| BetweenA tribute to the singers lining Memory Lane If you ever encounter an Egyptian family — from grandparents to grandchildren — getting groovy and singing along to tracks like “Help” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” chances are that you are at my house. You cannot be in my family and not like The Beatles; it is hereditary, plain and simple. |
| If you ever encounter an Egyptian family — from grandparents to grandchildren — getting groovy and singing along to tracks like “Help” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” chances are that you are at my house.You cannot be in my family and not like The Beatles; it is hereditary, plain and simple.
How can I not like the Fathers of Rock, my favorite genre? Not only are The Beatles one of the best bands the world has ever seen, but their songs were also one of the few reliable tools that could diffuse my father’s anger, put an end to our arguments and have us singing along instead.
Songs like “Here Comes the Sun” from the album The Abbey Road and “I Need You” from Help paved the way for me to become the die-hard alternative rock fan that I later became. If you haven’t already guessed, those are my two favorite Beatles songs.
My pre-adolescent years were marked by my obsession with the Queen of Pop: Madonna. Songs like “True Blue” “Papa, Don’t Preach,” “Like a Virgin” and “La Isla Bonita” could be heard blaring out of my yellow Sports Sony walkman (yes, the waterproof one),while I did my own versions of her dance routines in the privacy of my bedroom.A multi-talented performer, Madonna is one of the very few artists who has stood the test of time and continues to surprise fans and critics alike with each new album.
Who could imagine that The Material Girl of the 1980s is the same singer who released 1992’s sexual avant garde Erotica album, 1994’s R&B Bedtime Stories and 2008’s urban pop Hard Candy. Hats off to you, lady.
In the 1990s, while most teenage girls were impersonating their favorite Spice Girl, I was discovering my new-found love for rock music, and Bon Jovi’s New Jersey album was my entry ticket.It is still one of my favorite albums, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. New Jersey still holds the record for the hard rock album to garner the most Top 10 singles on the US charts.
My favorite Bon Jovi songs, also on this album, include the rock ballad “I’ll be there for you,” “Born to be my Baby” and the less commercially successful track, “Wild is the Wind.”
Like virtually every teenager in the 1990s, I also went through a Nirvana phase, with Nirvana: Unplugged in New York my favorite album and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” and “The Man Who Sold the World” my two favorite tracks.
My cousins and I even created a ballet routine set to “The Man who Sold the World” lyrics. Alternative rock gurus such as Live, Pearl Jam and Dave Mathews Band (DMB), are still constant artists on my playlists.
Behind that rock fan was (and still is) a sucker for Walt Disney cartoons, and I proudly confess that I own every single Disney soundtrack from 1989’s The Little Mermaid to their latest release the 2010 Tangled.
Given my admittedly foreign music tastes, people seem surprised to learn that the Lebanese diva Fairouz is one of my favorite old time artists.Her strong yet soothing voice has been my constant companion through sleepless nights, heartbreaks and unforgettable road trips — “Shayef El-Bahr” (See the Sea) and “Shat El-Iskindriya” (Alexandria’s beaches) are my two favorites.
Another relatively new discovery is the trilingual Algerian Souad Massi.I have yet to hear a song that I did not like, but if I had to pick just one favorite, it would have to be “Mesk El-Leil” (Night Musk).
Her voice is powerful, yet comforting and filled with passion.
Massi also plays the acoustic guitar, and her music is an infusion of Western musical style influences with oriental and African music styles.
If she is not on your playlist, then she definitely should be.
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