Blog Post #4

I watched this video of Googoosh on YouTube. It is called Gharibe Ashena. To me the music sounds like it has a Latin influence. The melody starts off being played by the flute like instrument then the female vocalist Faegheh Atashin sings the melody. Its almost like they have a dialogue throughout the song, when one is playing/singing, the other is not. Unlike most Iranian classical music, the song is rather simple. One melody, and then the supporting harmony provided by the drums, keyboard, flute, and what sounds like violins and other chordophones. I cannot tell if there are two different types of drums are being played. If there are, this could be an African influence. Also the song is clearly composed and rehearsed whereas a lot of Iranian classical music is improvised. I think it is interesting to note how nicely dressed and well put together the singer is as compared to Western popular music where the women parade around in clothing that could barely be considered underwear. This is a clear reflection of culture differences. Laws in Iran after 1979 put a damper on pop music. Whats interesting about her is that she stayed true to her heritage and culture and after the ban on female soloist singers, she stayed in Iran until 2000 when she was granted a special visa to go out and perform again. I think its fascinating that after a 21 year break, she still had mass amounts of followers all around the world and continued to support her even when she was not performing.