SAADI vs. Fiona Apple

Like This and Like That is the new column from Snobcast extraordinaire, Father Guido Sarducci IV. The procedure: Every morning (OK, maybe not every morning) Guido will snatch the first crisp, clean & new MP3 he stumbles upon, listen to it at least once, and then find an old song (ten years or more) for some good old-fashioned compare and contrast. The purpose: To draw a line between the modern and the out-of-date. The premise: To expose the kids to their past while also showing the unfashionable adults that there’s great new music being made every day. Thus, if you like This than you might like That.

“Bad City” by SAADI vs. “Sleep To Dream” by Fiona Apple

[audio:http://godonnybrook.com/home/media/Bad City.mp3,http://godonnybrook.com/home/media/01 Sleep To Dream.mp3|artists=SAADI,Fiona Apple|titles=Bad City,Sleep to Dream]

The SAADI I speak of here is not the medieval Persian scholar, but rather the Syrian born songwriter formally part of New York punk group, Looker. Still releasing music on Serious Business Records, Boshra AlSaadi has chosen to break out on her own but not break away fully from the diverse sounds of Looker. The press release for her record (Bad City coming out in March) states that the influences are “as diverse as Bob Dylan, classic 80’s synth pop, traditional Arabic music, punk rock, Nigerian music and Brian Eno.” The albums title song is all schizophrenic industrial pop. It reminds me of…

Fiona Apple. While not exactly a direct link, I find that Fiona’s brand of pop, and especially the song “Sleep to Dream”, tread in the same murky, industrial waters as SAADI. Fiona is also a female songwriter from New York who began her musical career at the age of 17 (Boshra AlSaadi moved to New York from Pittsburg at the age of 17). “Sleep to Dream” is the lead track and third single from her debut album Tidal. While nowhere near as popular as “Criminal”, the song has had some interesting influence. Bettye Lavette‘s album I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise takes its name from a lyric in “Sleep to Dream”, and includes a cover of that song.

[audio:http://godonnybrook.com/home/media/Bad City.mp3,http://godonnybrook.com/home/media/01 Sleep To Dream.mp3|artists=SAADI,Fiona Apple|titles=Bad City,Sleep to Dream]

So there you go readers, two oddly sexy songwriter’s making experimental pop music. See you next time around.