Tracklist:

Prologue • The Mummers' Dance • Skellig • Marco Polo • The Highwayman • La Serenissima • Night Ride Across The Caucasus • Dante's Prayer

Spotify ♪ YouTube

Al-Namrood - Ana Al Tughian

From The Album: Diaji Al Joor (2015)

[Black Metal, Folk Metal, Arabic Folk Music]

50. Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood | Jarak Qaribak

🇮🇱 Israël & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Angleterre | World Circuit | 40 minutes | 9 morceaux

"Ton voisin est ton ami". Le titre arabe de cette collaboration entre Duda Tassa, figure du rock alternatif de Tel-Aviv, et Jonny Greenwood (membre éminent de Radiohead et de The Smile mais aussi compositeur reconnu de bandes originales envoutantes) dit l’essentiel de ce projet musical. En invitant des chanteurs et des musiciens libanais 🇱🇧, égyptiens 🇪🇬, palestiniens 🇵🇸, syriens 🇸🇾 (et autres) à interpréter des chansons traditionnelles provenant d’autres pays du Moyen-Orient que le leur, l’album promeut l’idée de fraternité et de connexion humaine. On ne peut par ailleurs qu’être captivé par un habillage sonore absolument fascinant, évoquant selon les dires de Greenwood lui-même ce qu’aurait pu commettre Kraftwerk si ses membres s’étaient retrouvés dans un studio d’enregistrement du Caire à la fin des années 70s. Un message de communion sorti quatre mois avant le 7 octobre 2023 et qui mérite plus que jamais d'être entendu.

Igorrr x Spirituality and Distortion

Nadah El Shazly - Afqid Adh​-​Dhakira (I Lose Memory) From Nadah El Shazly - Ahwar (Nawa, 2017)

Levantine Week: Day 7: Regional Psychedelic, Funk, Blues, Folk and Indie Rock Hidden Gems - Part 2

For Day 7 of Levantine Week James presents the second of a two part look at some of the finest psychedelic, funk, blues, folk and indie rock that the region has to offer. With artists from Israel, Egypt, Cyprus and Jordan, there is plenty of variety to be had. Each act brings its own unique blend of styles and influences, many drawing of the music of their country and region to create something fresh and new through fusion. So, dig in and see what the Levant has to offer.

This article looks at:

Mental Soup - Journey Through the Abyss (Cyprus)

Albaitil Ashwai البيت العشوائي - Nuun (Jordan)

Boom Pam - Royal (Israel) (Batov Records)

كهارب/Kahareb - Malhamet Debba / م​ل​ح​م​ة د​ب​ه

Yazan Tariq Sarayrah | (يزن صرايرة (السّلايتس - SHARQ ETTABBANA | ش​ر​ق ا​ل​ت​ب​ا​ن​ة (Jordan)

Kutiman - Open (Israel) (Kartel Musicgroup)

Hayajan - Khusouf Al​-​Ard (Jordan)

Joseph Pepe Danza - The Corona Recordings (Israel) (JOMO Music)

Maryam Saleh - Mesh Baghanny (Egypt)

Ya Rayeh

Mustarjil is an Arabic term meaning “becoming [a] man.” Although it can be used derogatorily to refer to women who are perceived as having a masculine appearance and/or mannerisms, in Iraq’s marshes, it existed as a gender identity. Within the context of the Ahwari community, Mustarjil was a common gender identity, where people assigned female at birth decide to live as a man after puberty, and this decision was generally accepted in the community. The Mustarjils were one of many similar third gender categories around the world, such as the Hijras in South Asia. [...] “One afternoon, some days after leaving Dibin, we arrived at a village on the mainland. The sheikh was away looking at his cultivations, but we were shown to his mudhif by a boy wearing a head-rope and cloak, with a dagger at his waist. He looked about fifteen and his beautiful face was made even more striking by two long braids of hair on either side. ln the past all the Madan (Ahwari) wore their hair like that, as the Bedu still did. After the boy had made us coffee and withdrawn, Amara asked, ‘Did you realize that was a mustarjil?’ I had vaguely heard of them, but had not met one before. ‘A mustarjil is born a woman’. ‘She cannot help that; but she has the heart of a man, so she lives like a man.’ ‘Do men accept her?’ ‘Certainly. We eat with her and she may sit in the mudhif. When she dies, we fire off our rifles to honour her. We never do that for a woman. In Majid’s village there is one who fought bravely in the war against Haji Sulaiman.’ ‘Do they always wear their hair plaited?’ ‘Usually they shave it off like men.’ ‘Do mustarjils ever marry?’ ‘No, they sleep with women as we do.’” Thesiger continues to narrate several other accounts of mustarjils within the same community, as well that of a “stout middle-aged woman” who wanted to remove her male organ in order to “turn into a proper woman.” Thesiger later mentions: “Afterwards I often noticed the same [person] washing dishes on the river bank with the women. Accepted by them, [she] seemed quite at home. These people were kinder to [her] than we would have been in our society.” Around that time, Britain was still living under the shadow of Victorian norms, and gender non-normative people were still stigmatized and shunned. Communities such as the Ahwaris, presented an alternative model that created space for communities like the mustarjils, despite the dominant gender binary. 

— Recovering Arab Trans History: Masoud El Amaratly, the Folk Music Icon from Iraq’s Marshes by Marwan Kaabour

Tracklist:

Rebirth Of The Nemesis (Enuma Elish Rewritten) • Ladders To Sumeria (Arcane Spiritual Machines) • Deluge Of Delusional Dreams (Act I - Cast Tempest From The East; Act II - Enlil's Retaliation) • Touching The Spheres Of Sephiroth (Embracing The Spheres Of Qliphoth) • Gyroscope • Double Helixed Sceptre (Where Both Ends Meet) • The Scribes Of Kur • Leper Jerusalem (The Paradox) • Sand Grain Universe (The Release) • Emissaries And The Mysterium Magnum (Annunakian Revelations) • Extemporized Ophthalmic Release

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

Al-Namrood - Ashab Al Aika

From The Album: Kitab Al Awthan (2012)

[Black Metal, Folk Metal, Arabic Folk Music]

Unknown asteroids #2

@m1nd-r0t here is part 2, enjoyyy!!

🌷Elodie (10726) – French form of Elodia, which has a Spanish origin; means “foreign riches” as in old money/inheritances, denoting the nature of both Capricorn and Scorpio; if prominent in composite, it can indicate a couple that becomes rich together under mysterious circumstances

🌷Epicles (23549) – of Greek origin; denotes an Ancient Greek medical writer who lived in 1st or 2nd century BC; prominent in medical staff and medicine students

🌷Epimetheus (1810) – of Greek origin; denotes the Titan god of afterthought and excuses; it shows which area we tend to come up with excuses (if it aspects Mars – excuses as to why we can’t start something, why we don't exercise; if it aspects Venus – excuses as to why we can’t get in a relationship, why we’re unlovable)

🌷Epikourus (5954) – of Greek origin; denotes an Ancient Greek philosopher, who founded a renowned philosophy school centered around Epicureanism; prominent in philosophers and those who think deeply

🌷Ercol (155784) – of British orign; denotes a British furniture manufacture; prominent in the charts of successful interior designers, usually by sextile or trine

🌷Fado (541741) – of Portugese origin; denotes a type of Portugese folk music which centers around death, mourning and loss; based on my research, it does show up in the charts of metalheads who are into doom metal (this asteroid usually aspects their moon), but not in the charts of goths

🌷FAIR (204873) – of English origin; well, it’s self-explanatory

🌷Fairbank (67235) – of English origin; denotes someone who gets charity money for the right cause/someone who easily attracts scolarships and sponsorships

🌷Fiammetta (50729) – of Italian origin; means “little fiery one”; denotes someone who becomes cute when angry; in the charts of very spiritual/religious people, it can show the faith that burns inside and guides them

🌷Huma (3988) – of Persian origin; denotes a bird similar to the phoenix, which is supposed to bring luck and fortune; luck that comes after a transformation

🌷Hus (1840) – of Swedish origin; means house; in synastry, if there’s double whammy aspects (person A’s Hus aspects person B’s Hus and vice versa), it’s very possible that you might live together

🌷Icke (7508) – of (old) Swedish origin; means nobody, no one; if it conjuncts Sun, it indicates a loner or someone who isn’t taken into consideration by others; a second meaning: what we find disgusting

🌷Ida (243) – of Greek and German origins; means industrious, laborious, hardworking

🌷Indulgentia (90703) – of Latin origin; means lenience, concession; in synastry, it denotes someone prone to give a second chance to their ex; if this asteroid squares the other person’s Venus and the Venus person cheats on the Indulgentia asteroid person, the asteroid person is very likely to forgive them and continue the relationship

🌷Isolda (211) – of Welsh and German origin; means “she who is gazed at”; denotes a woman who attracts the attention of both men and women due to her beauty; if it conjuncts MC, it can point out to a career as a model

🌷Jaffe (9696) – of Hebrew origin; means beautiful, pleasant

🌷Jamila (1843) – of Arabic origin; same meaning as asteroid Jaffe

🌷Lioba (974) – of German origin; means dear, beloved one

🌷Lippens (9640) – of Scottish origin; means trust, to rely on someone; a second meaning: lips

🌷Lipschutz (2641) – of German origin; means lip protection (it might be prominent in those who use lip balm frequently); in synastry, it denotes a thoughtful, caring lover, who kisses softly

🌷Meesters (10647) – of Dutch origin, means master (of something), boss

🌷Megaira (464) – of Greek origin; she is one of the 3 Furies/Erinyes in Greek mythology; denotes jealousy and envy, similar to Klythia (73) and Irsha (216451)

🌷Meiden (2881) – of German origin; mean to avoid, to shun

🌷Vieuxtemps (40007) – of French origin; means “old times”, but it can also show nostalgia; in synastry, it can show connections that last decades; the friends and lover/spouse we will have during seniorhood

🌷Vetter (18377) – of German origin; means cousin

(10726, 23549, 1810, 5954, 155784, 541741, 204873, 67235, 50729, 3988, 1840, 7508, 243, 90703, 211, 9696, 1843, 974, 9640, 2641, 10647, 464, 2881, 40007, 18377)

the batfam's fave music genres:

Dick: pop girlie through and through - big abba fan, loves britney and tswift, seeing yoncé live is the best thing that ever happened to him

Jason: musical theatre nerd - he looooves newsies so much, used to dream abt being a broadway star; occasionally dabbles in folk music and leftist protest songs (he knows the lyrics to both Solidarity Forever and The Internationale)

Tim: 2000s emo/pop punk guy - loves mcr and green day, simple plan for when he's feeling particularly angsty, nirvana when he's angry at the world

Steph: extremely eclectic tastes, her fave playlist goes from skrillex to taylor swift to cardi b to disney to daft punk to tupac to

Damian: big k-pop fan - loves bts (but would never admit it ever) - but mainly listens to arabic rock

Duke: he's a boyband guy through and through - nsync, backstreet boys, one direction, jonas brothers - if they're a group of men making silly pop songs, he's into it EDIT: have been informed that duke canonically likes heavy metal that critiques the american prison/judicial system (which is so fucking cool)

Cass: heavy metal, death metal, gothic metal - her favourite band is Nightwish

Bruce: he likes 'old' music - frank sinatra, billie holliday, the andrews sisters, johnny cash - and, somewhat incongruously, Marina Diamandis

Others:

Babs: she loves opera and has a particular fondness for prokofiev and wagner (inherited from her dad, they used to go to the Gotham Opera together)

Selina: latin pop - gloria estefan, enrique iglesias, ricky martin, selena - as well as reggaeton and salsa (she loves to take bruce salsa dancing bc he's a pretty good dancer and can throw her around a bit)

Clark: he loves country music - johnny cash, dolly parton (he met her as superman and got her autograph), shania twain, orville peck - but he mainly listens to podcasts bc he's a nerd (affectionate)

Talia: like damian, she enjoys arabic rock but also arabic folk music, bollywood music, and frank sinatra (like selina, she likes to take bruce dancing except it's swing dance instead of salsa)

The Problem with the Gerudo | Orientalism in Legend of Zelda

EDIT: Because I made an updated and more in-depth version of this now that Tears of the Kingdom has been out longer, I've posted the updated link here in place of the original.

With the release of Tears of the Kingdom, we have to have this discussion again. The desert vai outfit was racist, not that the game removed it to address that, but the Gerudo are built entirely on orientalist tropes that go beyond just the outfit. We also talk about orientalism as shown in works like Aladdin and Ducktales.

Some Excerpts:

I'm not saying to abandon the idea of queering Link entirely, but only to understand that Legend of Zelda relies very heavily on a number of euro-fantasy tropes that rely on presenting numerous non-white people as exotic playthings and to consider the position that puts queer non-white folks in.

The entire scene of Link getting the Vai outfit and questioning the man giving it to him is built on transphobia.

This isn't queer expression, it's racial exoticism. They're not imagined as people with a society that makes sense, everything around them being so fixated on finding men and having Link and other white guys infiltrating their space.

Orientalism at its core is an imagined vision of real oppressed people by a dominant group in a way that excludes them from their own portrayal and reinforces real-world systemic oppression.

Entire fictional groups in Zelda such as the Rito, Twili, Zonai, Gorons, and Deku Scrubs to name a few incorporate racial coding in addition to the Gerudo. That recontextualizes how we look at say how the Deku are portrayed in Majora's Mask where they're jungle dwelling savages boiling this monkey alive because they think he kidnapped their princess. This is where racial coding comes into play because Nintendo is using a racial trope commonly used to depict Black and several native indigenous people as barbaric.

The Gerudo in Ocarina of Time are depicted as a race of desert-dwelling thieves. You're formally introduced gameplay wise when you have to sneak around their hideout and free these men who were seduced by what the game presents to us as dangerous but irresistible women. Despite being a group of almost entirely women, their society is patriarchal as the in-game lore states the lone man born every century is destined to be their leader. The Gerudo also go out into Hyrule to go find boyfriends.

Ocarina of Time is one of the earliest Zelda games to portray a human or human-like version of Ganon, the man of the desert he's repeatedly called, but they use racial coding with his human counterpart and make him an Arab man with some other cultures mashed in, which they also conflated with Islam to characterize him as evil and dangerous.

Ocarina of Time goes a step further as the recurring symbol of the Gerudo shown here is an altered version as seen on the mirror shield obtained in the spirit temple. The original symbol is a crescent moon and star very closely resembling the symbol of Islam. A common orientalist trope that does this is the conflation of Arabs with the religious faith of Islam. This was changed alongside prayer chanting used in music for the fire temple on some N64 cartridges and subsequent ports and the DS remake of Ocarina of Time.

The fact that Nintendo is a Japanese company doesn't magically make them immune to these issues, especially because 1) orientalism doesn't only encompass Asian people and 2) Even the term "Asian" encompasses countless subcommunities each with very distinct histories.

Maya Al Khaldi - ترويدة لسامي - Sami's Lullaby From Maya Al Khaldi - ع​ا​ل​م ت​ا​ن​ي (Other World) (Tawleef, 2022)