The Tiktokification of Lebanese Pubs

We’ve previously asked you Why Are Some Lebanese Spots Obsessed With A Mid 2010s Playlist? This time, our ears have led us to Lebanon’s many pubs and bars, and some changes in their soundscapes have really caught our attention over the past few weeks. Imagine this, you’re in a Badaro or Mar Mikhael, and you just stand idle in the street for a few minutes. You can hear music blasting out of a nearby pub. As your try to sonically take in the night’s vibes, you are surprised when the music changes (literally) every 30 seconds, jumping from English pop to 2000s Arabic bops to 80s classics and finally to something like Myriam Fares’ World Cup anthem. My friends and I have come to refer to this phenomenon as the Tiktofication of Lebanon’s pubs. With more and more people now spending countless hours on the world’s most popular vertical video platform, we have begun to see the weight of mass Tik Tok consumption on everyday life. This theorization is based on the idea that some Lebanese pubs have, either consciously or unconsciously, adopted the Tik Tok model of music, shifting across a random hits landscape just like someone swiping up on their bed. The sheer randomness of some of the music played can only be explained by this parallel. This is the only way we can explain how a whole-ass DJ would change songs every 30 seconds across such different themes, genres, and languages. It makes sense that the dominant form of overstimulation would make its way to the hubs of nightlife in the country, but can we just not? Everything’s so loud too. I swear I’m not that old. Is this a response to changing attention spans or sonic consumption patterns, or an effect of that? Someone with much more time on their hands will need to figure that one out. Not every pub needs to have a masterfully curated playlist, but let’s just try and play 3 minute song after 3 minute song, not everything needs to be Tik Tok, please.