Iranian Rockers Won't Stay Mute on Crisis

Iranian band Hypernova arrived in the US in 2007 ready to rock—but not prepared to be caught condemning their home government. Now, as demonstrators flock to protest Iran’s election results, singer “King Raam” is turning up the political volume, the Global Post reports. “There are so many flaws in this election one doesn’t even know where to begin,” he says.

His goal: to get so big he’s “literally untouchable” when, someday, he goes home. “I’ll be so famous that they can do their worst—throw me in jail or whatever—I’ll be on the cover of Time,” Raam says. Meanwhile, “I’ve actively been helping other kids in the underground” of Iranian rock—amid a ban on Western music—“trying to get their visas, trying to get them into festivals.”