self-censorship before submitting lyrics for approval. The music itself was not subject to censorship, although proclamations were made recommending the "Europeanisation" of the regarded outcoming Anatolian music, which led to certain radio stations banning in 1938, i.e. on the basis of music rather than lyrics. This was, however, not bouzouki music. The term , (sing. , Gr. , sing. ) refers to a kind of improvised sung lament, in ummeasured time, sung in a particular /. The were perhaps the most pointedly oriental kind of songs in the Greek repertoire of the time. Metaxas closed also all the (hashish dens) in the country. References to drugs and other criminal or disreputable activities now vanished from recordings made in Greek studios, to reappear briefly in the first recordings made at the resumption of recording activity in 1946. In the United States, however, a flourishing Greek musical production continued, with song lyrics apparently unaffected by censorship, (see below) although, strangely, the bouzouki continued to be rare on American recordings until after WWII. It is notable that Rebetiko music was also rejected by the Greek Left because of its "reactionary" (according to the Communist Party of Greece) and subculture character and the drug references. Postwar period Recording activities ceased during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II (1941–1944), and did not resume until 1946; that year, during a very short period, a handful of uncensored songs with drug references were recorded, several in multiple versions with different singers. The scene was soon popularized further by stars like Vassilis Tsitsanis. His musical career had started in 1936, and continued during the war despite the occupation. A musical genius, he was both a brilliant bouzouki player and a prolific composer, with hundreds of songs to his credit. After the war he continued to develop his style in new directions, and under his wing, singers such as Sotiria Bellou, Ioanna Georgakopoulou, Stella Haskil and Marika Ninou made their appearance. Tsitsanis developed the "westernization" of the rebetiko and made it more known to large sections of the population, setting also the bases for the future laiko. In 1948 Manos Hatzidakis shook the musical establishment by delivering his legendary lecture on rebetiko, until then with heavy underworld and cannabis use connections and consequently looked down upon. Hatzidakis focused on the economy of expression, the deep traditional roots and the genuineness of emotion displayed in rembetika, and