Lebanon - the country that refused to disappear

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Has anyone ever been to the Lebanon? I'm developing a yen to go there, and I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on the place.

My interest has mainly been picqued by those "Lebanon, blimey" articles Robert Fisk sometimes writes. There was a great one late last year where he just gave a long list of names and telephone numbers of people he knows who will show you fascinating things in whatever town they live in.

The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism ( http://www.lebanon-tourism.gov.lb/ , copy and paste as I can't be arsed doing the HTML) glosses over the country's colourful history, but it does touch on it in passing. Beirut (or Beyrouth, the site is naturally in French) is "LA VILLE QUI REFUSE DE DISPARAITRE".

plucky old Lebanon. apparently the food is very nice.

DV, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

nadgers, wrong board.

anyone know anything about Lebanese music?

dV, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

No. But who will have won when the soldiers have gone?

MarkH, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

and where there used to be some SHOPS!

Phil Oakey, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Did I hear someone ask about Lebanese music?

"Oh, do they have music in your country?" (Either a U.S. or Canadian customs agent--I forget which--once asked Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife this question after he identified himself as a musician.)

I'll take a rockist approach here and start with the most canonical of Lebanese singers, Fairouz. Unfortunately, I'm not at home, and don't have easy access to CD titles. Either way, the best Fairouz recordings I have are on cassette copies with songs titles only in Arabic, or no song titles at all. Fairouz has a "perect" voice, which can take some getting used to because it is so perfect. I would say that her output is uneven, but her voice always sounds good. I definitely would not start with recent recordings. "Andalusiyat" (sp?) is good, for the most part. "Ihsar" is a little kitschy at times and has a cocktail sort of feel to it, but it works for me, and not merely on an ironic level. (The version I have on cassette is different from and better than the version I have on CD, annoyingly.) I also like "Soiree avec Fairouz." The first three songs on "Wahdoun" are quite upbeat, with fantastic rhythms played on doumbek, but the last two tracks are unbelievably dreadful, marred by bad use of electronics and horrible production. I have also heard some songs on tape which seem to be from one of her children's albums and I liked those. Check out www.fairouz.com, which has reviews. The reviews are uncritical (except regarding sound quality), but they will give you some sense of what's what. Many of Fairouz's recordings are based on musical plays she performed, and I haven't especially enjoyed the ones I've heard. (This is probably a case where not knowing Arabic is an obstacle to enjoying them.)

Samira Tewfic. Not on the same level as Fairouz, but I am very fond of her. I particularly like a couple recordings from the 70's (sorry no titles), but they don't seem to be widely accessible at the moment. Everything I've heard by her has featured dance rhythms of some sort. I would go for less recent recordings. I think her heyday is over.

Milhem Baraket may actually be Syrian, but I can't keep track. He was probably at his peak in the 70's. Lots of fun electric organ and clapping. (Segues well with some songs from the Beatles "White Album.") He can sound a bit goofy at times, but I think some of his work is just great.

Marcel Khalife is a composer/performer who justly deserves his image of being a serious artist. He wrote songs protesting the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but he does not allow himself to be pinned down as a protest singer. He has also composed purely instrumental works, including two CDs worth of somewhat experimental oud material. Nothing really out there, but a departure from tradition. I don't actually care for it much. He has written erotic songs which have attracted some criticism. He was accused of blasphemy for his setting of a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish which contained a line from the Qur'an, though either the case was dismissed or he was found innocent. (Setting the Qur'an to music is forbidden, though reciting the Qur'an using the same modes that are used in Arabic music is perfectly acceptable.) My favorite recordings of his are his protest songs and his love songs. The purely instrumental work doesn't do much for me, and some of it is rather heavily based in European classical music (somewhat ironic considering his political commitments, but not really unusual for an Arabic composer).

Those are the ones I like most or am most interested in. I've heard one Azar Habib song which was a weird 70's quasi-psychedelic thing which I once amazed one of my friends with. He said something like, "This is what Bongwater should sound like." However, everything else I have heard by him is pretty bad, so proceed with caution.

DeRayMi, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I also once saw a video of a Samira Tewfic TV performance which featured long-haired men in green leotards dancing debka in the background. I suspect this was shot in the 70's.

DeRayMi, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

As for what's new there, I don't know. If it's just very derivative of electronica or hip-hop, I don't think I'd be interested, but if they are using Arabic rhythms and other aspects of the tradition, with electronics, that could be interesting.

DeRayMi, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

there was an article in the wire a couple of months back about beirut's music scene. seems like there's a vital but frustrated underground there. could be worth checking out.

what a beautiful place too ...

but after having the living tar beaten out of me (unprovoked) and left unconscious in the middle of the road by a carload of lebanese men (here in canada, to boot) the whole place leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

fields of salmon, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I apologize for being flip about something miserable, but however did you know they were Lebanese? Were they flying flags or something?

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

people of lebanese descent form a very distinct and visible minority in the city in which i live. it was very obvious to me who my assailants were.

the good news is, that after a couple of weeks of prejudice and contempt following the attack i went out with the specific purpose of getting to know lebanese people to put this prejudice to bed. i met some really amazing, friendly people ... i'm glad i wasn't stupid enough to retain a lifelong prejudice based on a few minutes of violence.

fields of salmon, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

... oh yeah, and one of the most vegetarian/vegan-friendly cuisines on the planet.

fields of salmon, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Fun names, too, like fatoush.

DeRayMi, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Aren't System of a Down lebanese?

Kris, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Armenian-American. Proud sons of Glendale.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It seems like a lot of ethnic Armenians come from Lebanon. The Pasadena Zankou Chicken has a bunch of Lebanese tourist pictures on one wall.

nickn, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...
about 4 years ago, I bought a cassette of Aissa Nawas in Damascus. Today I am looking to buy this same music on CD. Where can I find this ?? Thanks ! Luke

luc dejonckheere, Tuesday, 16 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

BTW, Marcel Khalife will be appearing in New York April 27th.

DeRayMi, Tuesday, 16 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...
My definition of a funky beat: Milhem Baraket's "Ala Baby Waef Amrien"

Or go back to the main page for a decent collection of Lebanese and other Arabic music: Classic Music

The thread I would not let die.

DeRayMi, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

First column, third song down. (Forgot that part.)

DeRayMi, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Farid Alatrash selections are particularly good, overall. The Fairouz selections are a bit uneven. The Samira Tewfic songs are good solid debka, though I prefer her more 70's sounding songs with electric guitar. The Oum Kalthoum songs here are disappointing. They are all, I think, late in her career; and this site uses a studio version of "Baid Anak" rather than the the live version on which she sounds ten years younger. She generally sang better with an audience in front of her. Also, in some cases we are just getting parts of the songs in question. Haven't really gotten through most of the others, a couple of whom are not remotely what I would consider classic.

DeRayMi, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

nineteen years pass...

I accidentally left the morning alarm on today and found myself listening to Sunday Worship on Radio 4. I think - though I was half asleep - that it was a broadcast from Lebanon ... and some of the (religious) music was beautiful. Any recommendations?

djh, Sunday, 1 August 2021 20:22 (three years ago)


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