Syrian music of protest and war

December 10, 2012 12:08 AM

Syrian music of revolution and war. The first song is by Ibrahim Qashoush, a fireman and amateur poet from Hama, he was called the "nightingale of the revolution".
posted by stbalbach (6 comments total)

I grew up in the '60s, maybe the last decade of real American protest music, and I can't avoid thinking of Tom Lehrer's less-than-respectful tune "The Folk Song Army" which included the lines:
"Remember the war against Franco?
That's the kind where each of us belongs.
Though he may have won all the battles,
We had all the good songs."
Then again, one of the biggest selling records of 1966 was "The Ballad of the Green Berets".
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:41 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Then again, one of the biggest selling records of 1966 was "The Ballad of the Green Berets".

At least that song was about the war in Vietnam. In 1968, at the height of the anti-war protests, the biggest selling record in America was Hey Jude. The power of art is always over-rated by artists.

I dunno about this. I see lots of men with guns in those videos and all of them look like VC. It's not clear who deserves support and whose songs deserve widespread attention. I bet Al Qaeda has some rocking tunes.
posted by three blind mice at 1:48 AM on December 10, 2012

"Amateur" poet?
posted by aught at 7:27 AM on December 10, 2012

If there was any justice or decency or honesty in the over-hyped, over-pumped, world of music awards, Ibrahim Qashoush would win "Artist of the Year". For what it's worth, I hereby nominate Ibrahim Qashoush for that award, at every upcoming music awards festival.
posted by Vibrissae at 12:37 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Amateur" poet?

You mean he wasn't amateur, or all poets are amateur? He "wrote poetry in his spare time".[1] He was a "street poet".[2] Point being, he was not of the creative class but a working everyman who captured the spirit of the uprising.
posted by stbalbach at 1:50 PM on December 10, 2012

"Amateur" poet?

You mean he wasn't amateur, or all poets are amateur? He "wrote poetry in his spare time".[1] He was a "street poet".[2] Point being, he was not of the creative class but a working everyman who captured the spirit of the uprising.

Just seems to me if people are reproducing someone's poetic efforts and they're known in the media for their poetry, there is no need to qualify the word "poet," is all. (As in, one doesn't need to have an MFA or be a professor teaching creative writing to be a real poet.)
posted by aught at 8:13 AM on December 14, 2012