When Ziad Rahbani, the legendary Lebanese composer and pianist, first tried to describe his music, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1988 that it was “something like a hamburger that tastes of falafel”, a nod to the beloved Arab street snack made from spiced chickpeas or fava beans. What he was trying to say is that the popularity of globalized Western music during his time, symbolized by the hamburger, only scratches the surface of his music. But when you truly pause and listen, taking in each note and chorus, the depth and texture of the falafel slowly comes through, until it no longer feels like it was ever a hamburger. The timing of the interview, and Rahbani’s choice to use the hamburger metaphor, could not have been more fitting. It is almost as if he had predicted where the global music industry was heading, which was toward a hamburger-like sound that was globalized, short, and stripped of any distinct cultural identity. It was also just a few years before the 1990s, when songs started becoming shorter and simpler, with many hits barely passing the three-minute mark. Record labels…
