This exists and it’s called the “Teenar” because, you know, it’s a combination of a teenage girl AND a guitar. This “thing” is the embodiment of every misogynist (or misogyny in general) comment I’ve ever encountered playing guitar in a band or walking into a music store: “You play good for a girl.” “Isn’t that Les Paul you’re playing a bit heavy for you? There are lighter guitars for girls.” “Shouldn’t you use lighter gauge strings?” “Let me get that for you, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” There are only so many ways you can tell the staff at Guitar Center to eff themselves.
I very rarely feel a violent reaction toward an inanimate object but I hate the “Teenar.” I want to destroy it in a heated rage while listening to Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon.” Sure, I could create a male parody of the guitar and name it “peenar.” Wouldn’t that be so cute? Me playing a guitar that looks like teenage boy and has a strategically placed fretboard. I could post pictures of me with “peen” all over my blog like the one above. How culturally feminist of me. “I don’t date men but I play one.” What a great tagline. But no. I’m not really interested in some ridiculous heterosexist, gender binary parodying guitar.
I hate you, “Teenar,” but I hate the culture that gave rise to you and valorizes your builder for creating you even more.
“I think the regime is over even if Gaddafi manages to survive,” Mattawa says. “Libyans are saying, ‘Yes we will have a new constitution, perhaps we will have a new flag. But we do not want you or your father or the rest of your plan, so get out of here.”
This is worth 36 minutes of your time. I’ve met Professor Mattawa a few times at various academic conferences about Arab-American diasporas and Middle Eastern studies. He’s articulate, smart and remarkably approachable.
An interview about social media in the Middle East with the editors of a fantastic blog about culture and technology, Cyborgology.
I’m so glad I dropped $40 dollars on this when I was a graduate student. There are so many interesting and insightful essays in it.
“In civilizations without boats, dreams dry up, espionage takes the place of adventure, and the police take the place of pirates.”
Foucault “Of Other Spaces”
“Intimacy between people is forbearance, tolerance, refuge for idiosyncrasies.”
Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia (p.31)
The Field “A Paw in My Face”
The best use of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” you’ll ever hear.
Although this is new and a start in the right direction, the battle for complete socio-legal equality is FAR from over.
El Funoun - Initiation of ecstasy
I’ve really been into this piece as of late. It’s off an album of Palestinian Folk songs I picked up during my summer in Jordan. There’s a part of me that would like to either remix the song or find an inventive way to sample it. Then again, I sort of think it is perfect in its current state.
On a side note, there are musicians doing really interesting mashups and remixes of traditional Middle Eastern music with hip hop or electronic music. One of my fellow Arab artist friends (former Dearbornite now turned Brooklynite), Joe Namy, does some great stuff with hip-hop samples and Middle Eastern music under the name El-Iqaa. He’s also a great artist.
180 Plays
Thank you to Alongingforelsewheres for the link to this absolutely gorgeous piece! I’m linking to a live version of the song because it sounds better than the recorded track. This is stunning, just stunning.
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Modern & Im/material Things
I'm Christina Dennaoui. I like cultural analysis, technology, and electronic music. I make beats. I drink bourbon. I'm a nice lady, so you should talk to me. Content Areas: Electronic Music, Critical Theory, Media Studies, Technology, Digital Culture
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