Thread: Throw some songs at me, please

Looking for a few suggestions for songs to work with. I keep getting stuck on all the ones I'm comfortable with, when I actually have thousands in my library. So.... throw out a list of your favorite Egyptian and Lebanese songs for me to work with.

Classical AND pop/shaabi are all fine, but other than saidi no folklore right now, thx.

Which songs are you already using?

Originally Posted by Sonja2

Looking for a few suggestions for songs to work with. I keep getting stuck on all the ones I'm comfortable with, when I actually have thousands in my library. So.... throw out a list of your favorite Egyptian and Lebanese songs for me to work with.

Classical AND pop/shaabi are all fine, but other than saidi no folklore right now, thx.

Oh too many to list. I know some will post songs I use but I figure if people post their favorites there are bound to be a lot I don't.
As pop goes, I dance to a lot of Amr Diab and Nancy Ajram.
Classics, the typical mishaal, aziza, shik shak shok, etc
And of course I'm sick of the bdss selections.

It's hard to guess what someone else might like! I have over 100 songs on a playlist just titled 'working' right now.. things I want to use at some point in the near future. And my library is over 1,000 songs, nearly all of them Middle Eastern. I want to help, but I have no idea how to pick out a few to throw at you!

When I'm looking for new music, I like to go on e-music and search for song titles with Raks, Rakset, Raqs or Raqset in them. I find a LOT of orientals/entrances that way, and the CDs that have those songs on them are usually treasure troves of danceable music. That's my opening down the wormhole of great, underused music.

For pop songs, I search for words that are often used in love song titles. Hayati, habibi, hob, leylet, leilet, oyoun, etc and see where those searches take me. When I find a song I like, I google it for a little background & a lyrics translation.

If you're not on e-music, you could try the same thing on itunes or amazon? Amazon probably has the best association features for leading you down the music trail?

Aziza was selling Raksa by Amir Sofi at a workshop I went to recently. It's a great album, I really love several songs on it. Worth checking out...

I updated my list. You probably have already used most of what I have listed, but you never know.

I currently have a crush on "Ana Bastanak" and am tracking down versions to find one that is *just right*. Here's the original, and one from the album, "From Cairo With Love".

Lots of yummy songs on the Nesma albums (and gorgeous orchestration) - Memories of Cairo, Del Nilo Al Guadalquivir. (Plus check out her sword & veil albums.)

Oh, another song crush - "Toul Omri Ahebak". Original here (same singer as Ana Bastanak), Hossam Ramzy's version, and the version on the fabulous album, "Aheb Masr".

Originally Posted by kiyaana

Lots of yummy songs on the Nesma albums (and gorgeous orchestration) - Memories of Cairo, Del Nilo Al Guadalquivir. (Plus check out her sword & veil albums.)

Nesma!

LOL! That's kind of why I started my Song of the Day thread, top highlight songs you sometimes forget about because there are so many!

But I'll throw a few titles your way. I tend to favor the classics of course! Somtimes it's hard to know you have a song because spellings change so drastically.

I always love Abdel Halim songs like Sawah, Neptidi M'neim El Hikaya, Kariat El Fingan (El Funjon), Zay El Helwa, Gana EL Hawa, Mawood

Warda Songs like Fi youm We Lela, Batwanees Beek.

Oum Kalsoum -Lessa Fakir, Inta Omri

Lebanese: I like Lama Rah El Sabr (El Saber). El Leila Helwa, Ala Rimsch ayouna

Shaabi- I like the old Ahmed Addiwaya songs
Bint El Sultan, Baladi Ya Wad, Salimitha Om Hassan

A few others:
Baddee Shoufak Koll Youm Ya Habibi, Tigi Neksem El Amar, Toota,