Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll in a Falling State

Last week, I wrote a Postcard about how Lebanon's instability is both a source of inspiration and disappointment for Beirut's underground music scene. (Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll in a Falling State). I thought you all might like to listen to a clip: "Let it Go" by one of the main bands in Beirut, Scrambled Eggs.

What impressed me about all these guys is that they're not a bunch of garage geeks doing cover work, but confident musicians shifting through an imported tradition, finding what's relevant, and authoritatively making it their own. Beirut rock may not be what we expect to hear from the "Orient", and it may never become an internationally recognizable brand -- something that might help this fractured country develop a modern identity -- but some people here are still trying.

Click here to play: Let It Go

--Andrew Lee Butters/Beirut