Audiogrammes

Just finished reading Craig Thompson’s gorgeous graphic novel, “Habibi”.
I was scared I’d be disappointed because of the exotic looking subject and how much I love “Blankets”.
Don’t be put off by the cover or the dots under the “B”s: it’s a mind-blowing labour of love and – … I’ll just leave it at that.

For more info on Habibi:
Official site
Review
Slideshow
Craig Thompson’s Blog

And here’s the quote from Thompson’s interviews that justified and triggered this post (’cause yes, for the time being this is still only a music blog…):

“There’s a description of Arabic calligraphy as ‘music for the eyes, and that’s how I felt about it from when I first saw it. The musicality of it, the movement, the flow.”

I immediately heard Soapkills’ cover of Asmahan’s “Ya Habibi Taala” in my head:

Habibi (Live in Circus, 24 June 1999) (Mediafire Link)

And yes, Dodola does look a bit like Yasmine.

And this is where the plot thickens: Habibi is the missing link between Beirut’s various alternative scenes through time!

Balkan Beat Box – Habibi min Zaman (Mediafire Link)

Forget where they come from, the intro sounds so much like the Incompetents’ “Bullets Gently Dancing Over My Head” (2008)

And of course, in 2011 Mashrou’ Leila released another “Habibi” on their latest EP, El Hal Romancy (Official free download).