Wow, talk about a great pick! I knew this article could be relevant to my capstone, particularly in relation to Simon Shaheen, one of my performance focuses, since he is a Palestinian oud player. What I didn’t realize was that Shaheen was actually discussed in the piece several times, and I learned many things about him I didn’t know before:
· Shaheen was part of a label called Mondo Melodia, which played a major role in bringing the popularity of Arab music to the US. He was one of 5 musicians discussed in the piece, and several of them toured together pre and post 9/11.
· Shaheen performed backup for Sting and Cheb Mami during their 2001 Grammy awards performance of “Desert Rose”. He also opened several times for Sting
· After 9/11, while other Arabic tours were cancelled, Shaheen kept performing and touring. He claimed that since 9/11 people in the US “seem much more interested and open when it comes to the Middle East and are trying to unlearn stereotypes.” (P182)
· During a 2002 tour with other Arabic artists, Shaheen appeared at the World Economic Forum in NYC (annual gathering of top corporations and political leaders) while 60,000 protesters met at the alternative World Social Forum in Brazil. With their involvement, the forum was able to sustain a label of being an organization that promoted “world peace.” (P183)
I kept thinking about the marketing side of world music when reading this article. There is a contradiction that exists in discussing the popularity of Arabic music since 9/11 because while there was and “exotic” interest and appreciation for the music, the people creating this music were often times seen as the enemy. Marketing seems to endorse the cultural side of it, but at the same time exploits it all the same. For example, Mondo Melodia brought together artists from three different countries in the Arab Diaspora, encouraging the coming together of a myriad of cultures, but at the same time one of their biggest moneymakers are belly dancing videos. They see belly dancing as the key vehicle for delivering Middle-Eastern music to a mass American audience. This was a result of “refocusing” efforts. Also, after 9/11, the Arab artists were marketed with posters stating “Banned by the Taliban” to ensure Americans that they are on the “same side” in order to sell more records.
A few different themes came out of this for me:
· Exoticizing the “other”
· Orientalism
· Sexualization- belly dancing=big moneymaker
· Popularity and acceptance comes as a result of collaboration with American artists
Amongst others, Swedenburg is in conversation with Edward Said. He states that Said believed that the US not only participates in the generalized Western discourse of Orientalism, but US Orientalism possesses a particular and often virulent character. This is due partly because of the physical distance between the US and the Arab World/Middle East. Therefore there is an ignorance and disinterest when it comes to the Arabic world. I thought this was interesting, because when I conducted my interview with Simon Shaheen, he too, seemed to be coming from the same belief, stating more than once that it is important to educate Americans, who often don’t even know where Palestine is. He felt it was important to reach out in order to start helping others to make connections to a world outside of the US.
