Musical Comedy in Egypt: A Dance between Song and Joke

Documentary length:

15:40 (without credits)

16:20 (with credits)

This audio documentary aims to give listeners an insight on the developing musical comedy scene in Egypt. It focuses on two main performers but there are references to other comedians and opinions about the scene. 

The Rundown with Adam and Nouran

This edition of The Rundown takes you through the world of science and technology via:

improved spoken Chinese translation
Chinese space travel
weather scares around the world
mysterious dead sea turtles in Sinai
organ transplants in Egypt
AUC's carbon footprint.

Click on the headlines for more info!

We later take you to Alain el Hajj while we discuss AUC CubeSat and his role in making our very own spacecraft! Click here for more info about the AUC CubeSat! 

We hope you enjoy this edition of The Rundown!

Children's Poetry Reading

Image from Goodreads.

Greedyguts

I sat in the cafe and sipped at a Coke.
There sat down beside me a whopping great bloke
Who sighed as he elbowed me into the wall:
'Your trouble, my boy, is your belly's too small!
Your bottom's too thin! Take a lesson from me:
I may not be nice, but I'm great, you'll agree,
And I've lasted a lifetime by playing this hunch:
The bigger the breakfast, the larger the lunch!

'The larger the lunch, the huger the supper.
The deeper the teapot, the vaster the cupper.
The fatter the sausage, the fuller the tea.
The more on the table, the better for me!'

His elbows moved in and his elbows moved out,
His belly grew bigger, chins wobbled about,
As forkful by forkful and plate after plate,
He ate and he ate and he ate and he ate!

I hardly could breathe, I was squashed out of shape,
So under the table I made my escape.

'Aha!' he rejoiced, 'when it's put to the test,
The fellow who's fattest will come off the best!
Remember, my boy, when it comes to the crunch:
The bigger the breakfast, the larger the lunch!


'The larger the lunch, the huger the supper.
The deeper the teapot, the vaster the cupper.
The fatter the sausage, the fuller the tea.
The more on the table, the better for me!'

A lady came by, who was scrubbing the floor

With a mop and a bucket. To even the score, 

I lifted that bucket of water and said,

As I poured the whole lot of it over his head:

'I've found all my life, it's a pretty sure bet:

The fuller the bucket, the wetter you get!'

Waiting for the Tone

My sister is my surest friend

And yet, great snakes! she seems to spend

Her life upon the telephone.

Talking to her boyfriend, Tone.

Although - a sad and sorry joke - 

She doesn't seem to like the bloke.

'Don't take that tone with me, Tone,

Don't take that tone with me, 

Or else I'll put down the phone, Tone, 

And alone, Tone, you will be.

'Don't call me just to moan, Tone,

Can't stand your whingeing on.

Next time you ring for a groan, Tone,

You'll find that I have gone.'

And she can keep this up for hours:

Her taste for Tone's moans never sours.

So when I think that he might call

I silently steal down the hall

And give the phone a hateful look...

Then take the blighter off the hook. 

Sound effects from Freesound

Musical Comedy Promo!

For an authentic and personal insight on Egyptian musical comedy: attend the Listening Session, at AUC's New Cairo campus on Sunday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 12 at 10 a.m. each day in the BEC building, room 1060. 

Share with this link. 
http://bit.ly/SYD2Xa

Safi Talks Body Fat

My first interview segment is with Ahmed Safi, one half of the musical comedy duo, High on Body Fat. His band are well known in the Egyptian underground music scene having played countless concerts locally as well as several internationally. This first interview segment is an introduction to him as a musician and comedian.

Photo: Adam Awad

A breath of calm in AUC's garden

Natural Sound Essay (Extra Credit)

Walking through AUC’s garden, you wouldn’t think that you’re only a stone-throw away from buildings packed with students.

Here, the sounds of thousands of people is simply left behind and is replaced instead with the chirps of birds, rustling trees and the clicks of insects.

As you move through the garden, you notice the fountains which are scattered throughout. You notice the workers who are busy cleaning the library windows. You notice the occasional cart passing by, using the garden as a sort of side street.

End-to-end, AUC’s garden is a breath of calm in an otherwise hectic environment. 

Finding Noise in AUC's Quietest Spot

Only a stone throw away from some of its busiest buildings, AUC's new campus is half covered in well kept gardens. Although peaceful and serene (at least compared to the rest of the campus), the garden has its fair share of natural sounds. Here, I, along with Ragia Mostafa, have captured several of these sounds.

1. 0:00-0:04 Walking on pebbles
2. 0:05-0:11 Water running through a fountain
3. 0:12-0:18 Cart passing nearby
4. 0:19-0:25 Insects (perhaps crickets?) chirping in the bushes
5. 0:26-0:30 Gardeners busy at work, large vehicles in the background
6. 0:30-0:35 Cart passing in the distance

Journal #1: Long-Form Audio Documentary

Swimming with Piranhas 

By Mike Greenwood for BBC World Service. 

Link to documentary.

Link to BBC World Service.

Documentary length: 23.27 minutes.

Brief summary

The documentary is about Chaco, a region in Paraguay which is known for its natural beauty but is facing the challenge of deforestation and industrialization. The title of the podcast, “Swimming with Piranhas” is a play on words. He refers to the fact that he was mingling with developers who are seen as environmentally destructive piranhas.

The narrator described uprisings in Paraguay including the president’s impeachment as a side note, implying that political instability is not new to the region. He also shed light on the ethnic backgrounds of the people in Chaco, alerting the listener that many people there come from German descent.

Throughout the documentary he provided two sides to the story, informing the listener of both the environmental conservationist’s perspective and the developer’s perspective.

The points he raised were interesting, however I felt that the documentary was too long and drawn out. I lost interest at times but regained them at other times. The statistics he presented us with were interesting though. For example he mentioned that the Chaco may be completely industrialized by 2013, which is worrying considering how beautiful the landscape is according to his descriptions.

Audio Quality

The audio quality was excellent. Interviews were noise free most of the time, unless they were deliberately in public in which there would be the noise of the hustle and bustle in the background.

Natural sound was used effectively. At the very beginning of the segment, he described that he was moving through a forest and to compliment that there was the sound of branches being cracked, birds chirping and water flowing in the background. The sound of a motorcycle engine was often heard in the background, aiding the fact that he was on the move.

Narrator’s Voice

He sounds like a wildlife commentator, almost like Richard Attenborough. There’s calmness to his voice but it’s also pitchy in order to keep the listener’s attention. His voice isn’t monotonous at all and is engaging throughout the documentary, even if the subject matter loses focus.

Writing Quality

At several points, he interestingly explained the dichotomy of untouched environmental beauty and modern development. He did this by using imagery to describe the beauty of the nature and interviews with developers to gather their reasons for changing the landscape. His use of imagery was very fitting and placed the listener in his shoes.

Documentary Length

I’d say the documentary was a bit too long. He could have cut out several of the interviews and just kept the most crucial or engaging ones.

Beginning and Ending

The documentary began with the narrator explaining that he’s climbing through a forest while describing his surroundings. This is a surefire way to draw in the listener’s attention. The documentary ended with hard hitting facts followed by a short conclusion of his findings. One of the facts he raised is that the equivalent of 2,500 football fields are deforested every day.

Website Navigation

The BBC World Service website is very easy to navigate; all the podcasts are on the page and are ordered by date.

Other Observations

His music selection was interesting. He used a South American sounding selection of songs at times, perhaps Paraguayan. Other times he used church chants which fit into the context of him explaining residents' religious German background. His use of imagery gave me a visual impression of what the region looked like. I later looked up images of the area and they weren’t too different from my preconceived impressions. 

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