Musical scholars sometimes lament the incursions of contemporary pop into so many countries where it may dilute or drive out indigenous forms of music, but the situation in Afghanistan is unique. Here is a country that endured the 1996-2001 rule of the Taliban, which banned music entirely. Since the U.S. occupation, some attempt has been made to reestablish a native musical culture, which is necessarily eclectic. Director Havana Marking's documentary Afghan Star amazingly chronicles a season of the Afghan equivalent of American Idol, one in which the contestants sometimes face special challenges. For one thing, the patriarchal culture makes it unlikely that women will participate, and when a couple do, one of them, Setara Hussainzada, gets in trouble for dancing on-stage and accidentally letting her headscarf slip; not only is she removed from the show, but she has to go into hiding for her safety. Somehow, a winner is chosen by Afghans voting on their cell phones. As Marking acknowledges in her liner notes, this album, "the first collection of modern Afghan music ever to be released internationally," is not so much a soundtrack of the film (although several of the contestants and their performances are included) as an anthology, much of it given over to the work of Afghans living as refugees in other countries. Ahmad Zahir's "Chashem Ba Rahat Dil Ba Yadat" is a fairly traditional leadoff track, but with Jawid Sharif's "Amelaket Ba Gardan," electronic dance music mixes with the Middle Eastern style. Zahir returns with "Baaz Aamady Al Jaane Man," which seems to suggest the nomadic nature of Afghan culture by incorporating sounds from Turkey and India. Arash Howaida creates Afghan rap/hip-hop with "Laila," and Wajiha's "I Used to Love You" (which is not sung in English, despite its title) is set to a rock beat. Simon Russell's two selections, "Meeting" and "Homecoming," are ambient instrumentals, and Naghma sounds like an Arabic Britney Spears on "Mata Chal Ne Raze." None of these are contestants, but those who are, notably the two finalists, Rafi Naabzada and Hameed Sakhizada, who duet on "Sabza Ba Naaz Mea Ayad," actually do suggest the manner of American Idol with their ingratiating manner and pop sound. ~ William Ruhlmann
