Al-Wakeel playing Hummam Ammari's "SubarStar" :)

Despite the fact that Hummam Ammari's latest funny song, "Jordanian SubarStar", which is a funny arabic remake of the famous Nickelback song "Rockstar", was produced by Play 99.6. & was made available by them through a post on their blog for public download. This song wasn't even aired by Play 99.6 fully on the airwaves, and only promoted with a small snap it of the song. most probably due to the "genre differences in the music style" :D

Anyway, just minutes away this morning, The famous radio announcer Mohammad Al-Wakeel, played the song on his show on Radio Fann :) as well the original one ... and he concentrated on the fragment of song where hummam says:
"بدي أطلع الصبح عبرنامج الوكيل"
Followed of course by Al-Wakeel's famous laugh :D

& we can say that it was 1st to be aired on Radio Fann, even before Play :D

For those who didn't hear it yet, it available for public download HERE

While the lyrics are available by R0ba on her blog with a nice analysis attempt :)

Low Quality Music in the background of Jordanian shops and stores

I wanted to talk about this since, over a year now! I was just not compiling it too well! Though all of us, young and old, males and females, suffer from this all over the place, and in Amman in particular, where hyper markets and brand stores and shops are spreading like mashrooms.

I have been always (in general) annoyed by the quality of music being aired in the background of shops around town. And we are talking about big fat shops, some very popular among people, some very rich and classy, bad music selected by some sassy sleazy employees most probably, and maybe sometimes even selected after an argue and stopped and yet changed again by another employee and so on, just like if they're in their own bedroom arguing which song is nicer!

Examples?!
Lets see,
most of the clothes and wears brandshops around sweifieh and mecca mall have a problem in the quality of music being aired in the background as it comes to measures of:
Sound Quality: despite most of them are equipped with high-tech sound systems, but they just get screwed up by missing up with the equalizers!

Music Quality: especially the music content, as a lot of them air “dirty versions” of hiphop and R'n'B songs. This was observed even in stores where different ages and classes of people would regularly shop, just like “Max” and “Centerpoint” for example, as well as depending on the employees tastes!

Employees Taste Vs Brand Taste: Probably this is the cause of all the problems, especially the one listed above. As some employees, just out of the “cool” deep inside them, decide to have an un-cleaned version of an album by eminem, and that album happen to be also an underground unreleased one (cool enough out of his coolness!), and have that in .... a children wear shop!!!! or even a young ladies accessories shop! Or some Linkin Park in an old ladies formal wear shop from an italian brand!!!!
See, this is how bad things might go in some shops. And of course, things vary just depending on the employee on the shift and his/her mood!

Sound Volume: Loud Volume in particular. In some shops you can just feel that you are in a club!! well, ok, maybe the clothes at Cool Cat or Pull and Bear at city mall are just the ones for clubbing, but you should SHOUT to tell one of the employees about ur size!!!!!

I just can't count the cases and shops of improper sound/shop combinations around town. And the bad soundtracks of our shopping experience.

There are some positive things lately around and about, for example, and after AZADEA group opened Virgin Mega store in City Mall – Amman. They seemed to supply most of the brandshops ran by AZADEA group with precompiled music collections and mixes. That was easy to observe as you can even get to hear the same music combination at more than one shop ran by AZADEA, and you can even get to guess what track is next :D

Cozmo supermarket has also a predefined music combination, integrated with offers announcements, and even closing hours announcements being aired in the background, all of this at a controlled volume, and a well selected list of tracks that cope with the place's atmosphere and customers' expected music genres.

Radio is VERY absent from our shopping soundtracks. And I mean VERY! As the only place where i have mentioned to have radio being aired in the background is Al Ahlyyah Plaza Superstores in Shmeisani, they always have Mood FM on.

Even Smartbuy, who has a weekly show Live from the store on Radio Rotana, DOESN'T have Radio Rotana on, they even have a totally different music genre aired even!!

Why aren't radio stations marketing people going on this track!! or is it that they consider marketing related only to have sponsorships and how much to repeat ads per hour! Hint hint Strategic long-term marketing plans!
Even in small local radio stations in europe, just like the ones in the town I live in romania, some radio stations get relations with some local supermarkets to have their radio station aired in their shop (or shops in case of a chain of 3 supermarkets for example), and in return the radio station guarantees not having any marketing deals with other competitive supermarkets.

This is just an example of 10s others that can be implemented in getting more listener-ship and presence for a certain station or another in the market. Like for example having door radio stickers announcing the customers that they can enjoy their shopping experience along with Radio XYZ. (much more smarter than having a simple computer printed ad on 5 shopping carts i guess!). Some radio stations can make efforts enriching the shops sound equipments just for the sake of having the radios in that shop fixed on their radio station! (hint hint: Most of our lovely jordanian Radios' transmissions cannot be received inside most of the Malls)

I mean! Can't those radio guys just scratch their minds or what! There is a lot of potential in the market since the listener ship as statistics show or still less than 50% on daily basis... and can't they just benefit of the fact that ads in printed media are not reaching everyone like radio, despite the fact that audio-ads are still 10 times less than printed ads!

I guess i will open my own consultations house to teach those guys in the market my stupid ideas and charge them some grands! And on the side have a radio station where i would implement my ideas and rock all the other stations down :D

Photos from Diana Krall's Last night in Amman

Just awesome :)
A. W. E. S. O. M. E.

everything, the setup, the place overlooking all Amman, the big meteorite crossing Amman's sky at 8.15 PM before it started, the performance, the music, the voice, the breeze, Diana's respect to the call of prayers and her pause of performance for that (which i have never seen in any arab artists performances). everything , everything, everything :)

Some photos from Reuters Pictures via DayLife says it all. (Click on Photos for sources)







and last but not least , a photo of the audience, in which i was missed by only 1 seat ... 1 seat and i could have been on photo from Reuters :(



More Here by Naseem Tarawneh
More "REAL" photos here as well

Un singur drum ...

Asculta s-auzi cum rasuna
E sunetul cald al iubirii
Te invalui usor
Cu-acest cantec de dor
Chiar din inima mea
Simt un fior ce prezice
C-am sa-ti simt usor atingerea
Trec prin ceata sau fum
Este un singur drum
Catre dragostea ta...
Ma aprinzi cu atingerea ta
Cand e totul rece in viata mea
Dupa nopti intregi ma saruti si pleci
De ce imi frangi iar inima?
Ma aprinzi cu atingerea ta
Cand e totul rece in viata mea
Dupa nopti intregi ma saruti si pleci
De ce imi frangi iar inima?
De-ai putea sa-mi spui ce simti pt mine
Mi-ar fi usor sa stiu ce va urma
Sa te-astept pe nedrept,
Sa te uit si sa plec,
Ori sa-ti intorc dragostea
Simt un fior ce prezice
C-am sa-ti simt usor atingerea
Trec prin ceata sau fum
Este un singur drum
Catre dragostea ta...
Ma aprinzi cu atingerea ta
Cand e totul rece in viata mea
Dupa nopti intregi ma saruti si pleci
De ce imi frangi iar inima?
Ma aprinzi cu atingerea ta
Cand e totul rece in viata mea
Dupa nopti intregi ma saruti si pleci
De ce imi frangi iar inima?
De ce spui cuvinte in care nu crezi?
De ce pentru mine esti tot si nu vezi?
Inca o noapte nu dorm
De ce nu ma lasi sa visez?
De ce-mi spui cuvinte in care nu crezi?
De ce pentru mine esti tot si nu vezi?
Inca o noapte nu dorm
De ce nu ma lasi sa visez?




I Love the sensation i feel when i hear this song

David Vendetta & Rachel Starr - Bleeding Heart

We meet for a moment and then it´s goodbye
And i´ll just lived a lifetime with you in my mind
What would it be to live in your world?
If you were my boy and i was your girl
It´s crazy the spell you have me under
I know it can´t be but i´ll always wonder
What would my life be, living in your arms?
We will never know
And what you´d you say if i were to stay?
And just go your way?
(Go your way...)

This is where you loose your mind
And just let your heart unwind
You´re blind, don´t loose control
You´re mine, don´t loose it all

We meet for a moment and then it´s goodbye
And i´ll just lived a lifetime with you in my mind
What would it be to live in your world?
If you were my boy and i was your girl
It´s crazy the spell you have me under
I know it can´t be but i´ll always wonder
What would my life be, living in your arms?
We will never know
And what you´d you say if i were to stay?
And just go your way?

Could you fill in the blanks in my story?
Tell me what i´m missing,
What you could be for me?
What would i find if i followed your path?
All the things that i´ve longed for
And that i never had

It´s crazy the spell you have me under
I know it can´t be but i always wonder
What would my life be, living in your arms?
We will never know
And what you´d you say if i were to stay?
And just go your way?

What would my life be, living in your arms?
We will never know
And what you´d you say if i were to stay?
And just go your way?
(Go your way...)


I'm just addicted to the song ..... I can't hold it ... when it goes on Play 99.6 everyone would know where i live :D

Am also, addicted to David Vendetta's podcasts ... awesome
an interesting Extended video on Youtube..

Radio Guide Update: 105.1 FM - The Classical Music station is back

Yes, the classical music Radio station owned by Modern Media Corp, the owner of Play 99.6 is BACK today after an interruption that lasted almost 3 months

I wonder weather Carmina Burana's success had anything to do with it :)

an "Untitled" night!

Last night, 23:59
laying on my bed .... thinking! extensively!
in my ears: Mood FM, with Late night lounge,

Last Night, 00:01
laying on my bed .... thinking! extensively!
in my ears: Mood FM, Dido - "Thank you"
me wondering: "Who do i want to say [thank you] to..... I guess i'd better say [good night!]"

This Morning, 06:59
setting on the edge of my bed .... thinking! extensively!
in my ears: Mood FM, Moby - "Porcelain"
me singing with the song: "In my dreams I'm dying all the time ... As I wake its kaleidoscopic mind ... I never meant to hurt you .. but this is good bye...".
& They cut off the song and put the jingle of their morning drive time period, & changed the song.

A classic music radio station is finally on the airwaves of Amman, on 105.1 FM

Yes, the station that was recently opened by "Modern Media Corp" the owner of Play 99.6 will be officially the first Classic and Symphonic radio station in Amman. after the death of RFJ (The Official Jordanian French FM station on 90.0 FM that is not that french any more!).

Quite a smart move, and this is exactly what i was talking about like a couple of years ago. That there should be like a radio station for each and every major genre of music, watch and learn arabic stations, watch and learn.

Yes, we do really miss Classic and symphonic music on the seen in all this loudness! Way much before the boom in the radio seen in jordan (or as it is called, ill tell you later what i do call it), there was RFJ, which is still there, physically speaking, which used to play Classic and Symphonic music for like over half of its 6 AM – 8 PM's 14 hours transmission. And trust me, there where quite a lot of people who used to listen to it, and in the afternoon at the requests and up-beat music shows, the children of those people who used to listen to classic music where enjoying their time listening to French music, in addition to some western. So, conclusion, RFJ's listeners where much more at that time then now when they play ARABIC, junk English, and a piece of news headline in French! Yes, Even the radio announcers now speak in arabic more than French and English! Listeners, well, I dunno, but i hear the same names and callers all the time ,,, it turned like a family radio, or a wanna-be gang radio! From a radio station that used to give dedicated weekly hours for great names like Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, and Georgy Zamfeer. And air the most tabooed and liberal news casts in their news, in contrast with the official Jordanian Radio and TV that used to have a total different story about the same news title!

Anyway, back to the station on 105.1 FM, the station is, still, names less, but i started already to be listener of it. I'll be feeding you back with a post as soon as i get to have new information about it.

UPDATE 7-May-2007: The station has stopped, after switching back to hear Play 99.6 on this frequency for a couple of days. that is most probably due to the fact that this was only a test transmission. the station still has no declared name. and didnot officially start. I will post about it when its back