Bjork is not one to stay to one or two genres for her releases, but this time around her pick for a collaborator is an unlikely musician from this part of the world. The Icelandic singer has opted to work with Syrian singer Omar Souleyman, Pitchfork has confirmed. Apparently, this will be “the first ever major Western pop release to feature Syrian dabke and Iraqi choubi music.”
“A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence.”
“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning.”
- Fredrick Douglass
“Coming out, all the way out, is offered more and more as the political solution to our oppression.”
- Jane Rule
We have been invited to the private screening debut of Khaled Abol Naga‘s feature film Microphone. Although we used to be film aficianados as youngsters and then sharply veered into independent films in the beginning our adolescence, we were skeptical about Arabic cinema partially because we have lost hope of the genre sometime in the 80s’ and also because, on our part, we never put any effort to tap back into it. However, something about the aura of Microphone grabbed us. Not only was it touted to be an unconventional angle for Egyptian cinema, but also because it was heavy on another form of art that we are pretty familiar with – music.
The film is a frank look at the state of Arabian talent and the obstacles for its recognition. Centered in Alexandria, the picture takes the viewer into an atypical perspective of this historic city’s underground scene of artists, eccentrics and all-around young creative community. The storyline is a serious of true stories that intertwine together as the plot thickens spliced with rewound scenes of the main character’s meeting with his old, and possibly only, love.
The movie brings to light the struggle for talent to rise and the ramifications of that pursuit, whether societal, familial, religious or even emotional. It is filmed in docudrama format that makes the characters more personable and their reality a more imminent one. Varying from to the main character’s love who decides to fugue the country in hopes of developing her standard of living to his father, who serves as a leitmotif for Arabian music‘s golden days.
Even as the movie centers around musical bands, many of which are raw talents that surprised us with their songs and performances ranging from hip-hop to rock to even ska, the real story here is that of the state of life in most of the Arab world. It deals heavily with political commentary, religious implications and the sad state of art appreciation. These factors are focal points that have managed to trump the development of the arts – a vital organ of a functioning society.
Although their hopes are thwarted throughout the movie from personal relations ships to the intervention of police forces, the movie does not fail to end with a note of hope and affirmation that Arabian talent is still alive and well, its only murderer is oppression, corruption and prejudice.
Microphone gives the viewer a candid view on the hurdles that once weren’t there. It is a crucial collection of biopics that serves as a reminder of the condition of Arabian arts. The film is a true timepiece that will leave you with an ambition to protect young talent and hope for progression, yet will lure you with great melodic accompaniment along the way. We highly recommend Microphone for your viewing.
“A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.”
- Granville Hicks
Image via Wikipedia
ByKal debuted his furniture art a couple of months ago and now it’s sweeping all over the place. More designs have surfaced and they are pristine in look. Have a look at them below.
Omar Afuni is a new struggling artist making his way through the muddle of cover versions on YouTube. However, unlike the rest, Omar Afuni is quickly rising to become a formidable internet personality with a strong voice and an impressive collection of cover versions. But, it doesn’t stop at that. Afuni has also released a debut single by the title of “Ressurect Me,” which is available as a guilt-free download on his official website. Here is how his press release describes him and keep an eye out for him as he will be heavily featured on the Loft. Enjoy!
“Dreams are worth fighting for and Omar Afuni believes that completely.
Omar is an unsigned independent artist who’s on an international mission
to be discovered online by hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of
people worldwide in hopes of grabbing the attention of record companies.
An introduction is coming up this week on Omar Afuni, a talented young singer and songwriter that is taking YouTube by storm. But, this is just a little teaser of his capabilities. We have to say this is better than Xtina’s version.
Really? For all reals!
“”Sex and the City 2 will be banned from being shown in cinemas across the UAE when it is released for various reasons,” the spokesman said.
He added: “Among them are that the film’s website stated that filming was done in Abu Dhabi even though they were denied permission to do so and that they continue to attribute the locations shot in Morocco as being in Abu Dhabi, which is false, as the theme of the film does not fit with our cultural values. Also, they persisted in using Abu Dhabi’s name in the movie despite the fact that no official permission was given to them to do so.”
Here is the setlist of the concert:
1. It’s Like That
2. Dreamlover
3. Shake It Off
4. Touch My Body
5. I’ll Be There (with Trey Lorenz)
6. Emotions
7. Always Be My Baby
8. Honey
9. My All
10. Obsessed
11. We Belong Together
12. Hero
13. Without You
Rima Fakih, a Muslim Lebanese-American, has been crowned Miss USA 2010. She is from Dearborn, Michigan. This is a first in pageantry and most people will probably regard this as some sort of accomplishment. Well, pageants are not really scales of social progression. In fact, they are a constant reminder that we live in a misogynistic world filled with double standards and female objectification. At any rate, we wonder if it was politically motived or just by chance or luck. Click below for the crowning.
Won Hoo is back with vengeance with a set of YouTube short films that parody the famous Turkish series Nour (also known as Gümüş). Click here to subscribe to his YouTube channel for some hilarity.
@Pcity, Earl Wright, has just announced that Mariah Carey is heading to Cairo this Friday to do some private event. Nobody knows what for, but remember you heard it here first. Send us news if you know!
This issue has been debated for a while but the internet has finally allowed non-latin URL addresses. This gives many languages the accessibility options that English and other latin alphabet languages have. Several websites have started operating with this new addresses like the Egyptian Ministry of Communication. Good move in diversifying the internet but hell to people who don’t know the languages but need access.
