in this article i take examples of popular music recordings released in the xinjiang uyghur autonomous region during the 1990s and first few years of the 21st century, in order to illustrate the global flows of sounds and meanings which influence uyghur pop. the disseminatory power of “micro media” (cheap cassettes, vcds) facilitates the global movement of both musical sounds and political ideas. i argue, using examples of uyghur reggae and uyghur belly dancing, that these sounds and meanings are radically adapted and re-signified in the construction of uyghur identity and cultural politics, in a complex interplay between the global, national and local, and between tradition and modernity. i discuss the gendered expression of uyghur nationalism in popular song through the iconic figure of the weeping mother, demonstrating the ability of expressive culture (here music) to reveal underlying or underpinning political trends.