Words by Lina Asaad and My Kali
Designs by Lina Asaad
This article is part of the “Sana Wara Sana” issue
Disconnected from the internet, yet deeply attuned to your inner teenage girl, these cassettes invite you to tune into the unruly, melodramatic, and love-struck spirit still living inside you. Each tape is a portal to a time when feelings were oversized, crushes were do-or-die, and everything, from the lyrics of a pop song to the smell of your mother’s pink handbag, carried meaning. These are sonic love letters to your former selves, scored by heartache, desire, and a little bit of glittery rage.
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CASSETTE 1:
“Boys on my mind”
Caught somewhere between longing and loathing, this playlist traces the shifting emotional terrain of desire. It’s flirty, impulsive, defiant—part liberation anthem, part romantic spiral. These tracks celebrate the agency of saying no, the thrill of saying yes, and the drama of everything in between. Think messy voice notes you never sent, crushes you should’ve blocked, and the joy of reclaiming your own narrative.
One the cover is Lebanese pop icon Jad Shwery, known in the early 2000s for his provocative lyrics and hyper-stylized bad-boy persona. His music blurred the line between kitsch and seduction, stirring public controversy to the point that he had to clarify he didn’t suffer from a “sexual complex.” Years later, Shwery would go on to publicly support LGBTQ+ rights, celebrate women’s sexual agency, and denounce patriarchal concepts like “honor”, cementing his legacy as both a nostalgic heartthrob and an unlikely figure of progressive evolution.
TRACK-LIST:
| شيل ايدك – مروى قلبي و عمري – بريجيت ياغي قدام الكل – دارين حدشيتي ياي – نانسي عجرم انا ليك – سامو زين درس خصوصي – جنى بسبستللو – روال سعد أهلا إزيك – شمس لأ – جيني | Shel Eydak – Marwa Alby w Omry – Brigit Yaghi Eddam El Kel – Darine Hadchiti Yay – Ajram Nancy Ana Leek – Samo Zaen Dars Khsousi – Jana Basbestello – Roulla Saad Ahlan Ezaik – Shams La’a – Jeny |
Listen to Boys on my mind mix here
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CASSETTE 2:
“The girls are sad”
A tribute to the melodrama of the early internet era, this mixtape is steeped in the aesthetics of Arabic online forumsو those hyper-expressive digital salons of the 2000s where emotions ran high, usernames sparkled, and admins ruled like minor deities. While these spaces were often chaotic and performative, they also fostered forms of intimacy, solidarity, and self-expression rarely found elsewhereو especially in the women-only and queer-leaning corners that emerged in resistance to digital hierarchies.
This cassette is presented by My Kali’s fictional forum moderator, the mythical admoneh (الادمونة)—a nod to the gatekeepers of these formative online spaces. On the cover is Syrian actress and singer Jeny Esber, best known for her role in the cult 2009 series Girls (صبايا). The show, like the mixtape culture it echoes, became a cultural moment thanks to its popularity on girl-driven forums that endlessly looped its scenes, gifs, and soundtracks. While Jeny’s musical career may not have soared, her image—part pouty, part powerful—remains a perfect emblem of an era when sadness was stylish and every heartbreak had its own HTML signature.
TRACK-LIST:
| خليك بحالك – كارول سماحة كم توا – غريس ديب بتكدب عليا – ماريا قال يعني – قمر ورينى – جاد شويري & ملك الناصر لا مش عايزة – دونا ماريا الاسمرانى – مايا نصرى بحبك أد إيه – ماريا انت ايه – نانسي عجرم | Khallik Behalak – Samaha Carole Comme Toi? – Grace Deeb Betekdeb Alaya – Maria Al Ya3ni – Amar Warreiny – Jad Shwery & Malak El Nasser La’a Mosh Ayza – Dona Maria El asmarani – Maya Nasri Bahebak Ad Eih – Maria Enta Eih – Nancy Ajram |
Listen to The girls are sad mix here
