Trawling on youtube, I find an extreme example of pan-national cross-cultural fertilization. Bic Runga, new zealand singer of malaysian chinese descent sings in french – “ne me quitte pas” the signature song by belgium’s greatest export, jacques brel. It’s the torch-burning song, and Bic gets to shows off her singing chops, on-stage emotional histrionics, and command of the french language: