discussion about the role of popular music in political activism.

"Something felt really special about what was happening in Egypt, and I wanted to take part by showing solidarity," the Los Angeles-based Syrian American rapper Omar Chakaki, a.k.a. Omar Offendum, told Babylon & Beyond.

His experience of the protests, like many around the world, was filtered through footage broadcast on Al Jazeera and posted online, which in turn shaped the lyrics:

I heard them say the revolution won't be televised
 Al Jazeera proved them wrong,
Twitter has them paralyzed
80 million strong
And ain't no longer gonna be terrorized
Organized, mobilized, vocalized...

Today an orchestra, tomorrow a state.

With these words, Suhail Khoury, director of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, introduced the Palestine National Orchestra in its debut Friday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

More than 40 Palestinian and foreign musicians came together to make the dream of a national orchestra a reality. The task was not easy, particularly because most of the musicians also play with renowned orchestras around the world. But for most of them, putting together a Palestinian national orchestra is seen as a stepping stone toward building an independent state of Palestine.

“Today we are witnessing the birth of the Palestine National Orchestra at a time when the Palestinian struggle for independence is passing through one of its most critical and difficult moments,” Khoury said.

“The task of bringing Palestinian musicians together to add a new cornerstone in the building of an independent Palestinian state was a very difficult endeavor,” he said.

It is a spectacular vision of a scarred but vibrant city full of odd and beautiful characters dancing and singing, and set to a catchy reggae song calling for "warlords," "corrupt politicians" and "militiamen" to go home and let Lebanon enjoy itself.

The song, "General Suleiman," by the Lebanese pop act Zeid and the Wings, was written a couple of years ago. But the video, directed by the Italian Gigi Roccati, was released about a month ago and uploaded to YouTube just a couple of weeks ago. 

"Foreign intelligence, go home!"  the song goes. "Neighbor influence, go home!"

The video has begun to go viral, especially after an Israeli news website featured it this week. 

Whether the Gaza Strip-bound flotilla hoped to deliver humanitarian aid, break the naval blockade, provoke Israel or a combination of the above, the incident has continued to roil diplomatic waters. Both sides have presented their versions of the event, accusing each other of manipulation.

But for those who despair of regular diplomacy or are fed up with the verbiage, there's the multimedia diplomacy scene. So as high-level diplomatic struggles continue among Israel, the U.N. and Turkey, people are slugging it out on YouTube too.

And there's humor in it, too, depending on the beholder.

Shortly after the deadly flotilla raid, an Israeli satirical website released a music clip that rocked the boat and the Internet. Latma's political humor and satire come from an Israeli right-wing perspective, an alternative to the mainstream variety perceived to be dominated by the left. They have a steady local following but made their international debut with "We Con the World" — a parody of the 1985 hit "We Are the World" — lambasting the declared humanitarian mission of the Gaza flotilla as totally bogus.

The backlash rages on over a recent Arabic pop song by a Lebanese singer that beckons women back to domesticity and is regarded by women's rights activists as sexist and advocating backwardness.

In the latest development, a Lebanese composer and a singer have picked up the gauntlet and released a track that parodies popular Arabic songs considered by some to be patriarchal and demeaning to women.

The song is called "Metlak Mesh Ayzin", or "We're not in need of people like you" and is composed by Toni Abi Karam and performed by May Matar.

"We don't want young men from the era of ignorance. He comes and controls us and says this is manhood," Matar sings in Arabic.

It continues with, "We have young men who take pride in their education..... they are the young men who like girls for their intelligence and compassion. We're not in need of men like you who are only concerned about themselves and their lust."

It's their biggest dream to perform live in concert but they doubt Bahrain is ready for two girls jamming and playing rock and heavy metal on stage.

So at night, 30-year-old "Emz" and 23-year-old "Dyaz", who make up the duo of the Bahraini band Scarlet Tear, bring out the guitar and jam in secret at home.

The next morning, the nose piercings come off and jeans and casual T-shirts are exchanged for slick corporate wear and BlackBerries at work.

Step by step they hope to become Bahrain's first recognized all-female rock band, fighting the taboo and stigma surrounding their music genre and non-mainstream female musicians in their country.

"We want to prove to people that if girls want to do something they can, especially if they put their mind into it. We want to be the first out there and influence others to do the same. If you like something, go along with it and do it," Emz told Babylon & Beyond over the phone from Bahrain. She says that there are no non-mainstream female musicians in Bahrain who publicly announce that they play music.

Yet another wildly commercial R&B giant descended onto Beirut.

This time, Timbaland, the Grammy Award-winning record producer, singer-songwriter and rapper, performed for a crowd at a yacht-studded port, La Marina Dbyaeh, not long ago. 

Timbaland is one of many popular R&B/hip-hop artists who recently performed in Lebanon. The tiny but spirited nation is becoming flush with American stars despite its predilection for European house music. 

In August 2009, Akon and Snoop Dogg performed separately in Beirut. Then Sean Paul, Missy Elliott and Pitbull teamed up in December 2009. Gorillaz will perform this month as part of the Byblos International Festival. 

Timbaland, born Timothy Zachery Mosley, sang more than rapped, an increasingly popular style among artists despite criticism by some in the industry. Though his performance was welcomed by concertgoers as a refreshing alternative to the dominance of techno music, it was saturated with pauses and Timbaland dancing solo.

On the day the army announced the indictment of several soldiers for actions carried out during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza -- including one for manslaughter -- a number of Israeli soldiers were found guilty of another transgression: goofin' around.

Six soldiers filmed a clip showing them in full gear patrolling the streets of Hebron, the Muslim call to prayer audible in the background. The soundtrack changes to Kesha's pop hit "Tik Tok" and the soldiers break out -- weapons, flak jackets and all -- in a choreographed dance, a spoof on a long-since-viral Israeli television skit.

Soldiers have been in trouble before for offensive photography, including trophy pictures taken over corpses. In this case, there were no casualties -- except perhaps some national and institutional pride.

The video was uploaded to YouTube for all to see. Army officials saw and weren't impressed. The soldiers' commanders have been informed of the stunt and will deal with it, media quoted an army statement as saying. The troops could face disciplinary action.

Reactions to the video ranged from amusement to outrage.

The labyrinthine Arab-style medina of Fez, Morocco’s historical capital of trade, culture and religious life, was a remarkable space for the 16th Annual World Sacred Music Festival June 4-13. The expansive and diverse event, with about 60 performances, took place in the walled city's public spaces, traditional palaces and places of worship. The festival, originally started by Moroccan anthropologist Faouzi Skalli in 1994, seems to have spawned a growing worldwide trend of sacred music festivals, including the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles, which is held every three years.

Performers included Amadou and Mariam, a blind couple from Mali who have become international stars; and Jordi Savall, a Catalan composer who is a major figure in early music. There also was an emphasis on providing space for endangered traditions. “Some of these artists are seemingly rejected by globalization, and their traditions are sometimes in danger of disappearing,” said Alain Weber, the artistic director of the festival.

“Sacred” took many forms, from the mystic Sufi poetry of Ustad Gholam Hossain of Afghanistan to the energetic rapping of Casa Crew from Morocco. Groups associated with religious institutions, such as the Baghdad-Jerusalem group, played traditional Jewish music of Baghdad. At the same time, there were numerous performances that are not typically described as “sacred.”

Continue reading: Dispatch from Fez: Sounds and scenes from the World Sacred Music Festival 

-- Merrit Kennedy

Joe Lukawski contributed to this report.

Besides giving Israel the obvious diplomatic grief, international outrage over the flotilla events is spilling into other areas too. Among the first civilian victims of the fallout is the Pixies' concert, now canceled. With only four days to go, the band's management told local producers the show was off. They didn't quite cite a reason, but it's not that difficult to guess.

"We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond our control have conspired against us. We can only hope for better days, in which we will finally present the long awaited visit of the Pixies in Israel," was the message reported on the Ynet website Sunday.

If readers' comments are anything to go by, fans won't be waiting up.

"Your apologies are not accepted," wrote talkbacker #2 in response to the news report, saying he's lost all respect for the band. 

"Yes, it is easier, safer and more lucrative to jump on the Israel-bashing bandwagon," continued the writer, who said he is about to trash all his Pixies CDs, including an original vinyl album.  

"Perhaps your new, political expedient fellow travelers will appreciate you as much as your die-hard fans used to -- but it will be for your political conformity, not your music," a person with the handle farfurfan signed off.