Every revolution has its own victims. A political revolution
terminates the regime in charge in favor of a new regime. This change dramatically
affects every facet of life, as it outmodes and prosecutes old values to be
replaced with new ones. Those who belonged to the old system, especially ex-government
officials in high ranking, are surrendered or sacrificed in the process. One of
the early victims of the Islamic Revolution was joy, or celebration, and happiness
in general! For instance, it was forbidden to clap hands in response to an atmosphere
of delight, or in appreciation of. As Islam (categorically Shia) is the
religion of weeping and mourning, anything that would elate someone was banned.
Among the first instruments of joy were musical and game apparatuses, as they
have traditionally been forbidden by Islam. Of course Islam’s attack on women
was almost at the same time. Ironically, no matter how much Khomeini and his
followers tried to keep women hidden in a sack, and in spite of daily violence
against them, women in Iran are considered exemplary for all women in the
Middle East. In addition to their success in education and music, they have
changed the rigid hijab decree by many fashionable forms, and as of today they
are still fighting against the roots of it. A speech was distributed in social
media of the most reactionary and fossil brain mullah who professed what
Khomeini and other mullahs have always had in mind, but they have never dared
to verbalize it. He said: “God created three kinds of animals. One that is for
carrying human’s load, such as donkey, mule, and horse. A second kind for
humans to eat, such as cow, sheep, and chicken. And finally he created a third
kind for men to enjoy, called women. Of course, in order for human being not to
get scared of them, He created them like humans! There should be (or there may
be) another book specifically about this subject, however it was mentioned
briefly here since women have been more involved in music, and its sanction has
impacted them more. But, like other liberties that Islamists tried to impede
and did not succeed, music, film, and other expressions of art which were not
approved by Khomeini at the beginning, found new ways of expressing themselves,
and continues to expand.
“Soundtrack of the Revolution” is a book written by Nahid
Siamdoust about music in Iran after the revolution. As the author explains herself,
she had left Iran along with her family at an early age, but returned to Iran
as a journalist years later. Her vision of post-revolutionary Iran is
interesting in general, especially the subject she discusses in her fascinating
book. She begins with a short history of politics of Islam and limitations this
religion, like any other religion, puts on social norms. Her description is
exemplary of a foreigner arriving in Iran with an idea of what the society and
the culture is all about, as it was just mentioned that she had lived in Iran
as a child in the first few years of revolution, before her family decided to
find a Western country, where they had more freedom of choice in raising their
children, such as millions of other Iranians who are propagated all around the globe.
Hence, the book starts with these sentences: “On one of my first evenings back in Iran after a long absence, my
parents treated me to a meal at the garden restaurant of Tehran’s Hyatt Hotel…
As a returning teenage, I instantly recognized the place. Everything looked the
same, just more faded and dilapidated; a retro hotel of former glory. Formally
dressed but sloppy-looking waiters attended to customers in an uninterested
manner. But then I noticed something that jarred with my memory of those strict
earlier years. There was a black grand piano next to the pool, and a male
pianist was playing Persian and Western classical music on it, (P. 1).”
According to the author, this event took place 18 years after the revolution.
Although it was new to her at the time, she later discloses in the book that
music opened its way into the public realm much earlier.
The author has organized her book with music genre in mind.
The book is written in ten chapters, eight of which are dedicated to four
separate type of music. The first two chapters are introductory chapters, which
provide an overview of music in Iran and its role in Iranian social spheres. In
each two chapters of the rest of the book, a person who represents each of the
four class of music is fully discussed and his style is deliberated in detail:
“This book presents a sort of soundtrack
for Iran’s tumultuous postrevolutionary decades. I trace the evolution of music
and music policy in Iran through four periods, highlighting one genre of music
within each period and, within each genre, one musician- a giant of Persian
classical music, a government-supported pop star, a rebel rock and roller, and
an underground rapper- each with markedly different political views and
relations with the state. The chapters are organized in pairs, with the first
providing the necessary historical, political, and social context in each case,
and the second delving deeper into a discussion of the music and, in
particular, of the work of the highlighted musician, (P. 25).” It was
implied earlier that the four people in discussion were male, as the Islamic
republic is a male chauvinist dictatorship in nature, and those in power are
misogynist male figures.
However, the author mentions female singers of Iran and
rightfully discusses their ongoing contribution to music: “Those who are familiar with the cultural history of Iran know that
some of the country’s all-time most popular singers have been female, beginning
with Qamar-ol-Moluk vazirizadeh (known simply as Qamar), whose groundbreaking
performance at the Tehran Grand Hotel in 1924 marked an unprecedented feminist
gesture. Qamar appeared unveiled in front of a mixed-gender audience and began
her concert with a song composed to the famous anti-veiling poem by Iraj Mirza…
A few decades later, the cabaret performer Mahvash was so popular that when she
died in a car crash at the age of forty, in 1961, her funeral processions were
reportedly the largest Tehran had ever seen, (P. 30,31).” Siamdoust
discusses prohibition female singers have witnessed by the Islamic government,
and how women can only sing to all women singers, and they are not allowed to
publish their music.
Music band in a mixed gender was performed in public for the
first time twenty years ago by a group named Arian. All their performances were
sold out and they experienced popularity unseen since the revolution. This phenomenon
is for some reason absent in the book. Considering
the innovation and popularity of the band, the reader expected to read about
its foundation, how this band was formed, and the reason behind sanctioning
their music and style. There is however a brief mention of this band within the
subject of female performers, which is unfortunately deficient of the history
of such an upheaval in post-revolution Iranian music: “Within the official pop genre, the highly popular band Arian drew
attention in the first decade of the millennium for incorporating female
vocalists, the sister duo consisting of Sahar and Sanaz Kashmari, (P. 32).”
In no other parts of the book this band is mentioned. It would be remarkable
for the reader to learn about the impact this band had, as a pioneer, on
present pop music in Iran. They were also internationally known, and not only
they had some performances outside of Iran, they also had a performance with
Chris de Burgh, which was again a new phenomenon in Iranian music. Whatever the
reason, the book missed out of one of the most important spectacles in
post-revolution Iranian pop music.
In the second part of the book, the author dedicates two
chapters, to each of the different genre she had mentioned earlier. The first
two chapters of such, are dedicated to the famed Persian classical musician
Shajarian. He is, rightly so, the symbol of Iranian classical music whose fame
goes back to the pre-revolutionary concerts in Shiraz Festival of Arts, and his
concerts on TV and on stage. Although there were other singers who started
their career before the revolution and restarted some years after the
revolution, since Iranian classical music was the first type of music allowed
by those in charge of the Islamic state, singers of Persian classical music had
a better chance to reestablish themselves. The rest of the book discusses
trendsetters of other forms of music, such as pop and rap. Since the author had
made interviews with each of those people, the reader can acquire a good
understanding of this history. The important thing is that Iran’s coming of age
is presented through music in this book. In addition, Siamdoust has designated
a weblog, where she posts samples of the genre she speaks about in her book. Her
weblog and other links of her interviews are listed below:
http://www.nahidsiamdoust.com/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtyRC3ZCn7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb8IyGKVhUY
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