History of Music in Lebanon Podcas

From Ottoman History Podcast

Lebanon is a country of just a few million, but its musical output has historically rivaled its much larger neighbors in the Arab world. This episode of the Ottoman History Podcast provides an overview of the the history of music in modern Lebanon as well as an overview of the history of modern Lebanon through music. We discuss topics such as nationalism, war, migration, and gender, all while listening to some of the most memorable and beloved songs and artists that the country has produced.

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Artists include:

Nasri Shamseddine, Wadih El Safi, Sabah, Fairuz, Mansour and Assi Rahbani, Zaki Nassif, Melhem Barakat, Samira Tawfik, Farid al-Atrache, Sami Clark, The Bandaly Family
Marcel Khalife, Ahmad Kaabour, Ziad Rahbani, Joseph Saqr, Julia Boutros, Makhoul Kassouf, Sami Hawat, Azar Habib, Majida El Roumi
Najwa Karam, Ragheb Alama, Nawal El Zoghbi, Wael Kfoury, Nancy Ajram, Elissa
Soapkills, Mashrou' Leila, Charbel Rouhana, Ziad Sakhab

Select Bibliography:

Stone, Christopher Reed. Popular Culture and Nationalism in Lebanon: The Fairouz and Rahbani Nation. London: Routledge, 2008.
ʻAssāf, Aḥmad. Fayrūz wa-dawlat al-Raḥābinah. Dimashq: Dār al-Rāʼī lil-Dirāsāt wa-al-Tarjamah wa-al-Nashr, 2008.
Reynolds, Dwight Fletcher. Arab Folklore: A Handbook. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2007.
O'Ballance, Edgar. Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
Khater, Akram Fouad. Inventing Home Emigration, Gender, and the Middle Class in Lebanon, 1870-1920. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Debke of the Syrian Coast

Debke of the Syrian Coast Podcast
دبكة الساحل السوري



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Debke is a kind of folk music native to Arabic countries of the Levant. It's accompanying dance resembles the folk dance of most countries, people dance in a circle holding hands to specific steps. Each region has its own particular songs and dances that it is known for.

However the modern state of debke is not a timeless tradition as shown in the above picture. In Lebanon for example debke has been adapted to modern pop conventions and utilized by the likes of Melhem Zaen and Fares Karam as well as countless others, neatly packaged and marketed for Lebanese consumers. In other countries such as Palestine, debke is considered a piece of Arabic cultural heritage and history, tied to identity and pride. Nonetheless, each Arabic community has its local modern performs, and Syria is no exception. Most of the debke being recorded there is lo-fi, sometimes live performances from concerts and parties, with recordings often being distributed on unorganized, poorly labeled MP3 CDs and cassettes.

Normally debke songs can be quite long, 10 minutes or longer, with long org (electric keyboard) solos and plenty of repetition. In order to maximize space, this podcast presents recent debke and itaba (عتابا) in one long mix that serves as one continuous performance. The songs in this mix all represent music of the Syrian coast with a very broad meaning, including basically all cities West of Deir Ezzor (that's another story).

1. Saria al-Sawas - Just Listen What I Say (translation available) سارية السواس - بس اسمع مني This is one of the biggest hits to come out of the Syrian Debke scene in the past year. See song page for more

2. Mohamed Nour - Drive Me Crazy (4:24) محمد نور - جنني Can somebody confirm the artist for this, there is some confusion? 3. Mohamed Nour - A,B Boobaye (7:23) (translation available) محمد نور- ألف باء وبوبايه This song features a little rhyming game, where the singer announces a letter, the sings a rhyming line utilizing that letter. To hear the full song see song page for more

4. Saleh el-Sheikh - Tattoo (10:13)

صالح الشيخ - تاتو

A song about a girl that drives him wild. At one point he says, "There's not a married man who's seen you whose wife hasn't yelled at him."

5. Ali Dyoub - Get Up and Dance Girl (13:38) علي ديوب - قومي تندبك ولدة This is a Bedouin style debke, telling a girl to get up and debke to make everyone else at the gathering get up and celebrate as well.

6. Fariha al-Abdullah (17:25) فريحة العبدلله Don't know the title, any help?

7. Jelal Hamade - Heater (21:19) جلال حمادة - صوبا The song starts out describing people sitting around a heater, the kind that burns fuel or wood not an electric heater.

8. Ozeina al-Ali - If Only (24:53) (translation available) أذينة العلي - يا ريتك This song has an air of melancholy and longing, yet still contains some great org solos. He's saying "if only you would come to me." To hear the full song see the song page for more

9. Bassam Bitar - Under Her Howdah (28:51) (translation available) بسام بيطار - تحت هودجها This is a modern take on a well-known Syrian folk song. For the full song see song page for more

10. Mayada al-Ali - Don't Remind Me (31:41)

ميادة العلي - لا تذكرني

11. Mounir Hamade - The Gardens (35:40) منير حمادة - كروم التينة He's singing for a girl he really loves, telling her to come back.

12. Ali al-Deek - Abu Shahade (38:10) (translation available) علي الديك - أبو شحادة Ali al-Deek is one of the most famous Syrian artists performing Debke. This song is a plea to a stubborn father that won't let the singer marry his daughter. Many consider him to be the lamest figure in contemporary Syrian culture, Ali al-Deek that is, not the father. For the whole song and more info see the song page.

The Best of Azar Habib Podcast

Azar Habib Podcast
عازار حبيب

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For translations of Azar Habib on the site click here

The most-repeated of the Azar Habib (عازار حبيب) truisms is that he was the first Arab musician to blend a "light western style" with "eastern rhythm." To me, this is a pretty banal way to describe Habib's music which combines some of the most innovative and catchy beats to ever come from a synth. Testament to the Lebanese singer's popularity is how his songs are in constant rotation on Damascus and Beirut radio stations, but there were missteps along the way.

Much like one wonders what Elvis was thinking in his Vegas days, one wonders what Habib was thinking recording songs that harken a carnival or, even odder, some type of vampire shakedown. Yet much to his credit, even when his songs teeter on kitsch, redeemable loops abound and he's never uninteresting.

This podcast is a sample of my favorite Azar Habib songs, between tracks that I instantly loved -- and tracks that on first-listen sounded campy, but then developed into undeniable classics.

Track List

1. The Pearl Drop on Your Cheek (translation available)
على خدك حبة لولو
2. Cheeky Cheeky Baba (translation available)
شيكي شيكي بابا عيني عيني يأبا

This song is actually performed by the Lebanese one-hit wonder Adonis Aqel

3. Going round to the "Dayer-dayer" (translation available)
عالداير داير مندار
4. It's Hard For Me to Sleep (translation available)
عازز عليّ النوم
5. When My Beloved Left Me (lyrics available)
انا والحبيب لما هجرني
6. Not Important (translation available)
مش مهم
7. I Love You
حبيتك
8. Pharmacist (translation available)
صيدلي
9. Tell Me (translation available)
قولي
10. I Love Her Eyes (translation available)
بحب عيونها
11. Everything That's Happening (translation available)
كل اللي صاير
12. I'm Gathering My Affection (translation available)
عم لملم حناني
13. Since You're Going to Our Village (translation available)
يا رايح عضيعتنا

The Best of Ali Al Aisawi

Ali al-Aisawy Podcast
علي العيساوي

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For translation of Ali Al Aisawi on the site click here

His recordings can sometimes be as harsh as his looks. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Ali al-Aisawi (علي العيساوي) is one of the biggest names in modern Iraqi music. The son of poet Mohamed al-Aisawi, Ali rose to fame in the early 1990s and was one of the major figures of the music scene in Iraq and the Gulf throughout the decade, not just as a singer, but sometimes as a musician and composer of popular folk music as well.

At first the listener might be turned off by the use of tacky drum machines and comically fake-sounding synthesized instruments, but those quickly becoming endearing accents that give the music a sort of grittiness and authenticity that only comes with otherwise talented artists recording an album on a minimal budget.

This podcast contains a mix of some of the most exemplary songs of Iraqi music star Ali al-Aisawi, who was one of the most successful domestic artists in Iraq until the late-Saddam Husseim regime in the 1990s. You could call it pop, but if you listen to the words and hear the vocal talent that he possesses, you realize that this music has little to do with pop music as we know it. I've tried to provide brief explanations of each track if not translations:

Track List

1. A Scorpion Bit Me in my Chest (0:11) (translation available)
عقرب بصدري لسعني

This is a folk song native to Iraq and East Syria that seems to be about a young guy stuck out in the desert who is miserable and missing the one he loves. This version includes a reference to Baghdad, which makes it kind of a tribute to the Iraqi capital at the same time.

2. My darling, what happened to you? (4:52)
حبيبي ما جرالك

He's asking what happened and why his lover wants to leave him, asking for forgiveness.

3. I Swear I Don't Want Them Anymore (8:35)
ولله بعد ماريدهم

His loved ones have wronged him and he no long wants anything to do with them.

4. Forgive me (13:28) (translation available)
سامحيني

One of the more unique musical compositions in the bunch, this song has been recorded by more than one artist. Like so many Arabic songs, it's about separation and suffering, and in classic Iraqi fashion poetry is interspersed in between the verses.

5. Oh Lover of Nice Looking Guys (22:08)
يا عاشق الحلوين

This song is about a lover who is unfaithful and he asks "how can a lover betray his/her mate?"

6. Breaking Free from the Illusion (26:37) (translation available)
اكسر قيود الوهم

This is a Mawal, which means he sings something closer to poetry, and it is a slower more freely flowing vocal performance. It's being done with someone once you've realized how much they've hurt you.

7. Young (31:43)
صغيرون

It's about being young and in love and not caring about anything but that.

8. You Couldn't (37:45)
ما تقدر

I'm not gonna pretend I know exactly what he's saying, but he's saying to his lover that he doesn't want her anymore and she can't get him back.

9. I Swear on My House (40:47) (translation available)
وحق البيت

This is also adapted from an Iraqi folk song about being totally infatuated with someone and expressing it in very interesting, untranslatable ways.

10. Booya (44:39)
بويا

A song about what else, being sad because he's separated from his loved ones.