Such a genius songwriter. Probably the greatest lyricist ever not to mention a genius arranger, composer, drummer, singer, producer, pianist. There’s nothing he can’t do and the rock and roll hall of fame just thought they’d overlook him. That’s why I don’t pay any attention to it.
I love how his voice has a laden quality, with a dizzy warble, redolent of a labored honey bee in flight, and pregnant with intention of a safe landing. It sets off my synesthesia.
As for the concept: Gharbzadegi Gharbzadegi (Persian: غربزدگی) is a pejorative Persian term variously translated as "Westoxification," "West-struck-ness"[1] "Westitis", "Euromania", or "Occidentosis".It is used to refer to the loss of Iranian cultural identity through the adoption and imitation of Western models and Western criteria in education, the arts, and culture; through the transformation of Iran into a passive market for Western goods and a pawn in Western geopolitics. The phrase was first coined by Ahmad Fardid, a professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran, in the 1940s. it gained common usage following the clandestine publication in 1962 of the book Occidentosis: A Plague from the West by Jalal Al-e-Ahmad. Fardid's definition of the term as referring to the hegemony of ancient Greek philosophy, differed from its later usage as popularised by Al-e Ahmad. Al-e Ahmed describes Iranian behavior in the twentieth century as being "Weststruck." The word was play on the dual meaning of "stricken" in Persian, which meant to be afflicted with a disease or to be stung by an insect, or to be infatuated and bedazzled. "I say that gharbzadegi is like cholera [or] frostbite. But no. It's at least as bad as sawflies in the wheatfields. Have you ever seen how they infest wheat? From within. There's a healthy skin in places, but it's only a skin, just like the shell of a cicada on a tree." Al-e Ahmad argued that Iran must gain control over machines and become a producer rather than a consumer, even though once having overcome Weststruckness it will face a new malady - also western - that of 'machinestruckness'. "The soul of this devil 'the machine' [must be] bottled up and brought out at our disposal ... [The Iranian people] must not be at the service of machines, trapped by them, since the machine is a means not an end."
A very wonderful article www.madeleinebyrne.com/in-praise-of/2017/8/25/gharbadzegi-robert-wyatt-old-rottenhat-rough-trade-1985-plus-live-performance-2002
Wow. Thank you for sharing! Autonomy is a beautiful pursuit! Submission to the influence & control of others suffocates identity, be it a culture, nation, or … (ehem) a wife to a husband. Embrace liberty with your rightful will, and it becomes a beautiful exchange of respect to others. I can’t wait to read more on these eloquent & pregnant ideas.
It's so easy to decide on a name It's a name caller's game It's so easy to look down from above Helicopter vision Get the picture when you're outside the frame Retrospective my eye Call it art and you can say what you like It's a name caller's game Your perspective describes where I stand Out of line, out of mind Calling myopia 'focus', of course, Makes it easier still Gharbzadegi means nothing to me Westernitis to you We get so out of touch Words take the place of meaning
Does anyone know if Wyatt has ever commented on the intention of the lyrics to this song? Because -keeping in mind the meaning and ideological history of the term (google it) -it can be interpreted both as some sort of justification/support of the ideas of the islamic revolution in Iran, or as a critique of those ideas and ideals. I've played it for a couple of iranian friends, who were very alarmed by the potential show of solidarity/support of the regime that drove them and/or their families out of Iran. Personally I find it to be a marvelous song with potentially despicable lyrics, which sort of bothers me.
It doesn't seem neither like a critique nor support, more like a exploration of a concept that involves the notion of "alienhood". The concept is alien to most living in the west, "means nothing to me". The same could be said from the perspective of those who are undergoing westernization, but instead the cultural and economic norms that deface the Iranian (in this particular example, but it could be applied to most places suffering with imperialism) culture in favor of occidentalism are just as "alien" to those who will get subjugated to it. Also, pretending the Islamic Revolution is not a direct (even if partial) reflection of that westernization doesn't seem like something someone like Wyatt would ignore, but that wouldn't mean support.
Such a genius songwriter. Probably the greatest lyricist ever not to mention a genius arranger, composer, drummer, singer, producer, pianist. There’s nothing he can’t do and the rock and roll hall of fame just thought they’d overlook him. That’s why I don’t pay any attention to it.
I love how his voice has a laden quality, with a dizzy warble, redolent of a labored honey bee in flight, and pregnant with intention of a safe landing. It sets off my synesthesia.
Life affirming 🙏
There is NO ONE like Robert Wyatt! I hope he is in decent health...this World needs him more than ever!
THIS, and SEA SONG from the same concert are Absolutely Phenomenal!
Great music, the Sax at the end is absolutely fantastic.
A Wyatt Supreme!
On love ce Suprême
As for the concept: Gharbzadegi
Gharbzadegi (Persian: غربزدگی) is a pejorative Persian term variously translated as "Westoxification," "West-struck-ness"[1] "Westitis", "Euromania", or "Occidentosis".It is used to refer to the loss of Iranian cultural identity through the adoption and imitation of Western models and Western criteria in education, the arts, and culture; through the transformation of Iran into a passive market for Western goods and a pawn in Western geopolitics.
The phrase was first coined by Ahmad Fardid, a professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran, in the 1940s. it gained common usage following the clandestine publication in 1962 of the book Occidentosis: A Plague from the West by Jalal Al-e-Ahmad. Fardid's definition of the term as referring to the hegemony of ancient Greek philosophy, differed from its later usage as popularised by Al-e Ahmad.
Al-e Ahmed describes Iranian behavior in the twentieth century as being "Weststruck." The word was play on the dual meaning of "stricken" in Persian, which meant to be afflicted with a disease or to be stung by an insect, or to be infatuated and bedazzled. "I say that gharbzadegi is like cholera [or] frostbite. But no. It's at least as bad as sawflies in the wheatfields. Have you ever seen how they infest wheat? From within. There's a healthy skin in places, but it's only a skin, just like the shell of a cicada on a tree."
Al-e Ahmad argued that Iran must gain control over machines and become a producer rather than a consumer, even though once having overcome Weststruckness it will face a new malady - also western - that of 'machinestruckness'. "The soul of this devil 'the machine' [must be] bottled up and brought out at our disposal ... [The Iranian people] must not be at the service of machines, trapped by them, since the machine is a means not an end."
A very wonderful article
www.madeleinebyrne.com/in-praise-of/2017/8/25/gharbadzegi-robert-wyatt-old-rottenhat-rough-trade-1985-plus-live-performance-2002
Thanks got lighting a candle.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Wow. Thank you for sharing! Autonomy is a beautiful pursuit! Submission to the influence & control of others suffocates identity, be it a culture, nation, or … (ehem) a wife to a husband. Embrace liberty with your rightful will, and it becomes a beautiful exchange of respect to others. I can’t wait to read more on these eloquent & pregnant ideas.
❤
Merci Monsieur Robert !
Makes me glad to be alive
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Sublime ....
magic Robert great dada !
Harry Beckett - statesmanlike and magnificent!
MMMmmmm - yes please Robert, better hear that again for the 17th time. And that's just this year.
Gaffe à l'Echaffaud ascensionnel. La grandeur du souffle n'a pas de prix, que de l'avenir !
It's so easy to decide on a name
It's a name caller's game
It's so easy to look down from above
Helicopter vision
Get the picture when you're outside the frame
Retrospective my eye
Call it art and you can say what you like
It's a name caller's game
Your perspective describes where I stand
Out of line, out of mind
Calling myopia 'focus', of course,
Makes it easier still
Gharbzadegi means nothing to me
Westernitis to you
We get so out of touch
Words take the place of meaning
Fantastic!
I wish I could see the whole concert.
❤
Il batterista Liam Genockey è lo stesso del video Baker Street di Gerry Rafferty.
Does anyone know if Wyatt has ever commented on the intention of the lyrics to this song? Because -keeping in mind the meaning and ideological history of the term (google it) -it can be interpreted both as some sort of justification/support of the ideas of the islamic revolution in Iran, or as a critique of those ideas and ideals. I've played it for a couple of iranian friends, who were very alarmed by the potential show of solidarity/support of the regime that drove them and/or their families out of Iran. Personally I find it to be a marvelous song with potentially despicable lyrics, which sort of bothers me.
It doesn't seem neither like a critique nor support, more like a exploration of a concept that involves the notion of "alienhood". The concept is alien to most living in the west, "means nothing to me". The same could be said from the perspective of those who are undergoing westernization, but instead the cultural and economic norms that deface the Iranian (in this particular example, but it could be applied to most places suffering with imperialism) culture in favor of occidentalism are just as "alien" to those who will get subjugated to it. Also, pretending the Islamic Revolution is not a direct (even if partial) reflection of that westernization doesn't seem like something someone like Wyatt would ignore, but that wouldn't mean support.
bass is DUDLEY PHILIPS is it not?