Progressology

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Posts tagged music

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Revolution Mix (Music from the Uprisings Across the Middle East). Since the beginning of the year, I’ve amassed quite a playlist of music from the revolutions. (Thanks to YouTube, Twitter, and bloggers like abudai and libyanana.) Mostly from Libya and Egypt. Mostly in Arabic. They are angry, emotional, powerful and beautiful. Here’s my collection of my favourites. El General - Tunis Bladna. No Arab Spring playlist would be complete without this hard-hitting political rap anthem, “Tunisia, Our Country.” Ibn Thabit - The Western Mountain. (Al Jabal El Ghrabi/ الجبل الغربي) This rapper has been revolutionary in his music since 2008. Lots of his songs are free on his website. Amel Mathlouthi - My Word is Free. (Kelmti Horra/كلمتي حرة) This song is absolutely haunting. She also performed it live and unaccompanied at a sit-in in January in Tunis. Watch it here. Mahmoud El Malky - Mother of the Revolution. (Um Athawra/ أم الثورة). Libyan, and one of my favourites. Military-style drumbeats mix with that crooning so emblematic of Middle Eastern rhythms. Composed by Yasser Farouk and written by Ahmed Khadry.  Ramy Essam - Our Revolution (Thawratna/ ثورتنا) This singer essentially provided the soundtrack for this year’s 18-day revolution in Egypt. Arabian Knightz (feat. Lauryn Hill) - Rebel. This Egyptian hip-hop song was recorded during the first week of the revolution, but wasn’t leaked until the internet was re-opened. It samples the refrain from a Lauryn Hill live performance of her song “I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel).” Khaled M. feat Lowkey - Can’t Take Our Freedom. Khaled M is the American-born son of two Libyans who fled Gaddhafi’s regime.  Ramy Essam - Irhal/Leave. (إرحل) This is probably the most classic of the songs of the uprising, melodic and full of the rhythmic protest chants that have resonated across the Middle East. Irhal. Yesqut Yesqut Hosni Mubarak. And Eshaab yuriid esqut ennazzam. Which I pretty much hear in my sleep these days. Omar Offendum - #Jan25 Egypt. This Syrian rap artist wrote this as a tribute to the inspirational revolution in Egypt. And yes, the song title has a hashtag. Amazigh Libyans Sing Around a Campfire. I don’t know the title of the song, or who sings it specifically. This is a video of a group of Amazigh fighters singing in their native language, which was heavily oppressed under Gaddhafi. There are provided Arabic and English translations. Ibrahim Kashoush - Bashar Must Leave. This song could also be titled Up Your Ass, Bashar. The salty protest chant-style music earned Kashoush the title of songwriter of the revolution. Unfortunately, early this July, the Syrian regime expressed their displeasure with his lyrics by slitting his throat and dumping him in a river. Kawy - The Monster of Yemen. (Wahash AlYemen/ وحش اليمن) I honestly don’t know much about this song. It’s one of the only Yemeni songs I know. But it’s some classic revolutionary rap. Above: Cairo on February 1st. Dylan Martinez/Reuters via thepoliticalnotebook

Revolution Mix (Music from the Uprisings Across the Middle East). Since the beginning of the year, I’ve amassed quite a playlist of music from the revolutions. (Thanks to YouTube, Twitter, and bloggers like abudai and libyanana.) Mostly from Libya and Egypt. Mostly in Arabic. They are angry, emotional, powerful and beautiful. Here’s my collection of my favourites.

  1. El General - Tunis Bladna. No Arab Spring playlist would be complete without this hard-hitting political rap anthem, “Tunisia, Our Country.”
  2. Ibn Thabit - The Western Mountain. (Al Jabal El Ghrabi/ الجبل الغربي) This rapper has been revolutionary in his music since 2008. Lots of his songs are free on his website.
  3. Amel Mathlouthi - My Word is Free. (Kelmti Horra/كلمتي حرة) This song is absolutely haunting. She also performed it live and unaccompanied at a sit-in in January in Tunis. Watch it here.
  4. Mahmoud El Malky - Mother of the Revolution. (Um Athawra/ أم الثورة). Libyan, and one of my favourites. Military-style drumbeats mix with that crooning so emblematic of Middle Eastern rhythms. Composed by Yasser Farouk and written by Ahmed Khadry. 
  5. Ramy Essam - Our Revolution (Thawratna/ ثورتنا) This singer essentially provided the soundtrack for this year’s 18-day revolution in Egypt.
  6. Arabian Knightz (feat. Lauryn Hill) - Rebel. This Egyptian hip-hop song was recorded during the first week of the revolution, but wasn’t leaked until the internet was re-opened. It samples the refrain from a Lauryn Hill live performance of her song “I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel).”
  7. Khaled M. feat Lowkey - Can’t Take Our Freedom. Khaled M is the American-born son of two Libyans who fled Gaddhafi’s regime. 
  8. Ramy Essam - Irhal/Leave. (إرحل) This is probably the most classic of the songs of the uprising, melodic and full of the rhythmic protest chants that have resonated across the Middle East. Irhal. Yesqut Yesqut Hosni Mubarak. And Eshaab yuriid esqut ennazzam. Which I pretty much hear in my sleep these days.
  9. Omar Offendum - #Jan25 Egypt. This Syrian rap artist wrote this as a tribute to the inspirational revolution in Egypt. And yes, the song title has a hashtag.
  10. Amazigh Libyans Sing Around a Campfire. I don’t know the title of the song, or who sings it specifically. This is a video of a group of Amazigh fighters singing in their native language, which was heavily oppressed under Gaddhafi. There are provided Arabic and English translations.
  11. Ibrahim Kashoush - Bashar Must Leave. This song could also be titled Up Your Ass, Bashar. The salty protest chant-style music earned Kashoush the title of songwriter of the revolution. Unfortunately, early this July, the Syrian regime expressed their displeasure with his lyrics by slitting his throat and dumping him in a river.
  12. Kawy - The Monster of Yemen. (Wahash AlYemen/ وحش اليمن) I honestly don’t know much about this song. It’s one of the only Yemeni songs I know. But it’s some classic revolutionary rap.

Above: Cairo on February 1st. Dylan Martinez/Reuters via thepoliticalnotebook

(via insaniyat)

Filed under playlist music music of the revolution إرحل الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام

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I hate waiting — I have to be on campus at one to see about an SEM microscope (awesome right?) and then I’ve got a meeting at four…

… so I’m just going to listening to early 00’s German hiphop while I wait

Filed under personal music

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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
30 Plays →

Immortal Technique —- The 4th Branch via missdaisyvo

(via missdaisyvo-deactivated20110517)

Filed under music rap

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Blumentopf - Ich bin so.

Most of my followers have probably been online long enough to remember Napster — a few may even remember trading warez on IRC, which was my personal favorite. Ripped albums would be released by warez groups, who included beautiful info files and competed with each other on the number of releases and servers, as well as the audio quality of their rips. I’m happy to know that IRC is still fairly popular — although I haven’t been active in more than 7 years. In those days everyone used an alias, mine being lowtechneq. Today my online presence is alexanderpf and I mostly listen to Pandora or news on NPR.

The content I access is still free (monetarily speaking.. and I do purchase the occasional Kindle eBook or MP3 audiobook) and is also considered legal — whereas U.S. law and the RIAA/MPAA consider copying a file theft.

Most of the really good books I’ve read have been released into the public domain. If a new book comes out I think paying a few dollars (.. no middle man fee) to the author is alright. In fact considering the incredibly low cost of “publishing” text today this should motivate anyone out there interesting in writing a book.

Gone are the days of boy bands with no talent — lip-syncing autotuned celebrities that serve as cash cows entire parasitic industries. Gone are the days where writers are given large cash advances for producing some fixed number of pages which will be re-produced at fixed intervals.

As much as I enjoy a well bound book with plenty of handwritten notes. I doubt I’ll reread more than 10% of my fiction books — and could probably find most of the content of my non-fiction books online. And as much as I enjoy vinyl records, I’d rather make playlists, or better yet, interactive radio.

What does all of this have to do with the music video above?

There was a record store in Lippstadt Germany called Stone Free records that carried a fair amount of German rap. Based on the US artists that I liked he helped me filter the good from the bad — and every year I came to Lippstadt I would visit and pick up a few new albums. The last time I went he told me he was closing. It was 2008 and he was getting by alright — but with a new megabox store coming to town, and more kids downloading music he couldn’t imagine staying afloat much longer if he kept the store.

I enjoy Pandora’s artificial intelligence and its accessibility, but it’s sad to know that my friend Mario has been replaced by a robot.

Filed under Lippstadt Germany Blumentopf IRC Napster Personal RIAA MPAA MP3 Kindle eBook music rap store Stone Free Music