http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db2kHyrU-hM

SOUNDTRACK: The Believer July/August 2008 Music Issue Compilation CD: The Volatile But Symbiotic Relationship of Mabel and Anabel (2008).

The previous Believer CD expanded the palette of music by introducing a lot of hard-edged bands.  But this CD smashes any complaints about one-dimensionality.  It is designed around a concept of “world” music which they have designated as MABEL (Musicians of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage) and ANABEL (Artists Not of American, British, or [Western] European Lineage).

The internet has introduced a huge amount of ANABEL music to MABEL musicians.  And this has led to Western musicians experimenting with very different musical styles.

The problem, such as it is, with this disc is that it is comprised almost entirely of ANABEL songs.  So, although the disc is designed to show the influences of these artists there’s not a whole lot of tracks that show the western bands using them.  (In fairness, you can only do so much with 72 minutes).  And yes, there are a number of clearly MABEL artists here: Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors.

However, as an introduction to a few cultures’ worth of music, it’s pretty great.  I admit that I don’t love every song on this disc.  But after a few listens I’ve really grown to appreciate these tracks from Iran, Jamaica (dancehall), India and Bulgaria.

Some artists that really impressed me were: Googoosh, and her traditional Iranian track from the 70s.  Enemble Pirin, a subset of the Le Mysterè des Voix Bulgares (whom I’ve liked for years).  And Beat Konducta.  It also introduced me to Aceyalone, who I’ve heard of but never listened to.  And I really enjoyed the superfast rapping in the start of Busy Signal’s track.

I wouldn’t listen to this disc a lot, but it would be fun to throw a track or two from this on a mix CD and see how well it fit.

The track listing is here.

[READ: December 15, 2009] Shenanigans

I usually really enjoy the slice of life/romancey comics from Oni Press.  But I have some major gripes with this one.

The art is pretty cool.  I’m intrigued by the fact that the pupils of the characters are white (like L i’l Orphan Annie).  I found it very disconcerting at first, but once I got used to it, I rather liked it.  And the characters were always very expressive.

It’s the story that I have a problem with.

The story is an overly simple–cliched, if you will–story about a man who poses as another man to check up on his girlfriend.  Holden is a thoroughly unlikable character. When the story opens he is kicked out of his girlfriend’s apartment for ignoring her (while playing video games).  And, frankly he never proves himself to be anything better than the loser she describes him as.

Soon thereafter he meets and woos Casey, a beautiful woman who deserves much much better than him.  Inexplicably, she invites him to live with her, even though she was just fired from her job and she already has a roommate–I guess a freeloading guy seems like a good addition to the mix.  But Casey is very smart (although not smart enough to dump Holden) and she posts an ad that she’s offering her services as a math tutor.

Because she’s hot, she gets many takers.  This consumes most of her time and, of course, Holden becomes jealous, because who wouldn’t hate to hate his girlfriend earning cash?  And when he sees that the tutees are college hunks (but really, who else needs tutoring in math?) he gets enraged (see, why isn’t she dumping his lame ass by now?).  Even though he see her rebuffing their advances, he gets very jealous and hatches a bad TV plot to disguise himself from her.  Now, as with any preposterous story, somehow a hat, glasses and a fake goatee are enough to fool this woman who claims to love Holden so very much.

And, of course, later they end up at the same event where hijinks ensue.

I was really disappointed that nothing original happened here.  And, worst of all, Holden is such an unlikable character, it’s shocking to think that any woman would give him as many chances as she does.  Oh, and the whole subplot of her twin brother who thoroughly abuses her best friend (he even inadvertently sets her on fire) is never given any backstory or resolution.

It’s a very poor addition to any graphic novel collection.

The Dubai Shopping Festival Office has stated the one whole week of festivities to mark the occasion of Eid Al Adha and the UAE National Day that falls on December 2. The second edition of ‘Eid in Dubai’ – Eid Al Adha will begin on November 27 and will close with the National Day Celebrations till December 3rd.

The DSF office will be making sure to stretch the spirit of Eid and the Glory of the UAE’s 38th National day among locals, expatriates and tourists. Dubai will be a first choice destination in the region during the week from 27th November to 3rd of December.
On November 27, ‘Eid in Dubai’ will feature an collection of family-oriented cultural and social programmes across Dubai. Some of these highlights are… more at http://www.dubaisurprises.com/index.php/all-news-one-source/the-nation/354-eid-al-adha-and-uae-national-day-celebration.html

I have always liked Googoosh since I was a little boy in Iran

Googoosh, Ganji** und andere bekannte Exiliraner schließen sich dem Protest an

At an event today, July 22, 2009 organized by long time political prisoner of the islamic regime Akbar Ganji, dozens of Iranian celebrities and notable citizens start a hunger strike in front of the United Nations building in New York City. Googoosh is interviewed by CNN Iranian reporter and mobbed by supporters.

**Zu Ganji:

Wir werden in Zukunft alle Beiträge oder Aufrufe weglassen, in den Personen wie Ganji zu Wort kommen, die sich antisemitisch verhalten oder als Israelhasser zu erkennen geben; sehe Text unten:

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi
Friends, I’m JUST the storyteller so I don’t need anyone attacking me BUT you need to know that on Wednesday, a reporter, an Iranian Jewish lady who works with the Farsi Broadcast of Radio Israel approached the emotionally stunted Akbar Ganji for an interview for their broadcast and Ganji’s response was: “I don’t talk to Jews & Israelis!” NICE…and this guy is supposed to be for freedom?

The Green Brief #28 (July 14)

Protests / Unrest

1. Iran’s Ministry of Energy has asked all Iranian citizens to lower their use of electricity in the late hours of the night. Protesters have been using electrical appliances en masse to disrupt the electricity supply in the country. The Ministry has asked for a decreased usage between 8 to 11 PM.

2. On Monday night, the main entrance to the Ministry of Information building in Mashhad was set on fire. It has been reported that this was done in retaliation for Monday’s murder of Mehrdad Heydari – a prominent journalist from Mashhad. Heydari’s death is rumored to be by the hands of security forces.

3. Reports indicate that the security situation in Tabriz is very bad with large numbers of security forces in the area and ongoing arrests. However, there are no reliable reports coming out of Tabriz at this point. It has been reported that Iranian pop idol, Googoosh, will go to the hunger strike in front of the UN on July 22, 2009.

4. It has now been fully confirmed that Hashemi Rafsanjani will in fact lead the Friday Prayer’s in Tehran. We reported yesterday that Mahdi Karoubi, Mohammad Khatami and Mir Hossein Mousavi were also planning on attending. Reports – just coming out of Iran – now indicate that this may NOT be the case. Thus, until further confirmation, please treat their “supposed attendance” with a grain of salt. (Note: There have been times that leaders have indicated that they will attend an event, but have not, so anything is possible in our opinion.)

Opposition

5. Opposition members have started to sue government-owned newspapers for defamation, spreading rumors and slander. Sources claim that Mousavi’s office, as well as Khatami’s offices have sued Reja News, Fars News Agency, Iran Daily and Keyhan Daily. We reported on Green Brief #18-19 that Mousavi was reportedly forming a new political front. This has now been fully confirmed. There are reports out Mousavi has reportedly shunned Khamenei’s attempts at holding emergency talks – none of them could be even partially confirmed.

Government / International

6. The Deputy Speaker of Iran’s Parliament announced today that Iranian President-Select Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn into office on August 2, 2009. Although Ahmadinejad has postponed many of his trips abroad and even within Iran in the past few weeks, it has now been confirmed that he will be traveling to Mashhad on Thursday.

Arrested / Released / Killed

7. It was reported yesterday that Hamshahri Newspaper had fired some of its staff members. We have confirmations today that one of those staff members, Marjan Abdul-Hayan (a technician), has been arrested. Koroush Javan, a photographer for Khorshid Newspaper, has also been arrested. Reports indicate that three of Javan’s roommates were also detained with him.

8. Blogger Mohammad Ismailzadeh has been released on bail after a month in detention. Mojtaba Tehrani has asked his family to post bail of about 150 million tomans (150 million tomans is about $150,000 US dollars.) Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard met with the family of slain protester Sohrab A’rabi to express their condolences.

9. The families of many political prisoners held a press conference today in Tehran. They proclaimed that all their efforts in contacting their loved ones had failed thus far. According to them, Iranian authorities were not responding to any of their inquiries. Tomorrow, families of many detainees will be meeting with a three-member committee set up by the Iranian Judiciary to follow-up on the status of detainees.

10. New reports have emerged that the Iranian government has stored the bodies of hundreds of protesters killed during the unrest in Southwest Tehran – instead of giving them to their loved ones. Norooz – an online Iranian news service – claims that one family was taken to a building and shown pictures of hundreds of dead detainees in order to identify their loved one. It should be noted that the building they were taken to was one that stored frozen fruit. If the above-mentioned claim of “hundreds of bodies” is true, it would lend credibility to the claim that the number of people killed in the post-election unrest is far higher than what has been reported so far. (In the Green Briefs 4 and 5 we speculated that the number of people that had been killed by then was likely over a hundred.)

11. Reports on the death of an 18 year old boy, who had been shot during the protests and was in a coma, emerged today from Shiraz. The slain boy was named Arman Estakhripour. Although reports circulated yesterday that 14 suspected Jondullah Members were to be hung in Zahedan, only 13 were hung today. The fate of the remaining Jondollah Member remains unknown.

12. There are reports spreading online that an Iranian student, identified as Taraneh M., may have been gang-raped by Basiji militiamen while detained in prison. No independent confirmation could be obtained at this point.

13. The US State Department has asked for the immediate release of Kenyan Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar who has now been in detention for more than a week.

Media

14. It has been reported that IRIB has prepared a “blacklist” of hundreds of names – possibly as high as 1,000 – including politicians, journalists, and other prominent Iranians. They have purportedly handed this list over to all of their TV Stations with strict instructions to NEVER allow those “blacklisted” to appear on any of the government-run stations.

(Still pretty sick so apologies if work’s being done late or I cannot respond to messages)

*A hearty thanks to Sahar joon for helping me out with proof-reading and very valuable tips. Also, a BIG THANKS to all the translators who’re spending their precious time on getting this to as many people as possible.

To the Music of: Ayrılıq by Googoosh

Forbes Magazine has a pictorial about women in Iran who were already leaders, or who are becoming leaders due to all the recent unpleasantness there.

Neda is on the list. Other than her, this one’s my favorite:

Caption:

Along with all other Iranian female performers, Googoosh, whose given name is Fargheh Atashin, was banned from singing when Khoumeni took over Iran in 1979. Since leaving the country in 2000, her following has only grown. A song released in reaction to recent events asks fellow Iranian ex-patriots whether they have forgotten about their nation since the revolution. The song, titled “Man Hamoon Iranam,” or “I am the same Iran,” received some 46,000 YouTube hits after one day.

Here’s the YouTube:

Didn’t understand a word, but what a great voice. Fine-looking woman, too. She’s 59.

If only Dolly Parton hadn’t…

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- Mar. 16 & 17. (Mon. & Tues.)  Uri Caine Trio. Caine’s crossover blends of jazz and classical music are among the wonders of contemporary music.  Jazz Bakery. Jazz Bakery  (310) 271-9039.  www.jazzbakery.com.0-317-4292 310-317-4292

- Mar. 17. (Tues.)  Josh Nelson Trio.  Nelson has quickly moved from the position of emerging young talent to a solid role as one of the Southland’s adventurous, always compelling jazz artists.  He performs with the solid support of bassist Pat Senatore and drummer Mark Ferber. Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. (310) 474-9400.  www.vibratogrilljazz.com.

- Mar. 18. (Wed.)  Mike Lang Trio.  Pianist Lang’s credits range eclectically from work with Ray Charles, John Lennon, Lee Konitz, Barbra Streisand and Frank Zappa to film recording with John Williams, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein and more.  But the best way to hear him is on his own, fronting a trio with  Mike Valerio, bass, Joel Taylor, drums, with special guest, David Paich, on keyboards.  Catalina’s.  Catalina Bar & Grill.  (323) 466-2210.  www.catalinajazzclub.com.

Mariza

- Mar. 18. (Wed.)  Mariza.  The dynamic, Portuguese fadista brings the classic fado style fully into the 21^st century.. Walt Disney Concert Hall. (323) 850-2000.  http://www.laphil.org.

- Mar. 19. (Thurs.)  Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band.  With Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett and Vinnie Colaiuta in the Band, expect state of the art contemporary  jazz.  Five Piece (or Peace) groups don’t get much better than this. UCLA Royce Hall. (310) 825-2101. www.uclalive.org

- Mar. 19 & 20.. (Thurs. & Fri.)  Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The Grammy winning South African choral ensemble makes a pair of Southland appearances.  Thurs. at The Conga Room. (213) 749-0162 .  http://www.congaroom.com Friday at CSUN’s Plaza del Sol Performance Hall. (818) 677-2488.  http://www.artsnorthridge.csun.com..

- Mar. 20 (Fri.)  Ernie Watts with the John Heard Trio. Player for all seasons Watts is the first call saxophonist on everyone’s list, bringing everything he touches to life.  Here he has a chance to do it up front on  his own terms. Charlie O’s.  Charlie O’s.  (818) 994-3058.  www.charlieos.com.

Tuck & Patti

- Mar. 20 – 22. (Fri. – Sun.)  Tuck & Patti. The ultimate voice and guitar jazz duo showcase selections from their latest CD, “I Remember You,” in typically rememorable fashion. Catalina Bar & Grill.  (323) 466-2210.  www.catalinajazzclub.com.

- Mar. 20.  (Fri.)  Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band. Susie’s high -energy electric violin and the surging rhythms of her always buoyant musicians keep the body moving and the feet tapping.  (714) 871-8800  www.steamersjazzcafe.com.

- Mar. 22. (Sun.)  Wycliffe Gordon, Rickey Woodard, John Beasley, Trevor Ware, Clayton Cameron.  Trombonist Gordon and saxophonist Woodard front a quintet of L.A.’s finest.  A-Frame Jazz. (310) 659-9169.  www.aframejazz.com.

The Petersons

- Mar. 22. (Sun.)  The Peterson Family.  Three generations of Minnesota’s amazing Peterson family – from matriarch jazz pianist Jeanne Arland Peterson to the second generation’s Linda, Patty, Billy, Ricky and Paul to grandsons Jason Peterson De Laire – make another welcome return to L.A. There’ll be lots of sibling revelry. The Jazz Bakery  (310) 271-9039.  www.jazzbakery.com..

San Francisco

- Mar 19 – 22. (Thurs. – Sun.)  Bela Fleck and Toumani Diabete.  The eclectic banjo virtuoso and the Malian master kora player find common creative ground.  Yoshi’s Oakland. . (510) 238-9200.  www.yoshis.com.

Googoosh

- Mar. 21. (Sat.)  Googoosh. The iconic singer from Iran celebrates Nooroz (the Iranian New Year) with the first performance in her Memory Lane Tour.  One of the world’s most charismatic artists, her rare appearances in the U.S. should not be missed, The Paramount Theatre, Oakland. (510) 465-6400. http://www.paramounttheatre.com.

- Mar. 21 – April 2.   The Jewish Music Festival.  Andy Statman Trio, Ernest Bloch Celebration, Kosher Gospel, The Sisters of Sheynville, Daniel Kahn & Painted Bird, and others.  Locations in San Francisco, Berkeley and the Bay area. (800) 838-3006.   http://www.jewishmusicfestival.org.

New York City

George Avakian

- Mar. 18. (Wed.)  George Avakian’s 90^th Birthday Celebration. With music by David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band.  Name an important development in the history of recorded music, and George Avakian, has probably been involved – from the creation of the first record album and the emergence of the LP to the great Columbia jazz recordings of the ’50s.  Birdland.  (212) 581-3080.  www.birdlandjazz.com.

- Mar. 19 – 22. (Thurs. – Sun,.)  Charles Tolliver Big Band.  Tolliver celebrates the release of his adventurous big band’s new release on Half Note records. Blue Note.  (212) 475-8592. http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/index.shtml.

Savannah, Georgia

Savion Glover

- Mar. 19 – April 5.  The Savannah Music Festival.  Savannah may not seem to be a power center for contemporary music, but this year’s Festival includes an impressive gathering of major jazz and world music talent.  Scheduled artists include the Chick Corea/John McLaughlin Five Peace Band, Marcus Printup, Mariza, Bela Fleck, Toumani Diabate, Vusi Mahlasela, Zakir Hussain, Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, Ellis Marsalis Quartet, Eddie Palmieri, the Clayton Brothers, Savion Glover, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Garrick Ohlsson, Neko Case, Eddie Palmieri, Mike Marshall and Darol Anger, Andrea Marcovicci and dozens of others.  At locations around Savannah. (912) 234.3378 http://www.savannahmusicfestival.org.

.

It’s one thing to be a musician and get thrown out of Disneyland (Velvet Underground) or banned from a national landmark (Ozzy Osbourne at the Alamo), but you’ve hit rock paydirt when you become the target of an entire nation. Whether it’s the Black Lips’ recent ouster from India (for all manner of on-stage obscenity in Chennai) or Björk’s incendiary comments about Tibet at a Shanghai show last year that has Chinese officials rethinking their nation’s open-door policy for Western entertainers, the world at large isn’t always ready for the rock.

THE KINKS | Ray Davies has frequently complained that his band’s blacklisting by the American Federation of Musicians between 1966 and 1969 kept them from becoming a household name like the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who. Although the legend of that blacklisting has morphed into a story about teen-pop wizards too unruly for American society, the truth is far more mundane, having to do with a dispute between the AFM and the band’s management over the use of non-union stagehands. And, of course, the “ban” was what actually made the Kinks’ legacy what it is now, as the band, stuck in dreary England, proceeded to create a catalogue of über-British tunes filled with the Victorian flourishes that distinguished them from the road-warrior vibe of so many of their contemporaries.

GOOGOOSH | Sometimes an artist doesn’t have to travel to a foreign country to get banned. Take Faegheh Atashin a/k/a Googoosh, Iran’s most popular musician throughout the ’70s. Googoosh had parlayed her ’60s film stardom into a musical career that saw her become as beloved in her home country as Elvis was in the States. Her career was cut short by the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when many Iranian entertainers fled to the West. Googoosh stayed in Iran, but her music was silenced by a ban on female solo singers. In 2000, Iranian-American filmmaker Farhad Zamani released the documentary Googoosh: Iran’s Daughter and sparked a resurgence of Googoosh nostalgia among Iranian ex-pats around the globe, bringing her out of her imposed retirement to play concerts outside Iran.

RY COODER | In the late ’90s, no one was a more effective musical ambassador than Ry Cooder, whose production for the soundtrack to Buena Vista Social Club introduced the world to a group of long-lost Cuban musical legends. After the album’s commercial success, however, his attempt at a sequel was almost stalled by the US State Department’s Cuban Affairs division, whose concern over an American’s profiting from visits to Cuba prompted it to reject his request to return to Cuba in August 2000. President Clinton intervened on Cooder’s behalf, and that allowed him to record tracks with Cuban guitar legend Manuel Galban of the group Los Zafiros.

SNOOP DOGG | Like a parent handing down a “no TV for the rest of your life” punishment only to rescind it a week later, the UK in 2006 barred Calvin Broadus a/k/a Snoop Dogg from the country “forever” as the result of a brawl at Heathrow Airport involving the rapper and his entourage and a subsequent review of his American criminal record by some stuffy British types that probably resulted in a gavel’s being slammed down by a guy in a powdered wig. Snoop Dogg’s desperate appeal to be allowed to milk the rainy island nation for more “Drop It like It’s Hot” sales did result in the lifting of the ban last year.

Farhad Ahrarnia

• Canvas magazine site
• More emerging artist ideas
• Latest news on Iranian artists, Middle Eastern artists
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