Wednesday, January 15, 2020

The Armenian-Turkic Music Wars; or Why I Feel Weird Listening to She Past Away



            My preferred musical genre for the past several years has been music under the “goth” umbrella, like Industrial, darkwave, coldwave, EBM, death rock, etc. Sometimes I’ll be listening to a music podcast or have YouTube on autoplay, and I’ll hear a really great song I’ve never heard before that’s right up my alley genre-wise, only to find that it’s She Past Away. She Past Away is a very popular band in goth circles, and I would enjoy their music too if not for one little thing that gets in the way, and makes me back off and skip the song. They’re from Turkey, and I’m Armenian. Am I being petty and childish, not wanting to listen to a band I would otherwise like if they were from any other country in the world? Am I being overly-nationalistic? Discriminatory, even? I am conflicted on these questions myself. It’s a dilemma I’ve been wrestling with. But before you write-off my misgivings, let me go through all the baggage that has led me to feel weird and uncomfortable about listening to music I would otherwise love.

                        
Why must you sound so good?!

 I could go all the way back to the Seljuk Turk invasion of Armenia in the 1000’s AD in which thousands of Armenians were slaughtered by invading bloodthirsty horsemen from Central Asia, or the rise of the Turkish-run Ottoman Empire which committed several massacres against the Armenians during its existence, but let’s start at the year 1915. World War One was on, the Ottoman Empire was on the verge of collapse and losing the war to the Russians, and with the world distracted they finally saw their perfect chance to eliminate the Armenians, who being Christian and native to a large chunk of the Ottoman Empire were very problematic to those who wanted racial and religious purity in the new Turkey, committing the oft-discussed (and denied) Armenian genocide, which had been in the works since at least the 1890’s, but probably even earlier. Unlike the Holocaust there was never any justice at the end, no closure, Turkey denies it ever happened and basically got away with it, and in doing so makes it a modern issue, as it is at the root of many of modern Armenia’s problems.

Now to narrow our scope, let us discuss the Armenian musician Komitas Vardapet. Komitas is famous to Armenians for preserving the folk music of Western Armenia, which otherwise would have been forgotten after the genocide. He’s considered one of the greatest Armenian musicians in history. Komitas was among the Armenian intellectuals arrested on April 24th, 1915, most of whom were executed or put on death marches to the Syrian desert. Komitas was somewhat lucky, as a higher-up in the government who was a fan of the work of Komitas arranged to have him taken off the death march and rescued. But the damage was done, whatever Komitas had witnessed on this death march had broken him and driven him insane. He spent the rest of his life in a mental institution in France. The music was dead. Now this is just one musical genius who was essentially killed in the genocide. 1.5 million other people were killed. Stop and think about that number. How much music, not to mention works of literature and art, were lost?

Komitas' last Night, by Sargis Muradyan

So, that’s a big reason I feel weird about listening to and enjoying Turkish music, even gothic Turkish music. Turkey is a country built on the blood and bones of my ancestors. Modern Turks have benefited from their grandparents and great-grandparents stealing the wealth and land of my ancestors. So yes, I hold a grudge against the country of Turkey. “Oh but that was a long time ago”, you might argue. Why don’t I get over it? I would argue that it is still a modern issue as I said earlier; the present was shaped by the past, therefore the past is part of the present and inseparable from it. But alright, fine, let’s look at some more modern battles in the Armenian-Turkic music war. There’s always been a mutual grudge and distaste for one another’s cultures between Turks and Armenians after the genocide, as well as arguments over who came up with what first (see the Middle Eastern food wars for some great examples of this, where Greece, Lebanon, Iran and Saudi Arabia also get involved; go ahead, find a Middle Eastern forum somewhere and ask who invented hummus or dolma). One incident I can remember from recent times is the sort-of scandal back in 2011 when a Turkish pop-singer, Sibal Alas, saw fit to take the tune to a traditional Armenian song about the 1909 massacres of Armenians in the city of Adana and turn it into some poppy love song, thereby symbolically erasing the Armenian genocide in a sense. I don’t believe this is the only time something like this has happened, but it’s the one I remember most. People in the United States like to argue about cultural appropriation, but it happens all the time with Turkey and neighboring Azerbaijan against Armenians, Greeks and others, usually with a lot more malicious intent than, say, a distasteful Halloween costume. 

Let us have a look at what tends to happen when the shoe is on the other foot; rather, what happens when a Turkic person happens to find themselves liking Armenian music in their home countries. Back in 2017, the song “Mi Gna” (“Don’t Go” in English) by Super Sako became an international hit, even in Turkey. It’s part folk music and part hip hop; not my preferred genre. But, it was fascinating in that even Turks were liking a song in the Armenian language. Perhaps the cultural boundaries were finally being broken. I can’t say it’s had a tremendous impact on Armenian-Turkish relations in the long run, but maybe it was a small step in the right direction. Perhaps She Past Away could be my “Mi Gna”, if I’d give the band a chance.

But, that was in Turkey. Azerbaijan is another Turkic country to the east of Armenia. Their language is Turkic, they consider themselves cultural brothers, so they’re basically mini-Turkey, and I think relevant to the discussion. They are notoriously sore losers over their loss (ceasefire, officially, but basically loss) of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990’s, in which a region of Armenia historically known as Artsakh which was put under Azerbaijani control by the Soviet Union in the 1920’s declared independence with the fall of the Soviet Union, and is today an unrecognized country. Anti-Armenian sentiment in that country is government-enforced. It is taught in schools, anyone with Armenian ancestry has to hide it, etc. The same is true in Turkey to a lesser extent, but it is even more militant in Azerbaijan. So, while “Mi Gna” was topping the charts in Turkey, anyone caught listening to it in Azerbaijan got arrested. Azeri DJ’s have been arrested for playing Armenian music too. And when it comes to Eurovision, anyone in Azerbaijan voting for Armenia can be arrested and interrogated for being political dissidents (because a stupid music contest is apparently serious business; I guess if you can’t win a war you might as well try to win music contests using any sneaky underhanded tactic at your disposal). Even more recently, earlier this month an Azeri opera singer refused to share a stage with an Armenian opera singer at the Dresden Opera Ball, for fear of getting Armenian cooties or something.

When I read stories like this, I realize that the Azerbaijani government is being petty and childish. Am I being just as petty and childish by not listening to She Past Away? Or does all of that cultural baggage justify my feelings? If they’re not going to be open to the music of my culture, why should I be open to theirs? Of course, I don’t even know the opinions of the members of She Past Away on Armenia, or on Azerbaijan for that matter. Maybe they would disagree with how the Azerbaijani government handles things. Unsurprisingly, I haven’t been able to find out one way or another in my research if they deny the Armenian genocide or not. If they were active deniers then I definitely wouldn’t listen to them. Of course, if they came out and admitted it happened and were apologetic, they could really be the Taner Akcams of goth. It might win them bonus points with Armenians (at least among the very few Armenian goths that exist; I feel like the only one sometimes) and goths who care about human rights in general, but alienate themselves from their home country. It is still illegal to say the Armenian genocide happened in Turkey, after all (because of course it is; if it didn’t happen would they really need a law preventing people from saying it did?). They could have their citizenship revoked or be thrown in jail, or have their families threatened. The majority of their fans wouldn’t care either way more than likely, they’ve probably never even heard of Armenia outside of the song “Little Armenia” by Night Nail (which has nothing to do with Armenia actually). It’s probably smart on the part of She Past Away not to voice an opinion one way or another. Maybe they don’t want to alienate someone like me, or maybe it’s just never even crossed their minds. I have no idea. But, I can understand a Turk not wanting to publicly talk about the Armenian genocide one way or another even if they know it happened. The benefits for doing so wouldn’t outweigh the negative consequences. But that’s just how genocides work. The final stage is denial. The Turkish government is really at fault, not so much the people.

And what recourse do I have against a country that has gotten away with the annihilation of my ancestors? I can refuse to buy Turkish apricots and figs at the supermarket because the land they were grown on is stained with the blood of my ancestors, I can boycott Turkey, I can write niche and difficult to market self-published novels about the Armenian genocide that maybe twenty people will read, and I can skip songs by Turkish bands when listening to goth music even though if they were from any other country (besides Azerbaijan) I’d be all into it. That’s all I’ve got, as a rather powerless individual person. It’s not much.

I don’t know, maybe I should just get over myself and listen to She Past Away. Maybe I’m being just as silly and immature as the Azeri government. It’s not going to hurt anyone if I listen to She Past Away or the other Turkish goth bands I’ve come across. And I’m certainly not going to be arrested for it. If I became a fan of She Past Away, perhaps in a small way I would be participating in breaking down the cultural boundaries between Armenia and Turkey, just like the Turkish fans of “Mi Gna”, and the Turkish fans of System of a Down for that matter. Maybe music is the cure for cultural conflict. It transcends national boundaries and brings humanity as a whole together.

 Nations are a man-made concept anyway. Borders are just lines drawn in the sand. Meaningless. You go outside for a walk at night, look up at the stars, think about the distant constellations and galaxies and how vast the universe is, and think about how insignificant this planet is in the grand scheme. All of this human tribalism and territorialism doesn’t amount to a thing. We’re like little ants fighting over ant hills. It’s all a joke. It’s like the Joker said in The Killing Joke. “Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for, it’s all a monstrous, demented gag.” It’s music by members of a rival team. Another tribe. Who cares? I probably shouldn’t.

But, I don’t think my deceased grandfather would be very happy with me if he were alive and knew I was listening to Turkish music. Perhaps I’d be betraying him, Komitas, and the rest of the Armenian victims of Turkey throughout history. What about them? Not that they’re ever going to know or care that I’m listening to Turkish goth music. And I do have a pet peeve about people trying to put words into the mouths of the dead. “Your ____ would be so ashamed if they were alive to see this, blah blah blah”. Nobody knows what a deceased person would think. They’re not here to tell us. I respect their memories in other ways.

 Cultural hang-ups are weird, okay? Every time I’m about to break free of it, another part of me drags me back down. Nihilism versus nationalism, logic versus pride, battling it out in my mind. But, after examining and analyzing the reasons I felt uncomfortable with listening to She Past Away, I am leaning towards giving She Past Away a chance. Or at least not skipping their songs when they come on. In writing this blog entry I’ve kind of talked myself into it. Unless I find out they actually deny the Armenian genocide. Then I’d have a much stronger reason for avoiding them than just “they’re from Turkey”.


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