Music to read The Economist by: March 26th 2016

By O.M.

Every week The Economist puts together a playlist loosely inspired by the stories we covered.

There is nowhere to start today but with Jacques Brel, Belgium’s greatest songwriter, as he imagines the devil surveying the works of men and finding them to his liking:

Les trains déraillent avec fracas
Parce que les gars pleins d'idéal
Mettent des bombes sur les voies
(Le diable “ça va”)

While Brussels faced the new normal, France maintained its State of Emergency. We found that an assessment of the increasing profitability of American companies (Rent) meant The Winner Takes it All, again. With the mess in Brazil getting worse (Desesperança), we called on President Dilma to resign (Nunca…Jamais); Bello lamented the fall of Lula, a Working Class Hero.

Our science section listened to The Sound of the City, while in Britain we looked at the increasing stature and independence of Manchester (I am the Resurrection). We watched “Spirits’ homecoming”, a moving film about the sex slaves of occupied Korea (Arirang) and read about the legacy of Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus and Aron (Existentialism on Prom Night). We saw the impact big data and social media are having on society (The Signal and the Noise) and what the technology to Hide the Advertisement is doing to the media business. We felt the fetters that bind the hands of central bankers (No Exit) and discovered that some people may still want more television channels—as long as they’re free (57 Channels…And Nothing On).

Finally, Johnson told us that whether or not Noam Chomsky is a Soft Revolution, his latest thinking on genes and language is unlikely to overturn the opinions of others.

Listen to this week's playlist below.