Friday, November 28, 2008

Beligh Hamdy and great music

I just found today that many of the songs that I liked when I was a child were actually made by Beligh Hamdy. I also figured out why I liked many of Warda's songs. It turned out that he was her husband and he made a lot of songs for her (e.g. Mali ana bel ahzan, Helwa Belady, ....)

It is great to hear these songs again. It makes you feel happy. I do not know whether this is because they are good or because they remind me of my childhood. ... any way, I feel I was fortunate alhamdoAllah that I grew up listening to such great music pieces. I wonder what current Egyptian teenagers will remember 20 years from now ... will they actually remember Haifa saying "Ana Haifa Ana" and write in their blog ".. these were great songs ;)"

No offense to Haifa, but she represents a new direction in Arabic songs where the physical appearance of the singer (i.e. her different body parts) is more important than the music of her song or even the quality of her voice. It is not Haifa's fault that people and teenagers in Egypt are watching her. This is what she is capable of doing. I bet if she can make her voice better, she will do it. Instead let us blame those true musicians who do not offer us alternatives to Haifa and her sisters (have you seen Melisa?).

My wish for today: The Egyptian government starts offering a huge yearly annual prize for best singer, best composer and best poet ... and yes, please let us make this prize larger than what was offered to Kill Susan Tamim.