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Mohsen Namjoo: The Iceman Cometh September 3, 2008
For the past 6 months the improbable rumor that we might be able to see the infamous Mohsen Namjoo perform here in the US, had me all but shuddering with delight. Little does anyone know how excited I became when rumor became fact, as it was finally announced and his Namjoo-ness appeared from the door of the airplane, fresh from Austria, at SFO a few weeks ago. He is here!
For those of you who know, you know, so I am not even going to bother with you. You may go now. But to those of you who don't know , or think you might know, you need to be taken to task and understand a bit about the greatness that might pass you by were you to be less than vigilant as self appointed guardians of Iranian culture and more importantly, it's rekindled evolution, turbo-charged now by this small, skinny man, with a Persian lion's roar in his chest.
He knows a thing or two about hell, having been there and back, several times in his not done yet life. Surprisingly still alive to tell the tales. His refusal to conform, while inside the very belly of the beast, deftly avoiding the consternation of the authorities that might frighten a lesser man. Using nothing more than the very power of his art, fed by the immense strength of his dark and ugly soul.
These are not mere variations on a lifted theme. Words thrown onto American music, or American music with Farsi words. Namjoo does not need to piggyback his spirituality onto any Mithra, Shiva, or Yaboo Alafi belief. But he does definitely put the Zorro into Zoroastrianism!
Now trapped in his web, you realize the full effect of the con, and with nowhere to run or hide, you must confront him, now he is in your face, now he is screaming at your other self, the one you like to keep hidden, tucked away from everyone like your deformed brother, in the dark reaches of denial, away from the light.
So yeah, he's kind of like that. ------------------------------------------------------------ Namjoo 101: Expect to be confused, an impossible exploration on the meaning of Namjoo's mysterious lyrics. Not that I am by any means qualified to even try and explain Namjoo, but recently, after the first leg of his US tour, which started in San Francisco this past Saturday, I have been deluged with emails trying to understand the phenomenon.
"On Sep 8, 2008, at 3:30 AM, D (from Paris, France) wrote: I am not really qualified in the music department to give a proper appreciation of his work. But I listened to it on your PodCast coverage on Beyond Persia but Honestly Personally, KAR SHODAM ..." Dear D, Personally, as music that is amusing in a pop sense, I understand your concern. :) The best way to try and make sense of it is to accept this kind of crazy. It is "alternative" to what you or I might consider "normal pop". It is abnormal and it is specifically designed to shake up the status quo. Almost punk in it's evolution, only that it has not spawned a movement. Yet. But it is poised to spawn a wave of what we can call "anti-music", if this is what is destined to happen for Iranians. IF.
For example on one (I think you will like especially because of the mention of "Shaghayegheh Normandy" (beautiful Normandy Poppies) the song, "Aghayedeh Nokanti" ("Notable Opinions"), he talks about what is "Your (our collective) Misery?" (Azaneh Man/To), in the refrain he says, [translated roughly, but listen to it a couple of times without letting the music confuse you, and you'll possibly hear and understand the words better than I can ever explain] What is our misery? (Azaneh ma) Kookooyeh 2 rooz mandeh: 2- day old Kookoo (possibly alluding to current hard times for a person living in Iran, the hassle of eating leftovers, a social norm these days, or a hidden secret you keep to avoid the social embarrassment of admitting you may not have enough to eat fresh each day, admitting social economic reality of today's Iran) Koloftieh Parvandeh: The Thickness of your file, (possibly alluding to the personal/political secret police files on people) Enteghadeh Sazandeh: The [unfair] critique of the "producer" (possibly alluding to the unfair criticisms that the government hacks/supporters will make on art or creativity, poo-pooing it as insignificant, or western trash etc. when it is merely the slightest bit profound, or modern or evolutionary. This is the commentary of how inside Iran, the hacks, shoot down any advance towards modernity by their social public critique of it, always trying to point out flaws and how it is not artistic at all, rather than allowing an artist to merely express himself, so, our misery is the misery of oppressive criticisms) Melli-poosheh Bazandeh: National jersey wearing losers (possibly self explanatory, but maybe alluding to the supposedly nationalistic football players who often capitulate with the government and are used by them for propaganda, and are in fact traitors, who don't even win any major matches ie world cup!) Khelghateh na-khandeh: The unheard/un-listened to masses (C'mon that's so obvious!) Shayad-Ayandeh: Maybe, in the future...(probably alludes to the constant utterance or perceived concession, that the regime makes to appease people asking why, by saying that things can change if this, or if that happens, enshallah etc., and maybe sometime in the future we can allow this or allow that. Bt not right now, as a way to keep you off track. Apparently they do this a lot and it has become part of our "collective misery of oppression". So, possibly, maybe, probably that's what he is singing. And possibly, maybe, probably you can now understand why he often has to shout it or scream it or make it sound odd, strange and weird. He's trying to get your attention. This past saturday, the show was sold out, and people were standing up and shouting in angry support in the middle of his songs when a political comment touched them. He was amazing to watch, but I agree it is not patisserie, coffee sipping background music. What he is, is possibly the smartest, most angry expression of anti-oppression against the Iranian social order that the government has foisted on Iran, that I have ever seen. The subterfuge of the weirdness, the shouting, the weird sounds, the strange rough music, is the camouflage that apparently allows him to get his message through without necessarily being specific as to who he is criticizing, so they have to allow him to exist, so they can't really pin him down as anti anything, specifically. That's is how smart and powerful his particular brand of ART is. But you are correct, on the surface it's not pleasurable, and it's absolutely not supposed to be. |
Not many know Namjoo, and the impact he is sure to have on those souls lucky enough to be baptized and forgiven by his lyrics, while simultaneously being gloriously whipped into sublime ecstasy by his biting sound. Or vice versa depending on how your particular wind blows.
Mohsen Namjoo is veritably the anti-christ of Iranian popular music. He does not merely carve out a new genre for his brand of insolence. He carves it into your heart with a nail clipper. He is the Quentin Tarantino of Iranian contemporary culture, not just mouthing empty words in his songs, but living them.
Mohsen Namjoo is a con artist of Iranian popular culture. His con is that while you listen to his words, he picks your pocket with his music. If you shift to listen to his music, his words sneak into your head and like a thief in your wife's bedroom, toys with and tortures her seductively while you're away at the office.
His music can best be described as a sneaky variation on a theme. Or false advertising. After all, he is conning you! It sounds classical, and even looks classical, classical enough to fool even your Dad. But a few minutes into it and you suddenly realize, this is not classical! This is something entirely new. And it hurts. It hurts so good.
Come out brother, indeed you are beautiful to me.
As I said, I don't know much, but here's my attempt to explain it.
Namjoo is possibly the most "anti" critic I have seen since Golehsorkhi. His words are so profound that you cannot begin to understand all of them, he makes fun of the government or the religious or the current social order personalities, thoughts and practices that we here in the US can only begin to imagine. He ridicules the intellectual arguments that are being made by the social order that is in power to support their oppressive views, the current exasperating "characters" of the time.