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On January 7, 1978, the Iranian Revolution began. By 1979, the country had become an Islamic republic, overthrowing the Pahlavi dynasty who had ruled Iran for half a century. Before that, throughout the 70s, the Iranian monarchy heavily invested in the arts with a desire to Westernize the country; from the late 60s onwards, European disco and pop began to infiltrate the middle eastern country and influence the more traditional forms of Iranian music. "In the 70s Iran was pumping a lot of money into music, and financially, they were doing quite well as a country," Kasra V explains. Ksara moved to the UK several years ago and is now an NTS Radio host. His new EP The Window explores the music of his birthplace, specifically the South Iranian musical style, Bandari. Iran, before the Islamic Revolution, was full of cultural delights that mixed east and west together. In the 70s artists like Farrokhzad Fereydoun — an openly gay musician, political scientist, and TV host — and Kourosh Yaghmaei — whose works were compiled five years ago by Eglo on Now Again Records — were enjoying mainstream success in the country. Artists like Shohreh and Ebi were making "big records with big orchestras," Kasra explains, fueling a vibrant music culture that mixed psychedelic pop, folk, and middle-eastern rock. Some of the biggest artists of the age, Googoosh, Dariush, and Farhad Mehrad were creating songs full of soaring emotion. "Some of them were almost too emotional," Kasra laughs. "They peak too much, some of them were almost a whole song of peaking." Some were political, such as Farhad's track, "Jomeh." But mostly they echoed what Western musicians were writing about at the time: love, loss, and simply having a good time.
Americans must recognize two facts governing the situation in Iran. One is the breadth of support for the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini among politically sophisticated intellectuals as well as millions of urban and rural Iranians who never before participated in the political process.
The other is the complete absence among these same people of loyalty for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who is regarded as a traitor, a creation of American and British imperialism. In their view, the shah’s regime reflected American interests as faithfully as Vidkun Quisling’s puppet government in Norway reflected the interests of Nazi Germany in World War II. The shah’s defense program, his industrial and economic transactions, and his oil policy were all considered by most Iranians to be faithful executions of American instructions.
Ultimately, the United States was blamed for the thousands killed during the last year by the Iranian army, which was trained, equipped, and seemingly controlled by Washington. Virtually every wall in Iran carried a slogan demanding the death of the "American shah.
foreignpolicy.com...
Has anyone bothered to look at the rise in these "religious" guys back in 1979
originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: Waterglass
That's because Iran was run by an American puppet back then , a corrupt one at that.
Americans must recognize two facts governing the situation in Iran. One is the breadth of support for the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini among politically sophisticated intellectuals as well as millions of urban and rural Iranians who never before participated in the political process.
The other is the complete absence among these same people of loyalty for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who is regarded as a traitor, a creation of American and British imperialism. In their view, the shah’s regime reflected American interests as faithfully as Vidkun Quisling’s puppet government in Norway reflected the interests of Nazi Germany in World War II. The shah’s defense program, his industrial and economic transactions, and his oil policy were all considered by most Iranians to be faithful executions of American instructions.
Ultimately, the United States was blamed for the thousands killed during the last year by the Iranian army, which was trained, equipped, and seemingly controlled by Washington. Virtually every wall in Iran carried a slogan demanding the death of the "American shah.
foreignpolicy.com...
Ah the good old days , when Iran was American.
Why do you always side with criminals who are worse than the past. I mean whippings, female torture, mutilation in the name of religion and the like today.