Soundtrack of the Revolution

The Politics of Music in Iran

Nahid Siamdoust

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781503600966
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia mediorientale

Music was one of the first casualties of the Iranian Revolution. It was banned in 1979, but it quickly crept back into Iranian culture and politics. The state made use of music for its propaganda during the Iran–Iraq war. Over time music provided an important political space where artists and audiences could engage in social and political debate. Now, more than thirty-five years on, both the children of the revolution and their music have come of age. Soundtrack of the Revolution offers a striking account of Iranian culture, politics, and social change to provide an alternative history of the Islamic Republic.

Drawing on over five years of research in Iran, including during the 2009 protests, Nahid Siamdoust introduces a full cast of characters, from musicians and audience members to state officials, and takes readers into concert halls and underground performances, as well as the state licensing and censorship offices. She closely follows the work of four musicians—a giant of Persian classical music, a government-supported pop star, a rebel rock-and-roller, and an underground rapper—each with markedly different political views and relations with the Iranian government. Taken together, these examinations of musicians and their music shed light on issues at the heart of debates in Iran—about its future and identity, changing notions of religious belief, and the quest for political freedom.

Siamdoust shows that even as state authorities resolve, for now, to allow greater freedoms to Iran's majority young population, they retain control and can punish those who stray too far. But music will continue to offer an opening for debate and defiance. As the 2009 Green Uprising and the 1979 Revolution before it have proven, the invocation of a potent melody or musical verse can unite strangers into a powerful public.

INDEX

2@fm, Armin, 242; “Gheyr-e mostaqim” (Indirectly), 242

6/8 rhythm, 29, 214, 310n34

7Band, 136

9/11 terrorist attacks, 212, 252–53

021-music.com, 209, 219, 244

127 (band), 173, 226

Abdollah, Mirza, 21, 22, 196

Abjeez, 32; “Biyā” (Come), 275

Academy of National Music, 23–24

Afshar, Qasem, 110, 122

Afsharian, Maral, 30, 226, 229

Aghajani, Mahdyar, 154 (photo), 210, 246

Aghasi, Ne‘matollah, 45, 245

Agha-Soltan, Neda, 260, 273–74

Aghili, Salar, “Vatanam” (My Homeland), 271

Aghili, Shadmehr: ban on music, 123; “Bitābi” (Restlessness), 123; career, 115; Dehāti (Villager), 123, 214; emigration, 110, 123; “Gol-e yās” (Jasmine Flower), 123; Mosāfer (Traveller), 123; music available online, 220; performances, 110; popularity, 110, 122–23; recording permits, 310n34

Ahangaran, Sadeq: “Ey lashgar-e Sāheb-Zamān” (Army of the Savior of Times), 96–97; “Ey shahidān-e beh khun ghaltān-e Khuzestān” (Oh Blood-Immersed Martyrs of Khuzestan), 95–96; during Iran-Iraq War, 95–96, 144 (photo)

Ahmadi, Morteza, 235

Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud: campaign songs, 270, 271–72; cultural policies, 173, 213–15; elections, 76–77, 173, 241–42, 264, 266–67; opposition, 83; populist image, 270; rap music criticizing, 241–42; “riffraff” speech, 76–77, 83, 272; rise of, 213; supporters, 213

Ahoora, 173

Akhavan, Hengameh, 31, 71

Ali, Imam, 111, 222, 223

Alizadeh, Hossein, 22, 24, 60, 63, 103, 171

Alizadeh, Sonita, 243, 323n25

Alternative music: 1970s psychedelic/rock/funk fusions, 47; use of term, 179, 225

Ārāmesh bā Diāzpām-e 10 (Calmness with Diazpam 10), 163–64, 165, 184, 196

Arash AP, 209

Aref Qazvini: concerts, 54, 55, 82, 141 (photo); end of life, 55; “Hengām-e Mey” (Time of Wine), 267–68, 298–99n69; poetry, 50; tasnifs, 52–55

Arian, 32

Arshak-Khan, Zari, 298–99n69

Art music, 42. See also Persian classical music

Arts Domain, see Howzeh-ye Honari

Art singers, 39. See also Shajarian, Mohammad Reza

Ashkan & Kooshan, 226

Askari, Hamid, 136

Aslanian, ...