Superb Songs By Muslim Musicians

The following songs have been "extreme vetted" for quality and have been cleared to post in this blog. Fair warning: Any preconceived notions you may have or existing stereotypes you might espouse may be dramatically challenged. Enjoy?  ~  JH


1)  Narcy ft. Shadia Mansour  ~  "Hamdulillah"

2)  Brother Ali  ~  "Us"  (This guy doesn't exactly have the same skin tone as most of the folks in this post, for two reasons. First, he's an albino...so there's that. Second, he's an American who converted to Islam as an adult.)

3)  Yuna  ~  "Lanes"  (This sweet songbird hails from the island nation of Malaysia.)

4)  A Tribe Called Quest  ~  "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo"  (Two of this group's four members are practicing Muslims, so technically they qualify.)

5)  The Kominas  ~  "See Something Say Something"

6)  Alsarah & The Nubatones  ~  "Habibi Taal"

7)  Lupe Fiasco  ~  "Kick Push"

8)  Omar Offendum  ~  "Straight Street"

9)  K'naan  ~  "Take A Minute"

10)  Maher Zain  ~  "Number One For Me"

11)  Sami Yusuf  ~  "Forgotten Promises"

12)  A.R. Rahman  ~  "Infinite Love"

13)  Yusuf Islam  ~  "Peace Train"  (In case you didn't recognize him [and who could blame you?], Islam is the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.)

14)  Hamza Robertson  ~  "From The Soul"

15)  Krewella   ~  "Alive"  (The two girls [sisters] in this group are Muslim. Though, judging by the video, I'd wager a guess that they don't adhere to all the tenets of their faith "religiously.")

16)  Maitre Gims  ~  "Bella"  (Wish I spoke French. Then I might understand a word of this. Still a good-sounding song and a cool vid, though.)

17)  Kareem Salama & The Witwits  ~  "Love Will Live On"

18)  Assala  ~  "Aisha Ala Ely Fat"  (This is a pretty song, too. I don't understand any of the lyrics whatsoever. But it sounds wonderful!)

19)  Native Deen  ~  "Not Afraid To Stand Alone"

20)  Saif Adam  ~  "Believe"

21)  Harris J  ~  "Salam Alaikum"  (Ladies and gentlemen, the Muslim version of Justin Bieber. You're welcome. And I'm sorry. In case you're wondering, the song's title means "Peace Be Unto You.")

22)  Humood  ~  "Kun Anta"  (How could anyone have a problem with the positive, empowering message of this song?)

23)  Raef  ~  "You Are The One"

24)  ZAYN ft. Taylor Swift  ~  "I Don't Wanna Live Forever"  (I'll bet you didn't expect to see Taylor Swift in this post! She is not, however, the Muslim in this song. That would be Zayn Malik, former member of the British boy band One Direction.)

25)  Zain Bhikha  ~  "Someday"  (Last but not least, this song...because peace among all mankind is a very good thing.)

Popular Songs Of 1987, Vol. 2

And the hits keep rolling on! Popular Songs of 1987, Vol. 2 begins....NOW! Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Fleetwood Mac  ~  “Little Lies”

2)  Los Lobos  ~  “La Bamba”

3)  Heart  ~  “Who Will You Run To?”

4)  U2  ~  “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

5)  Atlantic Starr  ~  “Always”

6)  Michael Jackson  ~  “The Way You Make Me Feel”

7)  Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, & Emmylou Harris  ~  “To Know Him Is To Love Him”

8)  Bryan Adams  ~  “Heat Of The Night”

9)  The Jets  ~  “You Got It All”

10)  Midnight Oil  ~  “Beds Are Burning”

11)  Suzanne Vega  ~  “Luka”

12)  Glenn Medeiros  ~  “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You”

13)  ’Til Tuesday  ~  “Coming Up Close”

14)  Bon Jovi  ~  “Wanted Dead Or Alive”

15)  Survivor  ~  “Is This Love”

16)  Whitney Houston  ~  “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”

17)  Michael Martin Murphey  ~  “Long Line Of Love”

18)  Pet Shop Boys ft. Dusty Springfield  ~  “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”

19)  Peter Cetera & Amy Grant  ~  “The Next Time I Fall”

20)  Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine  ~  “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”

21)   Steve Winwood  ~  “The Finer Things”

22)  Genesis  ~  “In Too Deep”

23)  Highway 101  ~  “The Bed You Made For Me”

24)  Kenny Rogers & Ronnie Milsap  ~  “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine”

25)  Exposé  ~  “Seasons Change”

Popular Songs Of 1987, Vol. 1

This is the series of posts you've been waiting for! Well, some of you, at least. Especially if you're, like me, in the latter part of your thirties. Part 1 of 4, Popular Songs of 1987. And....GO!  ~  JH

1)  The Bangles  ~  “Walk Like An Egyptian”

2)  Bon Jovi  ~  “Livin’ On A Prayer”

3)  Whitney Houston  ~  “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”

4)  Restless Heart  ~  “Why Does It Have To Be (Wrong Or Right)”

5)  Tiffany  ~  “I Think We’re Alone Now”

6)  Bruce Hornsby & The Range  ~  “Mandolin Rain”

7)  Heart  ~  “Alone”

8)  U2  ~  “With Or Without You”

9)  Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam  ~  “Head To Toe”

10)  George Strait  ~  “Ocean Front Property”

11)  Michael Jackson  ~  “Bad”

12)  The Pretenders  ~  “Don’t Get Me Wrong”

13)  Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard  ~  “Can’t We Try”

14)  Bananarama  ~  “I Heard A Rumour”

15)  Crowded House  ~  “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

16)  Kenny G  ~  “Songbird”

17)  Cyndi Lauper  ~  “Change Of Heart”

18)  INXS  ~  “Need You Tonight”

19)  Wang Chung  ~  “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”

20)  Janet Jackson  ~  “Control”

21)  Reba McEntire  ~  “What Am I Gonna Do About You?”

22)  Chris De Burgh  ~  “Lady In Red”

23)  Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes  ~  “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life”

24)  R.E.M.  ~  “The One I Love”

25)  Madonna  ~  “Open Your Heart”

"Weird" Songs

Quite surprisingly (even to myself), of all the strange and wonderful (and terribly misguided) ideas I've had for music posts, I've never done a set of songs with the word "Weird" (or "Weirdo") in their titles. Until now. They're not half bad, either (though I may be prejudiced). Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Radiohead  ~  “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi”

2)  Red Hot Chili Peppers  ~  “Nobody Weird Like Me”

3)  GoGo Penguin  ~  “Weird Cat”

4)  The Dollyrots  ~  “Get Weird”

5)  Iggy Pop  ~  “Some Weird Sin”

6)  Backstreet Boys  ~  “Weird World”

7)  Miles Davis  ~  “Weirdo”

8)  KT Tunstall  ~  “Still A Weirdo”

9)  All Star United  ~  “Weirdo”

10)  Pixies  ~  “Is She Weird?”

11)  Sebadoh  ~  “Weird”

12)  Veruca Salt  ~  “So Weird”

13)  Pete Yorn  ~  “She Was Weird”

14)  Superchunk  ~  “My Gap Feels Weird”

15)  Fruit Bats  ~  “You’re Too Weird”

16)  Everclear  ~  “Nervous And Weird”

17)  Alanis Morissette  ~  “Superstar Wonderful Weirdos”

18)  Steel Train  ~  “I Feel Weird”

19)  Hanson  ~  “Weird”

20)  Oingo Boingo  ~  “Weird Science”

21)  Emiliana Torrini  ~  “Weird Friendless Kid”

22)  Clem Snide  ~  “Weird”

23)  Jayney Klimek  ~  “Weird Feeling”

24)  The Charlatans  ~  “Weirdo”

25)  The Muffs  ~  “Weird Boy Next Door”