I want to be selfish for once. This space is about me. I can talk and think, uninterrupted. Might be of relevance... or maybe not.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Television Documentaries: Polemic with a touch of rock'n'roll


I have been wanting to talk about System of a down for quite some time.
Composed of guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, singer Serj Tankian, bass player Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan, Malakian and Tankian were born in Bourj Hammoud before moving to LA. That's a band, with a cause.
SOAD's first album, Toxicity (2001), was spin's magazine album of the year in 2001. Hailed as the creators of nu-metal, their music goes beyond being just metal. It has an oriental touch and a political edge, to say the least. Tankian is usually all over the place. not with his hair, but with his voice, low then high pitched, fast and then slow. you can never predict what's gonna happen next.
Tankian, along with Tom Morello (Rage against the machine's former guitar player, and currently with Audioslave), started Axis of Justice. "Our purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice.We aim to build a bridge between fans of music around the world and local political organizations to effectively organize around issues of peace, human rights, and economic justice".

System of a down new documentary, Screamers, discusses the armenian genocide.
A couple of interesting articles
One from the independent, and another one from Armenian public radio

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Art still has it

"Everyday's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every strangers face I see
Reminds me that I long to be

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me"

(Simon & Garfunkel).

A string of hits over 2 hours, enough to sweep you off your feet and make you dream. Yes, this was Garfunkel from Simon and Garfunkel. Yes he was singing, again, "Mrs.Robinson, "the rock", "homeward bound", "Cecilia", "bridge over troubled water" and many more. These are not merely songs. They are poems and lullabies.

Art still has it. I don't know how can he do it, but his voice sounds as warm and angelic as 30 years ago.