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Hizballah Rhythms Shoot to Commercial Success
[AFP/Yahoo] Charles Onians and Rana Moussaoui - Hizballah's followers have produced revolutionary anthems since its official creation in 1985, but its latest war with Israel has brought unprecedented sales and thrust its previously unknown performers onto the international circuit. Described by its performers as Hizballah's other weapon, the stirring marshal rhythms feature baritone male voices chanting about resistance, Hizballah, and Islam against a background of drum rolls, synthesizer crescendos, and the occasional bagpipe solo. One CD - Kept Promise - is named after Hizballah's July 12 cross-border capture of two Israeli troops that sparked the 34-day war, with song titles such as "Lebanon will survive," "America is a bloodsucker," and "Music of the Martyr." Describing their music as chanting rather than singing, spokesman Ali Kazan of the Al-Wilaya Hizballah troupe says, "These chants are a means of spiritual motivation for the fighters." "We don't want people to think about dancing, so if it looks like they might, we'll slow the music down." Pop stars are releasing their own patriotic songs, such as the latest offering by Julia Boutros - a Christian - with a video of her walking through the ruins of southern Lebanon as Hizballah fighters emerge triumphantly from the woods.