Nostalgizing anew

Here’s a song that’s been in my head today:

Arabeske – Behari

This song was on my iPod playlist throughout my visit in Bosnia – The lyrics are haunting, the music astounding. Arabeske is a women’s band from Zagreb – more about them here:.

Pink’s “Ne me quitte pas”

I don’t know why, over the last century, there’s been such an obsession in the pop music world with the sentence “don’t leave me”…It started with Edith Piaf and her unforgettable voice, then continued with Marlene Dietrich‘s German rendition (amazing!) Jacques Brel’s average rendition, and even Natacha Atlas‘s great East-West mix with Middle Eastern sounds (my favourite, by the way). Most recently, Regina Spektor has completely revolutionized the submissiveness of the sentence when she performed an alternative to the traditional rhythms and even lyrics (her song is about Paris, not so much about begging someone not to leave you). I don’t know why I’m so attracted to Pink’s own “Don’t leave me,” but I am very much enjoying it…and the video, priceless. So bad, but so good.