by Natasha Tynes | Apr 7, 2006 | Music
Reader Lisa drew my attention to a series of concerts being organized by Jordanian musician Zade Dirani in the US, entitled Roads to you. According to the tour website:
The Roads to You tour has the potential to be a true life-changing experience for all those involved. As a grassroots effort, the tour hopes to create an understanding among the world’s different cultures on a very human level. As the tour fosters friendships built on trust and communication, it will also lay the groundwork for dialogue between the participating members. By expressing themselves in discussions and through the universal language of music, participants will have the opportunity to discuss the challenges they face in an open and safe environment.
Here is what Lisa, who is one of the musicians participating in the tour, had to say about Zade:
He is a very proud Jordanian and has a worldview about things. The best thing is that he is using what he knows best to try to make a difference in the world. With every concert he performed, I believe he has torn down a few more cultural, political and religious barriers.
The concerts will be held in DC, Houston, and Los Angeles. More information can be found here. This is a great initiative from a young Jordanian artist. I do hope I will be able to attend the event in DC this May mainly to give kudos to this young Jordanian talent. Way to go Zade!
by Natasha Tynes | Dec 14, 2005 | Music
I just listened to a Jordanian rap tune entitled Ready by a new "local" band called Last Standing Poet. The song condemns the 9 November terrorist attacks that rocked Jordan. The song is actually not bad at all. I like how they based their piece on one of Fairuz’s songs, although, as I mentioned in a post last year, I’m a bit over Fairuzed.
Frankly, I was not aware that a rap scene even existed in Jordan. I guess things have been changing quite rapidly since my exodus. You can listen to the song here. Many thanks to Jordan First and Nasim for drawing our attention to this song. Here is a brief sampling of some of the lyrics via Jordan First.
Narrator: Hundreds of Jordanians are now marching through the streets of Amman, they’re carrying Jordanian flags and pictures of King Abdullah. The suicide bombing we’re right outside one of the hotels that was blowed up, people say they DON’T want Al Qaeda in this country, they DON’T want terrorism, they wanna live in peace.
Rapper: LSP, Last Standing Poet, 99.6. I’d like to say rest in peace, all the people who lost their lives in the 9th of November, my prayers go to your family and friends
by Natasha Tynes | Nov 16, 2005 | Jordan, my nation, Music
Yazeed from the Jordan First blog has a link to a Jordanian song, entitled La Ya Amman. The song was made following the terrorist attacks in Jordan and is performed by a number of Jordanian singers, including Zein Awad, Nany Petrao, Fadi Ghassan among others.
Alghad has an article (Arabic) about the song. The article also includes the song’s lyrics (in Arabic). I have already listened to it a number times and I have to say it was very touching. Yes, it brought tears to my eyes. My favorite part is the line: "No matter what happens, we are Jordanians". You can listen to the song here. And read the article here.Thanks Yazeed!
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 14, 2005 | Metro Daze, Music
We had a unique musical outing last night when we got the chance to listen to a live performance by the band Shusmo, Arabic for "What’s his name?” The band performed at The Jerusalem Fund in downtown DC, enthralling us with their compositions that mesh jazz elements with Arabic melodies.
The performance space was extremely cozy, designed to mimic a jazz bar, something that allowed for direct interaction between the band and the audience. I really enjoyed the outcome of this marriage between jazz and Arabic music, which got me engaged for the whole two hour performance.
The percussion was just fantastic. I loved the interaction between the tabla and the congas. You can check out the band here where you can listen to a sample of their music. It is also worth noting that Beisan, who graced us with her presence last night, also enjoyed the performance.
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 5, 2005 | Music
One piece of good news I’ve heard this week was that Franz Ferdinand released a new album yesterday. According to the reviews on-line, this album is as brilliant as the first one, which I thought was a masterpiece.
On their debut album every song is a hit. I have been listening to it non-stop for the past month. I downloaded the whole album to my Ipod just to make sure Franz’ tunes accompany me wherever I go. Singing along with songs like Take me out, Darts of pleasure, Auf Acshe and Matinee is becoming one of my favorite past times nowadays.
For those not familiar with this Scottish band, all I can say is that if you like British pop, then you will tremendously enjoy Franz’ style. Their music has elements of both 80’s music and contemporary pop. They also remind me of The Strokes, a band that tops my list of favorites. If you enjoy British pop and have some money to spare, then go get these two albums now! Yes, this is an order. They are worth every penny!
by Natasha Tynes | Apr 26, 2005 | Music
In a bid to share our favorite music with dear readers of this blog, we created Mental Mayhem Radio, which can be accessed from the top menu bar (or click here!). Click it and it will begin playing a random track. It has around 85 songs so far with more to come late tonight. If you are interested in being entertained while surfing the pages of Mental Mayhem, just press the radio button.
The player is fairly straight forward. There’s a scroll bar to move the list [it’s a bit slow]. The ‘Zap’ button takes you to the next track and there’s volume and pause button at the bottom. On board you’ll find hits by XTC, Fiona Apple, Cat Stevens, Jimmy Buffet, Chris Isaak, Alicia Keys, INXS, Counting Crows, Franz Ferdinand and many more. Just click and enjoy! Happy surfing!
I just listened to a Jordanian rap tune entitled Ready by a new "local" band called 
One piece of good news I’ve heard this week was that Franz Ferdinand released a 
