Monaco - Music of the Mediterranean

Man, all that accordion music in Macedonia was pretty great, huh? You don't hear it incorporated into pop too often.

OK, what say we stay in Europe and head to that 'ol city-state Monaco? The second smallest country in the world behind the Vatican, Monaco is home to just 33,000 people. We know folks who went to colleges that size. But, with no personal income tax, the majority of the population are wealthy foreigners using it as a tax haven. And, if we were rich enough to need tax havens, that's where ours would be!

Ellen's a total sucker for the Mediterranean

Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, and though it seems that they've been invaded every time there's been unrest in the region, the Grimaldi's rule on. Want to know how the Grimaldis came to power? The patriarch Francesco, called il Malizia or "the Cunning," disguised himself and others as monks and took over the fortress with swords hidden under their habits. Sweet! It's kind of like Monegasque Monk instead of a Trojan Horse...

what a swanky coat of arms with those guys in skirts dancing with knives

Monaco became a constitutional monarchy in the early 20th century though, and in 1962 they started to let women vote! Good for them - that's a little late. Just sayin'.

Can we take a second and realize how small this place is? Less than a square mile! You could cross the entire country on a pogo-stick!!! They've lost a lot of land over the years to France. In the 20th century they started building out into the sea via landfills. Tell you what though, they utilize every good bit of land available and build an AWESOME road course for the Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Rally though. Those are consistently two of the best races in the world. And, in high school Ellen was aces at those races on the PlayStation2. What a champ!

cars and yachts? Pinky's and Ellen's joint gay/not gay wet dream!

Well, we're gonna have a lot of American and Euro-pop on here, but it seems to be a pretty decent selection. They've played Cee-Lo and Mika, among others, already this morning. We'll see... 

Did you know that Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise? Just found that out. Good thing to know.

Radio Monaco

Click the "Ecouter Radio Monaco" in the upper left corner, then push play in the little window that pops up.

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