In our class, we've been talking a lot about listening to our languages and how that can help us to learn. I wanted to be able to listen to some music in Persian, but had never heard any myself and didn't really know where to begin and so I decided to do some research of Persian Pop Music.
Other names for Persian pop music (PPM) include Iranian pop music or - my personal favorite, Farsipop. PPM originated in the 19th century, but didn't see a real rise in popularity until 1920 with the invention of the radio.
One of the greatest differences between PPM and American pop music is that contemporary PPM is a product of the government. In the 1990s, Iranian officials decided that it was necessary to create domestic PPM in order to counter the informal mainstream PPM that was mostly produced in California. Poet Ali Moallem joined forced with a renowned Iranian musician, Fereydoun Shahbazian, to head a council at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that would supervise the revival of domestic pop music. National TV promoted and supported domestic singers such as Shadmehr Aghili (known as the King of Persian Pop), Khashayer Etemadi, and Mohammad Isfahani Although the public seemed to welcome the new music, the elites tended to criticize it. Shahbazian even grew unhappy with the trends of the music and quit the council in order to officially join his critics.
As with all broadcasting in Iran, there exist many strict regulations concerning PPM. In order to perform or publish music, an artist must acquire a permit from the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. There is a three-year waiting period for each album's permit.
PPM is even gaining popularity worldwide. Sirvan Khosravi got high-rotation airplay on a regular radio station in Europe at the end of 2009, making hm the first domestic Iranian artist to ever do so. Then in August of 2010, Farzad Farzin's song Chike Chike debuted on European charts.
After listening to some PPM, I've establish that it's definitely very different from American pop music. I can't understand the words, but judging from the fact that it has to be state-approved, I'm guessing that the messages are much more wholesome than those found in American pop music.
You can listen to Chike Chike by visiting the following link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aR9Ytt5EY
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