Pop music

One of my favorite parts of traveling is discovering new styles of music. And Turkey is like a little piece of heaven as far as music is concerned, because people here really appreciate their musical heritage. Folk music is quite popular, and there are lots of opportunities to hear it. It's a completely different style of music than I've heard anywhere else, with lots of asymmetrical rhythms and wailing melismatic melodies. And each region of Turkey has its own distinct style of folk song and dance.

I have not had nearly enough exposure to this music, so I can't say too much about it except that I've already developed a fondness for Black Sea music. But I'm not yet savvy enough to explain why.



Pretty much all these songs are depressing lost-love songs.


The other weakness in my heart is for world pop music. I'm gradually starting to become familiar with some Turkish artists thanks to our quirky school. In lieu of a bell, the office informs us of break times by blasting MTV all up and down the halls when it's tea time. So yes, eventually I'm starting to recognize some songs and artists. Or at least one. Every country has its own Michael Jackson, and in Turkey that man is known as TARKAN. Despite his eerily feminine dance moves, I've taken quite a shine to his music because of his catchy juxtaposition of Turkish sounds and Western pop style.



Tarkan's definitely the first name any foreigner encounters in Turkish music, thanks to his ubiquity, but there's plenty of other fun music out there too. My goal is to learn more of it.



You'd think that knowing about Tarkan would give me some street cred with the teenagers I teach on the weekends, but quite a strange phenomenon has transpired in which we bonded over a different oeuvre of pop culture. Believe it or not, America, we're not the only country to export our entertainment to all corners of the globe. South Korea is gaining on us. Imagine my surprise when Turkish teenage girls walked into my room gushing about boy bands like SS501 and FT Island. Imagine their surprise when I'd actually heard of these bands because it's the same stuff Taiwanese kids listen to.



Oh yes. There's an irresistible draw about Korean entertainment. Their soap operas are deliciously cheesy and fun, their movies are hilarious, and their boy bands are a global diplomatic movement working to convince us all that South Korea's flourishing democracy is worth protecting.

I just never expected this craze to have spread to Turkey. Surprise!