Real Lyrics to Great Songs

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests with the awards less than two weeks away.

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2011 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters during the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial in Washington. Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests, with the awards a little less than two weeks away. In a Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 letter to Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Grammys, the civil rights activist said his Rainbow Push Coalition was alarmed that there were reductions at a time "when our country needs to celebrate all its cultural traditions."

Hip hop heavyweights known as much for their fiery political lyrics as for their bass-pounding beats have been among the thousands marching, tweeting and sharing dinner with protestors in the Occupy Oakland protests in recent weeks.

Gay and lesbian activists protested an appearance Sunday night by a Jamaican performer whose lyrics, they say, advocate violence against homosexuals.

The La Scala opera house will open its 2010-11 season with Wagner's "Die Walkuere" conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

The famed Milanese opera house announced its 2010-11 season on Friday including 15 operas, six ballets as well as concerts and tours in Belgium, Austria and Argentina - the biggest lineup in the last 20 years.

The announcement comes amid protests against a government reforms of management of the country's state-supported opera houses that would, among other things, limit the ability of successful theaters to pay their musicians, singers and other workers higher wages.

"Die Walkuere" will open the season Dec. 7 and feature some of the most famous Wagnerian singers, including soprano Nina Stemme as Bruennhilde and mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier in the soprano role of Sieglinde.

Cuban salsa stars Los Van Van drew hundreds of protesters and thousands of fans to their first concert in Miami since protests of a 1999 show turned violent.

The Miami Herald reports that about 350 to 400 protesters were outside the downtown concert venue Sunday, some carrying signs calling the nearly 4,000 concertgoers traitors and communists. Protesters associate the band with Fidel Castro's communist regime.

Fans appeared undeterred. Police say no arrests were made.

Protesters chucked eggs and batteries at concertgoers in October 1999, following weeks of protests by Cuban exiles who believed Cuban artists performing in the U.S. bolstered Castro.

Debbie Ohanian produced the 1999 show, which saw about 3,000 protesters. She says Sunday's protests didn't bother her.