Maybe my musical tastes are changing. Celion Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ would usually have me tearing out my hair and doing serious damage to whatever medium I was being grievously assaulted through.
During the last hour of the working day, we sometimes listen to music in my office. Invariably, the theme tune to the film Titanic – a super popular hit in Afghanistan – will be played. When it is, I have to cower behind my computer screen. Not in a rage as I’d expect, but in an effort not to be seen giggling to myself.
March 18, 2009 at 1:08 am |
Do you know what the two “theme songs” of the IO/NGO under 30 crowd in Bosnia are? ‘Rasputin’ by Boney M, and ‘Losing My Religion,’ by REM.
Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
As for ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ I remember reading stories about Afghan teenagers getting beaten up and worse by the Taliban for DiCaprio haircuts shortly after the film came out. I suppose playing the damn song practially on loop now is a kind of defiant gesture.
May 4, 2009 at 9:28 am |
Here’s something great to think about whenever you hear that song. I’m sure you’re familiar with the tradition of reciting poetry to intrumentation. Well a friend of mine was riding to work one day when she heard the background music to “My Heart Will Go on (and on and on)” with poetry being recited over it. Then she realised that the poetry in question was actually the Persian translation of the lyrics, being recited in all the seriousness of romantic-line-directed-at-no-one-in-particular in a young Afghan bloke’s Skype status. “Midaanam ke delam edaameh, edaameh midehad” and so forth. It’s developed into a sort of parlour game now with any sort of western pop, highly recommended.