Burqa and cleavage? Can one singer actually manage to unite the world in infuriation?
A self-styled "suicide bomber" musician who sings in Arabic and performs in a full-length burqa is planning a "terror concert" in Britain.Let me say that the music may be the most offensive part of n.A.T.o.'s act (listen to her single, "Chor Avon" ("Black Widow"—yeah, no kidding), if you must. Courtesy of Justin Logan.). She's said to sing in Tajik, Georgian, and Farsi, but I can't exactly tell exactly what language she's singing in; I'm assuming she's not singing about making out with other teenage girls, but that is only an assumption. Potentially more offensive than her sound: Shapovalov apparently considered staging some sort of publicity event on a plane. Pravda, proving with aplomb that Russians are at best deaf to and more likely immune to extreme absurdity, notes that "[t]he performance was slated to take place in September [2004], although the show had to be cancelled on account of plane crashes in Russia."The Russian teenage singer, known only as n.A.T.o, performs with her face covered by a veil in front of screens broadcasting images from al-Jazeera, the Arab television station, interspersed with flashing words such as "al-Qaeda", "Iraq" and "Nasdaq".
Her manager, Ivan Shapovalov, who last year launched the controversial lesbian pop duo t.A.T.u, plans to give a concert in Britain in November after successfully organising a similar event in Moscow on September 11.
Though it would be doltish to be provoked by n.A.T.o. herself, doesn't Shapovalov seem worse than a huckster? Staging very young women in conceptual, ideological, or sexual roles, in which they do not seem invested and for which they do not seem prepared? The gig he is running strikes me as a fetishized American Idol. Not to say that there isn't a great deal of fetishization to American pop culture—just that American pop incorporates sex in a consensual if dumb and overstimulated way, whereas Shapovalov is using teenage sexuality to pour salt in the world's rawest wounds. A trick as old as Homer and Helen, but still, ugh, it's pretty gross.
Posted by Kriston at March 11, 2005 1:10 PMThough it would be doltish to be provoked by n.A.T.o. herself, doesn't Shapovalov seem worse than a huckster? Staging very young women in conceptual, ideological, or sexual roles, in which they do not seem invested and for which they do not seem prepared?
Okay, yes, it's unpleasant, but I'm kind of intrigued by the rapid transition from cheap-thrill TATU to shock-artist NATO -- instead of this, I would have expected more variations on bubblegum exploitation. Also puzzling: the decision to unify his brand via the capitalization and naming scheme. What could motivate it except a desire to point out to the world: "hey, these are my ideas."
This NATO girl sounds disposable enough, but I'm interested to see what Shopavolov will do next. Can a svengali be a pop conceptual artist? Hey, he couldn't be worse that Lou Pearlman.
Posted by: tom at March 11, 2005 2:05 PMwonder why the n.A.T.o links are all dated 2004?
Posted by: qtn at March 11, 2005 2:37 PMI guess it's not a new story.
Man, I thought that I wrote something about the syntactic angle, Tom. I think that the t.A.t.U./n.A.T.o. signature gives us a clear predictive model for his future acts:
m.A.T.h.—the kids hate it but their parents make them listen anyway
c.A.t.Z.—his most controversial act of all, Shapovalov releases the broadway act—on the world
m.A.T.t.h.e.w.y.g.l.e.s.i.a.s.—uberfan becomes uber act; pop music rendered unrecognizable
Posted by: Kriston at March 11, 2005 2:56 PM2004 was when the big story broke, because the show was planned for 9/11, but then, as though that wasn't questionable enough, Beslan happened, and the Moscow government said the show wouldn't happen.
It went off this January, but judging from the lack of reportage, it may have flopped.
Posted by: Justin at March 12, 2005 9:23 AMStupid. She is not singing in Arabic. It is Tajik, a dialect of Persian. And neither what she wears is a burka, nor she is a terrorist. She is an activist-singer, but those who let soldiers of their own country commit massacres in faraway lands for their gasoline cannot discriminate terrorists and anti-war activists.
Posted by: Etchgow at April 12, 2006 7:26 AMGo Etchgow....
They dont even care to learn about the lyrics, talking about the tragic story of four boys leaving home and dying in an avalanche, or care to look at her uncovered arms, shoulders but focus on her veil.. OK this doesnot represent a muslim woman or serve Islam other than cheap capitalism of her agent, but even this makes some of the westerns itchy...Shame on them..
Posted by: Mehmet Emre at July 1, 2006 6:39 AMHello. Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.
I am from Armenia and bad know English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Stringer sustains shamrock to make himself from the detective; shamrock sees sport games on stringer's evidence, often renders completion to follow hours at standard clubs."
Waiting for a reply :o, Stew.
Posted by: Stew at September 6, 2009 8:14 AM