Arabic Techno

The aptly named "Arabic Techno" is one of the greatest pieces of meta-commentary released in the past 15 years.



The name lays bare its listener's most deeply held prejudices. The ethnically reductive "Arabic"--switched, within the first few seconds of the song, with an equally oppressive "Arabian"--mocks the average white Western techno listener's lack of racial knowledge, and their tendency view all Middle Easterners as one and the same.

Then, the words. Beautiful, melodic and deep despite their lack of legible Western meaning, they reveal the essential flaw of my commentary on Bob Sinclair: an over-reliance on the pillars of white aesthetics. What are lyrics? What is content? What is meaning? After listening to "Arabic Techno," it becomes impossible to say.

The video's image, too, is important. The mysterious spikey ball stands in for all the fears which the white Western techno listener attaches to the Arabic 'Other.' From terrorism and fundamentalism to guilt at our own mistreatment of the Middle East, the spikey ball is rife with important symbolism.

In the latter half of the song, English lyrics leak in. The understandable words meld with the ethnic feel of the melody to hint at new possibilities of peace in the Middle East--and within our own subconscious--through a creation of a common culture. If President Bush had listened to this paradigm shifting techno opus in the days after 9/11, is it not easy to imagine his reactions following more along the lines of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

An aside: a friend and I discovered this song while browsing for music to play in my 'Lively' (the name of a new Second Life-esque Google application) harem. If hanging out in this Lively harem appeals to you, find me here:



-ADL