Emtiaaz wrote in a recent issue that of all the 457 registered music companies in the country only 20 remain in business. While others have either gone belly up or changed nature of business, like Hamavaaz Ahang which ten years ago was one of the leading companies has recently turned into a lamp shop!

There was a time when bootylicious was THE word, when big booties were considered mainstream and ruled the world (not just mine)! A time wherein J.Lo., Shakira and Beyonce and their alikes dared to flaunt their superior posteriors, showing pride in their healthy figures. Today however many of these ladies have starved off their naturally-endowed curves, to yours-truly’s great disappointment. There are those though who fight the power and peerpressure! The British Girls Aloud’s Kimberley is one of those few celebs who still brings that sexy back-rack of hers back. I support her cause and salute her courage!

Sirvan Khosravi has on his facebook page mirrored an unknown interview with Benyamin Bahadori, in which Benyamin explains any possible success for Sirvan’s latest album “Saate 9″ as a result of either a publicity stunt or good luck! He says that while his name and “pop” music are widely popular hardly anyone knows Sirvan and his “rock” music! Even those who claim to know him haven’t heard him, claims Benyamin. Sirvan is a good arranger but his music is not even remotely close to what I deliver, he just benefited from releasing his album around the same time as “88″. The press presented us as rivals and compared our albums, this was enough for people to wonder who this person whom the press regard as “Benyamin’s rival” is! Being labelled “Banyamin’s rival” is some serious credit, Benyamin adds. They were tricked to buy that album thinking it could compete with mine and were disappointed after hearing it! Thats why the sales number of Sirvan’s album might go up but this can never equal to a matching popularity and quality!

Note: thanks to Ahmad

I was once a huge admirer of the late poet/painter Sohrab Sepehri. Well I still am, but 15 years ago I did basically breathe his poetry! Sohrab’s gentle character and peaceful poetry have made him a mystic legend, someone who many young Iranians happen to discover while searching for an inner self and meaning to being! Needless to say a huge influence on me and my life. This drawing of mine made on the back of my notebook, while I was waiting for the next lecture in 1995 says it all!

Reza Yazdani recently said that even though his collaboration with Santana was announced last year he has yet not heard anything from the guitar legend’s manager and unless this happens soon he will have to record the track solo for the upcoming album with the working title “Negaraane Khodamam”! An album in which he claims to be further Iranianizing the ROCK genre (a reference to his previous claim to be the first who has done such an attempt in Iran!). Yazdani also said that he had asked the government for funding of the video for his nationalistic anthem “Khalije Fars (Persian Gulf)” but his request was denied. He expressed anger and disappointment over the fact that the project was neglected by the government while its their duty to support such initiations.

Abolfazl Hamrah, the director of the government’s Center of Culture and Art, announced that the institution will for the remaining of this year be exclusively engaging and investing in the fostering of POP music. The Shahyad (Azadi) tower and square will host only POP performances. The next step is to subject the genre to an artistic refinement through auditions judged by a board of acclaimed POP musicians of the country. He also promised that these events will be filmed and sold on DVD!

Warning! If you happen to have a pair of nice legs, dress them in a short dress, cross them and frequently tap on your patterned-lace pantyhose-covered thighs, then there is a considerable risk that I re-watch your video over and over again! Just so you know!

In case you’ve followed my Mad Men recommendation I must now notify you that the third season of the well-made series has already kicked off! Don’t miss it!!

This is something I cook and eat a lot, “adasi” as we Iranians call it or lentil soup with onion and potatoes. Along with some crunchy 100% fiber Swedish knäckebröd! Cheap, healthy and easy to make. Delicious especially on chilly days. Served here in my legendary giant cup!lol

Ayda Mosharraf is an Iranian girl, born and raised in Sweden. She is currently residing in UK for her studies. I’ve seen this talented young lady preforming live, she is a young artist walking in the same path previously taken by other Iranian girls such as Laleh, Argavan, Sheri and Sepideh (browse the blog for posts about each one by typing the name in search engine) in Sweden. As she writes and plays her music very honestly and wholeheartedly, its a pleasure reading her blog.

Mohammad Neshat will be producing the motion picture “Bi-Khodaahaafezi (Without Goodbye)”, a musical feature based on Reza Sadeghi’s life! The man in black himself will be starring in the film while scoring the entire soundtrack. No diretor has yet been appointed for the project.

Yesterday (or still today if you live in US) was the trailer day for hyper-hyped flicks. First was the trailer for the extremely secretive Avatar premiered and shortly after the first ever trailer for The Wolfman, which has been in production a couple of years but only shown in images, released. The latter even chose to release its trailer very limitedly and on smaller websites than Apple’s, so that the thrill of the chase would be prolonged. I myself spent an hour before I could find one in HD (watch)! Like I’ve said before, I can’t wait for the moon to turn full in February 2010!

Its not everyday that a movie is kept such a secret and hyped like AVATAR has been so far. Earlier today when Apple premiered the trailer it was almost impossible to watch it due to the extreme traffic! Its a movie that promises much, basically to revolutionize the art and galvanize the genre. But will it be able to deliver on it, or is it just about a masterful marketing strategy to hide a lack of substance? Although I’m not a fan of either one of Cameron’s previous works this one really appeals to me thematically and aesthetically. Watch the trailer in HD, no youtube will do it justice!

Ershaad’s brand new festival “Moghaavemate Melli (National Resistance)” was launched this week and while the POP genre is absent there are unauthorized dealers of knives and tool sets at work in the concert hall! Selling such goods to the audience like hot dog and peanuts, while artists perform on the stage!! The management has not even lifted a finger to stop the shady activities and already announced that this festival will from next year be expanded to feature even international artists. How that will work in a festival themed against cultural influences and invasion only God knows!

Orkideh Hajivandi and her all-female band “Orkideh (Orchid)” recently expressed disappointment about the fact that despite having all required legal permits from the Ministry of Culture and Guidance (Ershaad) they are denied advertising space in media and on billboards! We even suggested to have our group photo removed from the posters but it seem like its our gender that is an issue and not our appearance, complained Orkideh to the press.

Here is an update about the Hermes Records photo contest for an album artwork, which I wrote about months ago in this blog (read). The competition is now closed and a winner selected! Go to Hermes’ website for further information:
http://www.hermesrecords.com/

I’m glad I didn’t watch this one ‘til I was able to watch it on Blu-ray. Because every frame of this spectacular epic opus is like a painting filled with details that only viewing in high definition can do justice to!

I have always been a fan of Tarsem’s artistic signature style, a blend of symbolism and surrealism which works best in either music videos, dream scenarios or fantastic stories. While he delivered the former in REM’s “Losing My Religion” and the motion picture “The Cell” a decade ago, in “The Fall” he manages to present his vision in the latter format.

However this time around backboned by a solid story. “The Fall” will stand next to “Pan’s Labyrinth”, both in my collection and on my list of favorite films! It just has to be experienced, in all its grace and glory!

If anyone is able to make a decent cinematic adaptation of stories from Shahnameh it is without a doubt Tarsem Singh!

In the aftermath of Khordad the 2nd the Iranian press came to experience a short period of relative freedom in which the domestic oppositional (aka reformist-press) publications came to flourish and attend to relative self-ransacking and scrutiny of the system. During this period much of IRI’s dirty laundry was revealed and aired in the press before it was clamped down by the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei himself as a so called sovereign act of intervention for the welfare of the nation! One of the monthlies that was eliminated in this process was the progressive Payaame-Emrooz, which had been published even before the birth of the reform movement but came to take a more clearer stance against the establishment after the historic election. The publication was qualitatively the Iranian counterpart to Western magazines such as TIME and The Economist, with a very clever and bold cover design. Even though being banned in 2001 this journal came to leave behind a rich archive of many years of covering and analyzing, which today serves as perfect material for those who intend to do research about that particular era in the history of Iran and IRI, in particular. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the leather binded collected editions before they vanished. These extremely rare volumes are today among the most important sources in my research and valuable items in my collection!

At the risk of sounding biased I nominated my good friend Erwin Khachikian and his one-man-band KARMANDAN’s music-video “Ghayeegh o Naame” for the best video of 2008. Now Erwin has done it again! Showing the pretentious Iranian industry that it is fully possible to incorporate clever concepts and creativity in an Iranian music video without nagging about budget! This video is as I understand a prequel to the debut video, showing how the band came together. I loved the “JOKI LAND” parody!loool By the way, is it just me or does the gray haired guy in the video look just like Mohsen Namjoo?!!

Another newly found drawing from that lost-and-found folder. This was a detail study in mirror (of course the birthmark was moved to the right cheek in the drawing), made for a 21th birthday self-portrait which was never completed! By the way, as promised there is a new artwork category added to the blog, in “The Gallery” I will be posting work from past, present and future.