The Sin Of Greed

what songs you may not necessarily listen to every day, but “that never fails to amaze you and take you to a different place every time you listen to them.”

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Maybe it would suffice to borrow from Wooldridge, who described music as being “sometimes the closest thing to a spiritual event that I have”. In this case, I’m referring to the few songs I included in this topic.

For me, I can’t really describe it as a spiritual feeling. I am just touched all around when someone shows any sign of emotion that they normally do not display. I usually end up reflecting whatever it is I am feeling from this person. Normally you can tell when something is sincere more easily if you are actually experienced with using whatever medium that the person is expressing themselves with. I can feel touched by art so it’s something that is not exclusive to art for me.

The heart of me lies within the sugarcane flute and tablas of Egypt. The melancholic flute especially reminds me of the Egypt that I will never see again. It’s not because I can’t or won’t travel there again in the future. It’s just that when you move around a lot when you’re growing up, the changed atmosphere becomes more apparent for you when you go back. The people that have stayed there all their lives don’t realize it so much due to not really changing their environment. And sure, I have moved around a lot even in the US so why is Egypt so special? I have realized that it is mainly due to how critical it was to my development. When I was in the states, I was the outcast to such an extreme extent that I remember it clearly till this day. I found an odd detached fascination when people displayed feelings of pain. I felt that it was a way of establishing a working relationship so I used to “discipline” my pet rabbit and playmates on an occasion. That all changed when I moved to Egypt though. I had actual friends for once and I actually shifted into the leadership role rather easily. The point is that, Egypt is where I developed natural relationships with people and animals. I learned empathy and compassion.

When I visited Egypt in recent years, I feel like an outsider all over again. It has changed a lot and I feel like it’s a different place than in my memories. I’m always chasing the nostalgic memories whether in dance or music. As a result, I can’t really stand the high pitched Western flutes. It is also the same reason why I like Japanese country music since they have the bamboo flute which sounds identical to the sugarcane ones. Then the hand drums remind me of the tabla.

Drums and bass is the bridge where my two musical worlds meet. That and guitar that I can related with from being exposed to the Oud and Quanun.

So in short what truly moves me the most is something like this: