Khalass news: Concert on Friday 9 November

Blend performing at Nova on July 30

Blend, a local Lebanese band, will be performing at Nova (Sin El Fil - Beirut) on Monday July the 30th.

Check out the video clip of one of their songs, Belong.

Happy Mother`s Day

To all blogging mothers out there in general and especially in Lebanon, to my mother friends and relatives: Happy Mother's day.

الى أمي، ينعاد عليك وعلينا

Who better describes our feelings than Marcel Khalife in his song "Oummi" (Mother).

http://arabworld.nitle.org/audiovisual.php?module_id=5&selected_feed=230

International Women`s Day - Art Lounge March 10

Thanks to MFL I knew about this event. I like the combination of Art, discussion and chilling to music.

I believe that even though the status of the Lebanese woman has gone a long shot for the past years in Lebanon and on several basis, such as politics, high position at work, salaries, etc... Nevertheless I still think that there are still some stuff that need to be accomplished. It is still a patririarchal society, and not just in Lebanon, even in countries such as the U.S.

On that note, I need to specify that I am no feminist, but I am definitely pro-rights, human rights, prisoner rights, women rights, and children rights. More over, I don't think men and women are absolutely equal, orelse, we wouldn't have two genders. However I believe that a job should not be given to someone because she is a woman, or he is a man, but for their qualifications and personalities. Equal opportunities is the key and to never judge a person's position or job based on gender, but for how competant they are.

Talents in Lebanon – Banadoura: Various Artists

After I posted this video clip for the song "Qamlo el 7arb" for the Lebanese band "Meen", one of the band members Tony Yammine was kind enough to send me the Banadoura Compilation CD. So Thank you, it's a great addition to my collection.

What is Banadoura?

It's a CD that has a compilation of songs for several Lebanese Artists plus bonus features (videos) for those artists. Munir Khauli, The Quiminboos, Zeina Daccache, Nadim Bou Khalil, and Meen (mentioned earlier).

11 tracks, 11 moods, 11 themes, various artists, various music styles, all Lebanese.

Make sure you check the CD out. Demo here.

Check out:
Talents in Lebanon – Composer/Musician: Jalal Haddad
Talents in Lebanon – Photographer: Karen K

Rock Fest 2007 in Lebanon

Click on below to enlarge picture. For more info, please visit www.lebanesebands.com

Zou3ama fallo min libnan are my thoughts

I find myself listening to this song over and over again, not because the music is very catchy (which it is), but because of the lyrics, how we simple they are yet how expressive. I dream that our "zou3ama" leave us alone, and our world will become a heaven in deed!

If you share my feelings and you're at work frustrated, then click here to listen to it, courtesy of Rampurple.

Qamlo L 7arb by Meen (the band)

A friend of mine showed me this below video clip of the song "Qamlo L 7arb" by the Lebanese band Meen. This song is about the July 2006 war that happened in Lebanon. Click here to view the band's website and check more of their songs.

Talents in Lebanon – Composer/Musician: Jalal Haddad

This entry is one of many of Talents in Lebanon, where I will be introducing several talented artists from Lebanon in various fields. The first entry will be about a distinguished young composer and musician Jalal Haddad. I met Jalal almost 8 years ago, and through these 8 years, every week or so, Jalal would send me a small voice clip of his music. And every single time among the dozens of times I listened to his music, my reaction would be:

Wow - Wonderful - Amazing - Impressive - Touching - Expressive - Hollywoody - Captivating

When you listen to Jalal’s music, where there are no lyrics, you can write your own lyrics to the music. You can immediately visualize the story that Jalal is trying to tell. He has this remarkable method of translating his thoughts and vision into music, hence we translate back his music to thoughts and vision and definitely enjoy it.

Jalal Haddad is a young promising talented gifted superb musician and composer.

To listen to some of his music, you can visit: http://www.myspace.com/jalalhaddad.
I would recommend starting with "Lebanese and surreal".

Quoted from his webpage:

"Jalal Haddad is not your average school boy with an extensive background in forced-piano-lessons and a rock star revolution at the prime of his adolescence. With passion for music since the age of 5, the sound he serves today, that of a Modernized and Beirutised Classical musician, pimping across Broadway to make a living, is a blend of classical, jazz, blues, choir, folk, military and a lot more, never letting genres come between him and his virtual world that he tries so hard to convey to us mortals."

Wein msafer... Rja3

I am writing this post while listening to Julia Boutros' song, Wain Msafer?



(Real Player need to be installed)

I would like to dedicate this song to all the Lebanese who are living abroad and for all the Lebanese who are thinking of leaving Lebanon, remember your home, remember the day3a, remember where you first experienced your puppy love, remember the first time you got punished at school, remember the first time you got yelled at by your parents because you ate dessert before lunch, remember the first time you played street football, and everytime a car came by, you moved away until it passed and then resumed playing...

Time to give back,
try to,
stay here,
try to,
come back,
try to...

And don't leave.

"Mish ma32ouli innak boukra mish ra7 temrou2 7adel bayt..."

Lebanon, see you on Wednesday.

I would like to also link to my friend Clo's post:
يا طير فيروز... اسمع شو بدّي قلّك