Lovesong Revolution
Can a sound start a revolution? The Portuguese Carnation Revolution of 1974 is known to have been triggered by a love song aired on the radio. Eighteen days prior, “E Depois do Adeus” was performed by Paulo de Carvalho as Portugal’s submission for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Departing from this love song, this sound essay traverses other, more recent instances of public speech, bodies in the street, political songs and sounds. While some of the sounds are explicitly political, expressing solidarity or speaking directly of struggle, other sounds are political only implicitly – or “accidentally” – politicized through their adaptation in contexts such as protests.
This piece thinks about the amplification of sound through embodiment, all while keeping in mind the following: Where can dissonance and dissidence be located within our own lives? Is there place in the public sphere for those unamplified voices inside our heads: the soft voices that speak of fear, doubt, powerlessness and precarity? Can the revolution include our heartbreak and exhaustion, as well as our courage and defiance?
Can a love song start a revolution?
Full project credits can be found on the About page.
Tracklist
Paulo de Carvalho – “E Depois do Adeus” (1974)
Zeca Alfonso – “Grândola Vila Morena” (1971)
Aziz Ali – “Hi Elsana Sana” (1958)
هاي السنة سنة – عزيز علي
Maeda Nazhat – “Ya Umm El Fustan El Ahmar” (1960’s)
يا أم الفستان الأحمر – مائدة نزهت
Sheikh Imam – “Guevara is Dead” (1984)
جيفارا مات – الشيخ إمام
Ahmad Fouad Negm – “Guevara is Dead” (1967)
جيفارا مات – أحمد فؤاد نجم
Jaafar Hassan – “Santiago” (1973)
سانتياغو – جعفر حسن
Jaafar Hassan – “Don’t Ask Me About My Address” (1973)
لا تسألني عن عنواني – جعفر حسن
Nazem Al-Ghazali – “Tala Min Beit Abuha” (1950’s)
طالعة من بيت أبوها – ناظم الغزالي
Feminist March Beirut, Lebanon – “Tala Min Beit Abuha” (2019)
طالعةمنبيتأبوها – مسيرة نسويه، بيروت
Jisr El Jumhuriyeh Baghdad, Iraq – “No We Won’t Leave The Square” (2019)
لا لا الساحة ما نتركها – جسر الجمهورية، بغداد
Hamra, Beirut – “No We Won’t Leave The Square” (2019)
لا لا الساحة ما نتركها – الحمرا، بيروت
al sakit, Tahrir Sq. Baghdad, Iraq – Freestyle (2019)
الساكت – فريستايل من أرض بغداد، ساحة التحرير
El Rass, Martyr Sq. Central Beirut – Untitled (2019)
الراس – ساحةالشهداء،وسطبيروت
Human Microphone, Occupy Wall Street. (2011)
ميكروفون الشعب – احتلواوولستريت
Riad El Solh Sq. Beirut — “A Loud Voice Doesn’t Die” (2019)
الصوت العالي ما بيموت – رياض الصلح بيروت
Ring Bridge, Beirut — “No and No and No and No” (2019)
لا و لا و لا و لا – جسرالرينغبيروت
Article cited: Chris Stone and Elliott Colla. “Negm Mat.” Jadaliyya, December 3, 2013.