English translations of Shahin Najafi's "Naghi"

The international media are already calling him "the Salman Rushdie of music" and the death threats against him have sent him into hiding in Germany. And yet, the words of Shahin Najafi's brief, satirical rap, which earned him the title of apostate, are hard to come by in a satisfactory English translation. "Naghi," which is structured as a prayer addressing the 10th Imam, Ali al-Naghi, is a string of sardonic observations on a diverse public issues and allusions to recent events in Iranian society. Najafi himself has insisted that the piece was not intended to insult Islam or Ali al-Naghi.

Since I cannot grasp the Persian version, I spent the day discussing the lyrics with an Iranian friend and searching for good translations. The best I've seen is this one by Azadeh Azad. Taking this as a starting point, I've adjusted a bit to make it more idiomatic. One thing I'm still puzzling over is whether "For the sake of" or "I swear on" or some other phrase best captures the repeated petitionary form of address. Suggestions are most welcome.

Naghi

by Shahin Najafi

Naghi, I swear on your wit
On this man, exiled far from the ring of battle
On life's big dick waiting menacingly behind us
On the width and length of sanctions and the rising dollar and the humiliation
Naghi, I swear on the cardboard cutout Imam
On the newborn who came out of the womb saying "O, Ali"
On Islamic jurisprudence lessons in the nose-job operating room
On The Leader, prayer beads and prayer rugs made in China
Naghi, I swear on Sheys Rezaei's thumb
On the absent religion and the religious soccer

Chorus:
Hey, Naghi! As the Hidden Imam is sleeping, we are calling you
Hey, Naghi! We are in our shrouds and ready to be buried
Hey, Naghi, Rise!

Naghi, I swear on love and Viagra
On spread legs and chakras
On bread, chicken, meat and fish
And silicon breasts and striped virginity
Naghi, I swear on Golshifteh's boobs

On lost honor that we never had
Naghi, I swear on Airya's race
And the pendants hung around the neck
Naghi, for Farnood's wee-wee
And the three thousand billion dollar fairy tale
Fictional like the Persian Gulf and Uromieh Lake
By the way--what was the name of the leader of the Green Movement?

(Chorus)

Hey, Naghi!
Hey, Naghi!
Hey, Naghi!
 
On the fart-rending demise of the nation's Imam
On the fossilized pundits far from homeland
On the widows roaming in discos
On the intellectual discussions in chat rooms
On the honor of dissolute men
On the women defenders of men's rights
On the TV color revolution
On the three percent of people who read
On the insipid and hollow slogans
Naghi, I swear on this fickle crowd
Who say "long live" in the morning and "death to" at night
On the heroes of fiction

(Chorus)

Hey, Naghi!
Hey, Naghi!
O, Naghi!

Better Hearing Institute condemns use the of "sound cannon" by Chicago police

 Chicago's controversial strategy to control protesters at the NATO summit included the use of the LRAD, or long-range acoustic device, a "sound cannon." Just before the event, the Better Hearing Institute —a nonprofit organization that advocates for people with hearing loss —released a statement condemning the use of the LRAD. In it, executive director Dr. Sergei Kochkin had this to say about the device:

For more than 40 years the BHI has promoted better hearing and hearing conservation. Exposure to noise is one of the key sources of hearing loss. The LRAD's power lies in its ability to emit sound in narrow 30-degree "beams" as if it were traveling through a "sound tunnel". Set at 150 decibels, the sounds can reach a target as much as 1,600 feet away. The human threshold for pain is between 110 and 120 decibels. Any exposure to the device at its maximum power could cause irreversible damage to the ears since the sound exceeds that of a jet engine taking off or a gun shot near a person's ear; in addition it can result in debilitating tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

Thanks to Richard Einhorn for tuning me in to this story.

Hildegard of Bingen, first composer, now saint

 The Vatican has reported that one week ago Pope Benedict XVI "inscribed in the catalogue of the saints of the Catholic Church a German Benedictine abbess and mystic of the 12th century, without a formal canonization ceremony. She is Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a writer, composer, philosopher, visionary and polymath."

Hildegard is often referred to as the first composer in the Western musical tradition, or the first composer whose name we know. Margot Fassler, Professor of Music History and Liturgy at University of Notre Dame, explains:

She has more securely attributable monophonic chants assigned to her name than any composer from the entire Middle Ages; she is the only composer in the history of Western music who was also a serious and highly respected theologian; she is the first composer who arranged for the ordering, copying and preservation of her musical compositions; she was the first to have promoted, and perhaps even planned, visual commentary for a theological treatise that includes song texts . . . . ("Music for the Love Feast: Hildegard of Bingen and the Song of Songs," in Resonant Witness)

The best way to experience Hildegard's music for the first time is through the work of the great and groundbreaking Anonymous 4 and their final recording, The Origin of Fire: Music and Visions of Hildegard von Bingen. I heard the news about the sainthood from the wonderful vocalist and composer Lisa Bielawa, who will be performing a musical tribute to Hildegard later this month at The Stone in New York City.