Oh devout ones, devout ones . . . If you’re on the road to Heaven and I’m on the path to Hell, It’s none of your business . . . If I am drunk, it’s none of your business If I am sober, it’s none of your business! “be to che” ( “none of your business” )

by ha ssan shamaizadeh, 20041

Above are the words to a song by Hassan Shamaizadeh, a well-known Ira- nian vocalist, instrumentalist, and composer who has lived in Southern Cal- ifornia since the Iranian Revolution, which took place some three decades ago. These lyrics are set to a rollicking, driving rhythmic instrumental ac- companiment that recalls urban musical styles linked to dance and Tehran’s cabarets of the mid-twentieth century. After the establishment of the Is- lamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in 1978– 1979, such cabarets and nightclubs were closed, mixed-sex social dance was banned, and popular musics were restricted as the country’s religious leaders sought to bring state, culture, and society into line with Islamic and revolutionary principles. In “Be To Che,” Shamaizadeh speaks back to the “devout ones” (za?hed-ha?)2 who wish to regulate his personal life, while he employs sonic references, and their contextual connotations, that fl out the Islamic state’s cultural regulations.

Produced in Los Angeles—far from its implied clerical addressees—Sha- maizadeh’s musical statement is representative of much more than a sin- gle exile’s grumbling taunts to a country in which he is no longer welcome. Rather, the singer is one of hundreds of musicians and media producers ac- tive in the Iranian culture industries that coalesced in Southern California after the Islamic Republic heavily restricted popular culture and media. Fed by the mass exodus, beginning in the early 1980s, of many of the country’s most famous musical stars and most skilled media producers, these exile

chapter 3

iranian popul ar music in los angeles: a transnational public beyond the isl amic stateRead Farzaneh Hemmasis chapter, “Iranian Popular Music in Los Angeles” (in Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps and Revolutionary Theater, 2011), and listen to Hassan Shamaeizadeh “Be To Che,” Andy “Areh, Areh,” Khorshid Khanoom ““ “Silhouettt” and “Ebi,” and Googoosh, “Ay Mardom Mordam.”
In your 3 to 5 paragraph (minimum 12 sentence) response, answer the following questions:

Choose one of the assigned listening songs. What do you find the most interesting in what Dr. Hemmasi writes about the song/artist you chose? Quote or paraphrase her. What do you hear when you listen? Describe what stands out to you, using music vocabulary words.
Select a popular song from your own listening that addresses diaspora, immigration, or migration. At least one of the locations referenced by the artist should be outside of the United States. If you dont know a song that works, you can use one of the examples from an Iranian artist in the Niknafs or Hemmasi readings.

Who is the artist, where are their locations involved, and how does the artist(s) tell their story of movement?
What specifically made you want to write about this song? (Either, what do you like about this song, or why do you find it interesting)
What do you think we can learn from listening to this song about diaspora, immigration, or migration?

link to songs:
Be To Che – Hassan Shamaeizadeh – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMbdN543sIM

Areh, Areh – Andy – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0E0V2hTQK0 (also on Spotify)

Khorshid Khanoom – Silhouettt – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHFGBxdsnhQ

Khorshid Khanoom – Ebi – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwtAVnSSA7M

Ay Mardom Mordam – Googoosh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYBB6u7ZHOQ