(no subject)

[violachic]

So now I'm getting in the habit of receiving in my email every Friday a copy of sultansfavorite Middle Eastern pop radio program. One hour of amazing Middle Eastern/Arabic music, for my iTunes!

whereisjoy and I also agreed that the opening song is the same song Omar Othman uses in his Yalla Nikhi Arabi (Lets Speak Arabic!) tapes- albeit some sort of techno-remix. I was proud of myself for recognizing it.

There is always one word I can always recognize in these songs- habibi. It wouldn't be Arabic pop without this term of endearment! I have always been interested in the fact that music that comes out of a culture where arranged marriages are often still the norm is so obsessed with love. I wonder if anyone can explain that to me.



I need to start listening to my Arabic recordings again.

Comments

[sultansfavorite.livejournal.com]

That song is an Amr Diab mix, it has several songs mixed in - by DJ Nader, off the "Elevation" CD

http://erikagreen.com/whpk/playlist.html

updated semi regularily.

Glad you like the show!!!

Arabs are obsessed with love, but are VERY fickle about it. They don't treat marriage as a "for life" thing, rather, replace women as needed. Think they're obsessed with the infatuation part of love, but dont' want to put in the REAL work of a deeper love.

Granted, that's just my experience, and a few others . . .

[sultansfavorite.livejournal.com]

There's also this:

http://community.livejournal.com/haflamindimashq/

[violachic.livejournal.com]

That would sure explain my experiences with shopekeepers in Jerusalem... :-P

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Ya, got that now.

I figure, if I listen to your show religiously, by the time I'm healthy enough to travel back to Palestine I'll actually know something about the music.... But I have always loved the sound of it, ever since I first played pieces in orchestra that had the "arabian" sound to it, all those augmented seconds and tight half-steps and stuff. It sort of sounds like "home" to me these days.

[sultansfavorite.livejournal.com]

yeah, it's a fleeting, fantasy "love". Everyone is a cousin, or a brother, and all up in each other's business . . . but there's a superficiality, a ritualistic, rote "traditional" aspect, rather than a "thinking" aspect.

My .02. Maybe just 'cos I've been burned by it!

[sultansfavorite.livejournal.com]

check the "music" page of my site, lots of sites let you listen online to LOTS of tunes!

[howawesim.livejournal.com]

Seems to jibe with my experiences/observations, so far. Especially with the quasi-relationship I had with someone for a few weeks, and what we talked about. Granted, he'd been married before, to a European woman, but you could tell he still fell for "love" in these ways.

[howawesim.livejournal.com]

Shit, sorry- I'm still violachic.....

[optimussven.livejournal.com]

Arranged marriages aren't as big as they used to be, but really, do you think that Arabic pop obsesses over love any more than any other? I mean think of how often "baby," love or "heart" appears in an American pop song. I think it just seems like Arabic pop songs are love themed because you are purposefully listening to the words and trying to pick out words you recognize, whereas with English songs you aren't. Thus, you hear "Habibi" and it registers, whereas when listening to an English song, the words just pass through. The general theme registers, but specific words do not.

But for more on the arranged marriage/love obsession correlation I would look towards the Sub Continent. I mean, have you watched any Bollywood movies lately? ;-)

[howawesim.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think you're right- its one of the few words I can catch as they go by. I don't think Arabic pop necessarily is more love-obsessed than American pop, its just seems like a little bit more disparate to me. Maybe I need to spend more time immersed in the culture.

And yes, I've seen some Bollywood films, and I know what you're talking about! Reminds me of in Midnight's Children, when the narrator is describing a friend (relation? its been so long since I've read the book) who is a Bollywood movie director who experiments with creating intense sensuality in every way possible while still keeping the characters chaste. If I remember correctly, he gets in a whole lot of trouble for it.

above comment

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Sorry, still me