Let’s bring back concert culture
So what do people my age talk about when they meet? When I say my age I mean the mid-30s where almost all of us have settled down to something or someone. We don’t talk about politics like everybody younger than us (thanks to Immy K) and older than us (thanks to the rest) does. We don’t talk about cricket because frankly, we are too busy to remember all the names in this ever changing team which is divided for us into the Afridis and the Misbahs. So what do we talk about? Music. Yes, definitely music. The one force that binds us ...
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It’s time for Junoon to make a comeback
There I was one lonely night back in 1999, watching the Zee Cine Awards by myself. Among the Indian celebrities there were a few familiar faces. That night Junoon performed Sayeein to a packed concert hall and I remember dancing in an empty living room with sheer rock and roll joy. Since then, the band has broken up and splintered in to Sufi analyst, confused solo musician and missing-in-action gora. They went from being a small time English language band to the biggest musical phenomenon in the country. Lead singer Ali Azmat has said: “In our first live concert. There were just seven ...
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Sound of hope for Karachi
Last night, the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi hosted a musical event titled: “The Sound of Hope”. Initially it surprised me that the event was being held on a Sunday night, as opposed to a Saturday night, when it would have been likely to draw a larger crowd. The event had been originally scheduled to take place on September October 18th, but was postponed due to the civil unrest in the city by the sea. In the face of all odds The rescheduled event took place against a backdrop of violence in Karachi, which left over 41 people dead. ...
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My heroes: Jal, Noori, EP, Aaroh, Fuzon
I remember jumping to the first Noori record during my teenage years, and I wasn’t the only one. An entire generation of youngsters during that time was crazy about the band. Inspired by the pop-rock industry’s boom during 2003 to 2006, which saw bands such as Jal, Noori, EP, Aaroh and Fuzon emerge, the phenomenon forced me to pick up a guitar during my A-levels. I can proudly say that as a school-going kid, my idols were not Zepplin’s Jimmy Page, or Jimi Hendrix. To be honest, I did not even know back then that these people existed. My inspirations ...
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Where art and cinema failed Pakistan
We are constantly judged as the nation that has failed. What the world fails to see is that Pakistan continues to breathe. Despite the daily risk to their lives, people still get up for work, sit in their Japanese cars, listen to Coke Studio recordings, work at multinational companies, munch on American chocolate bars and end the day with by watching channels broadcast from Hong Kong with a plate of daal chawal. The men and women on the field continue to live on, for those who have avoided the flood wage through the day. While those who are victims ...
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