Tag Archives: music

R.I.P Warda Al Jazairia

Whenever I think of Warda, I think of my mother singing her songs as I hovered around her. The legendary Algerian singer passed away a few hours ago, at the age of 71, in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

My favorite Warda song is not the go-to Batwannes Bik. It’s one from the only Egyptian movie I’ve watched, back when I was much younger, upon my mother’s request. It’s probably my favorite because of the number of times I’ve heard my mother sing it.

The song is “Hikayti Ma3 l Zaman.” You can’t but be delighted by her voice, her performance, the lyrics and the tune.

I find it horrifying that as the news of Warda’s passing spread around, one of the newer “singers” was busy stripping and “singing” on MTV. The contrast is eye-opening. The giants of Arabic music are fast going away. It’s sad that we only cherish them when they pass away.

Warda’s body will be sent to Algeria tomorrow. She was born in France in 1940 to an Algerian father and a Lebanese mother. She has said on numerous occasions that her talent comes from her mother so with her passing, Lebanon has lost one of its giants as well.

Warda’s repertoire is non-ending. Her highlight songs are many. These are some of them:

And last but not least:

May she rest in peace.

 

Notre Dame de Paris (The Famous French Play) Coming To Lebanon!

FINALLY! An event this summer I am beyond beyond excited to go to.

Imagine this: the best of the best contemporary french singers, singing the best of the best contemporary french songs from one of the most memorable plays…. It’s enough to make my ears drool.

Notre Dame de Paris, based on Victor Hugo’s infamous French novel and from which arose Belle, the classic song that no one can ever get enough of, is coming to Lebanon for a concert on July 9th and 10th. The concert will not be the play itself but songs from the play. I’ll take it.

Patrick Fiori, Garou, Helene Segara, Julie Zenatti and others are all coming to perform the originals. Will you be going?

Tickets are priced at $60, $100, $130, $180, $240 and $300. You can buy them from Virgin Megastores or online here.

Meanwhile, I leave you with Belle sung by Garou, Daniel Lavoie and Patrick Fiori (in that order):

Carrie Underwood Discusses Her Album “Blown Away”

With the album sitting atop the top-selling albums chart for a second week, Carrie Underwood has taken some time out of her very busy schedule to talk about the 14 songs that make up “Blown Away.” You can check out my review of the album here as well as all the lyrics for the songs here.

Some of the songs gain a different meaning. Others are still pretty-self explanatory. Overall, this is an interesting series of videos that anyone who has listened to the album, or is interested in listening to, should watch:

1 – Good Girl

2 – Blown Away

3 – Two Black Cadillacs

4 – See You Again

5 – Do You Think About Me

6 – Forever Changed

7 – Nobody Ever Told You

8 – One Way Ticket

9 – Thank God For Hometowns

10 – Good in Goodbye

11 – Leave Love Alone

12 – Cupid’s Got a Shotgun

13 – Wine After Whiskey

14 – Who Are You

Blown Away is a great album. It’s an eclectic mix of styles. You’ll find something there to suit your taste, unless you are only into trance in which case you’re out of luck. I’m a bigger fan of the slower songs on it but the uptempos are great as well. If you haven’t given it a listen, you should do so. Odds are you’ll end up buying it.

 

Evanescence Coming To Lebanon on June 23rd

 

It seems this summer is all about rock. Joining the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Within Temptations and other rock bands, Evanescence are coming to Lebanon for a concert next month, according to Evention, on Saturday June 23rd.

Tickets will be available from all Virgin Megastore branches on May 8th (this Tuesday) and prices will be as follows:

– Standing: $45

– Seated: starting $50

– Golden Circle: standing $100

My favorite Evanescence songs are Imaginary, My Immortal, Bring Me to Life and Everybody’s Fool off their debut album. Almost everything they put out after that wasn’t as good as their debut.

Either way, I’m sure they have enough fans in Lebanon to fill the concert.

Here’s hoping next summer will be all about country music. No, I’m not kidding. I’m tired of feeling not involved with all these events :p

Carrie Underwood & a Choir of Children (PS22 Chorus) Singing “Good Girl”

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thinks this is absolutely awesome.

The PS22 chorus are the children who’ve been at last year’s Oscars, who appeared on Oprah and various other TV shows. You can check out their blog here.

Carrie Underwood is soon releasing her new album, Blown Away (you can read my review here), on May 1st.