December 14, 2012

"The broadcasting of any 'romantic' songs or music videos on Egyptian state television channels has been banned..."

"... a state-run newspaper announced on Thursday, adding that only 'patriotic' tunes will be allowed to be aired."
Nationalistic tunes “that are worth broadcasting” will be allowed...
That's a strange way to put it.
Meanwhile, sarcastic songs mocking public figures will be also banned because of the “sensitiveness of the political situation,” it said....
Oh, great. No sarcasm? That should help.
Online, social media users have already begun question the ban on romantic musical interludes....[Twitter] user @_amroali, asking: “How do romantic songs cause chaos?”

Commenters were also reposting the phrase “Egypt kills love.”

But Egyptian blogger Mina Naguib, who has written widely on recent political instability in the country, doubts the authenticity of the news and has suggested it could all just be a rumor; a tool he believes is used by officials to “distract” Egyptians.
Distracted by the possibility of no love songs? Well, I'm obviously distracted. Don't be distracted!

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Say the Word and you'll be free,
Say the word and be like me,
Say the Word I'm thinking of,
Have you heard the Word is Love?"

Bryan C said...

You'd think that people would've had enough of silly love songs.

Patrick said...

Arab Spring! Springtime!

It's springtime for Morsi, and Al Queada...

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Silly Love Songs..

"Silly Love Songs" is a song written and sung by Paul McCartney with his band Wings in 1976. McCartney had been often teased by John Lennon, a fellow member of The Beatles and music critics for writing lightweight, "silly love songs", and McCartney wrote this number in response.

Maybe the Egyptians ought to do the same in response as well.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

No amount of repression can keep the Egyptians from making up their own romantic lyrics to that song by The Bangles.

Big Mike said...

Very strange. The rest of the world went from the 20th century to the 21st. The Arab world is trying to go from the 20th century to the 12th.

Anonymous said...

I guess they won't be playing Steve Martin's "King Tut"

"Born in Babalona, moved to Arizona, King Tut!"

Anonymous said...

Big Mike, I think Islam is trying to go through the Wayback Machine to the 7th centure.

"Drizzle, drazzle, drozzle, drum. Time for zis von to come home!"

Unknown said...

Lennon got a little too cool after meeting Yoko. Both Lennon and McCartny wrote songs they knew would sell. Very capitalistic.

That's probably what's wrong with "romantic" songs in Egypt. It would not do to encourage capitalism.

Tim said...

Arab Spring!

#AnotherObamaFail

FORWARD!

Tim said...

Patrick said...

"Arab Spring! Springtime!

It's springtime for Morsi, and Al Queada..."


Patrick,

Mel Brooks called.

He wants his royalty check, lol.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'm trying to work the Beaver into this tread... but I got nothing.

Patrick said...

Mel Brooks called.

He wants his royalty check, lol


Tell him to ask the Pres.

dreams said...

Obama just sent or is going to send Egypt some F16 jets. Obama's friends are not necessarily America's friends.

sakredkow said...

Oh, great. No sarcasm? That should help.

That's just a great line.

SteveR said...

I suppose that banning "romantic songs and music videos" means that such things exist in Egypt. Who knew?

Known Unknown said...

Block Like An Egyptian.

Tim said...

"Tell him to ask the Pres."

Yeah.

The prez said the check is in the mail...

traditionalguy said...

That is just party politics in a Muslim country where they have nothing to live for except the strong feeling that they are the only righteous ones because they submit to allah.

If we were forced to bow prostrate on our faces and proclaim out loud that allah is god and Mohammed is his prophet 5 times a day since childhood, then that would be the root of all politics for us too.

The sad part is the USA under Obama encourages these fools.

sakredkow said...

Beatle song references in the first two comments!

Your Mummy Should Know. Or is My Mummy's Dead better?

Kevin said...

I only opened this thread to see how many comments it took to get to Silly Love Songs. The answer is: two.

sakredkow said...

I suppose that banning "romantic songs and music videos" means that such things exist in Egypt. Who knew?

Bob Dylan tipped us off to Om Khaltoum years ago.

Tim said...

dreams said...

"Obama just sent or is going to send Egypt some F16 jets."

The king called up his jet fighters
He said you better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the Casbah way

As soon as the Sharia was
Chauffeured outta there
The jet pilots tuned to
The cockpit radio blare

Oh.

So sorry.

No sarcasm.

I forgot.

Forgive me.

#AnotherObamaFail

dreams said...

Here in the USA, we have a liberal media that intuitively knows the kind of news to cover and the kind that needs to be suppressed, as an example the news about the union thugs in Michigan.

Bob said...

Thankfully the whole Obama Arab Spring efforts have yielded such positive results. We're providing over a Billion dollars of aid to such a serious democratic country and stalwart ally. Again, thank god Obama, Hillary, and Rice have such mastery of middle east diplomacy or next we'd hear reports of thousands of US soldiers invading Iraq. Oh wait...

Peter said...

Arab Spring!

It's Springtime for Egypt and the Caliphate.

Kevin said...

Time for the US to blast broadcast Moulin Rouge on a loop into Egypt. A shame we don't have the balls to do that kind of thing anymore.

Tank said...

wyo sis said...

Lennon got a little too cool after meeting Yoko. Both Lennon and McCartny wrote songs they knew would sell. Very capitalistic.

That's probably what's wrong with "romantic" songs in Egypt. It would not do to encourage capitalism.


I admit, everything about this struck me as wrong. But, wtf do I know? Just my opinion.

Closer to on topic:

None of Zero's friends will be invited to perform for Morsi, I guess.

Planes to Egypt.
Troops to Turkey.
Arms to Al Q in Syria.
Firearms to gangs in Mexico.

Is it me, or has our foreign policy gone completely bonkers?

SteveR said...

Bob Dylan tipped us off to Om Khaltoum years ago.

What's happened since 1975 in Egyptian romantic music?

jacksonjay said...

Are we really sure that the antiquities will survive these idiots?

rhhardin said...

Ahab the Arab is would be banned then.

DADvocate said...

I suggest we, or Israel, begin a Voice of America type operation where we broadcast nothing but love songs into Egypt.

Just An Old Fashion Love Song would play at least once an hour, as would a love song in Yiddish.

Beta Rube said...

I was assured by the NYT that the Muslim Brotherhood members are basically Rotarians with prayer rugs.

I didn't know they didn't like silly love songs.

sakredkow said...

Ahab the Arab is would be banned then.

Heh. There's a fun anti-Obama song out there by Ray Stevens.

I prefer to remember him for "Everything is Beautiful" - makes me weepy.

Sam L. said...

Big Mike: The 12th? Are you not being overly generous?

mark said...

Obama's guy in Egypt sure looks better then the previous guy to all the progressives. But, the whole gang rapes, murdered Christians, theocracy thing doesn't look to good to me.

Oh well. We should trust that Obama knew what he was doing throwing his support behind the Muslim Brotherhood.

edutcher said...

Well, she can either say that, as Secretary of State, she had nothing to do with it and it was all Barry's doing OR she can say it was part of her carefully crafted Foreign Policy Reset.

Oh, yeah, Hillary's a lock for '16.

jacksonjay said...

Are we really sure that the antiquities will survive these idiots?

They were respected by the Tahleebahn, weren't they?

mark said...

New descriptor for the year ...

When speaking of Egypt always refer to Morsi as "Obama's Pet Dictator Morsi".

rhhardin said...

Romantic marriage is a Western idea anyway. Shakespeare marked its moment in Antony and Cleopatra.

The shift from political to romantic.

traditionalguy said...

Egypt had a culture of some importance before its conquest by the sword religion of the Arabians.

After the Pharoahs, Egypt was Greek ruled, then Roman ruled and adopted the Christian in religion 500 years before the Mohammedans onslaught from Arabia.

Belly dancing and generic lust remain the oldest of the Egyptian traditions, and they will survive in Cairo and Alexandria.

Big Mike said...

@Sam L perhaps bpm4532 has it right. I was trying to let them wriggle off the hook by claiming dyslexia.

SteveR said...

Don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long
Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio


Anonymous said...

Two things I revile most about radical Islam: It's hatred of music and dogs.

Lyle said...

Jim Crow Pharoahs.

n.n said...

Regime change. I wonder why we started with Egypt, Libya, and Syria. I further wonder why we favor imperial over national (mostly secular) Muslims.

Crunchy Frog said...

Standing on the beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the arab on the ground
I can see his open mouth
But I hear no sound

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab

hombre said...

More fighter planes, more money for the Brotherhood. Democracy in action. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Obama foreign policy rocks!

Methadras said...

It's good to know that the Muslim Brotherhood is carrying out their mission of continuing where the Nazi Party left off.

Hyphenated American said...

Another impressive win for Obama's foreign policy. Elections have consequences.

AllenS said...

Egypt, Syria, Libya and these other countries that Obama, Hillary and Rice intervened with their regime change are going to be worse off next year and the years that follow.