Junoon Ltd.

A friend of mine sent me this article and it annoyed me enough that I have to come here and say a few words.

Aashiq Ali is not a band member. He is a session player. They can pay anyone to play tabla with them does that person have to be included in every video? The song was recorded in John Alec`s studio in NYC from beginning to end and I highly doubt they would pay Aashiq`s ticket to come and play tabla for them. By the way John Alec does know how to play the tabla as well as the sitaar.

They dont give enough credit to Sabir Zafar other then the fact that he is mentioned in every album with a picture as well as on their website. http://www.junoon.com/behindthestars.html .. Since Junoon has been compared to the western bands in the articles how many of these western bands do you see give credit to their song writters. Aerosmith, Sting and many others have song writters other then themselves for their compositions and yet you have never heard of them. Yes Sabir Zafar did write every junoon song ALONG with Salman Ahmad. You can compose a song without editing or adding lyrics to suite the melody.

Salman is just as much of an activist now as he was before, only now atleast in Pakistan most of his actions dont cause as much conterversy. I hope you didnt miss the latest version of Ghoom Tana that Salman sang with Shubha Mudgal one of the greatest classicaly trained singers in all of South Asia (watch it here http://www.junoonforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=ghoom+tana+video). He is still promoting peace in the subcontinent only they dont get banned because of it any more thanks Mr Musharraf. Salman had the balls to stand up to religious fanatics like Molana Bijli who had ruled music haram. This was featured on the BBC documentary Rock Star and the Mullah also shown on PBS in US. Hes also working on another documentary with BBC about Islam in the west due for release in Feb on BBC.

The argument that Junoon has ``sold out`` bores me to tears! So what if Coca-Cola sponsors Junoon? It doesnt make Junoon any less talented! According to Salman they will never comprosmise their music for sponsorships. So far there has been only one video Maza Zindagi Ka where Salman is seen drinking a Coke bottle. They havent added any coke line to any of their songs, like vital signs Pepsi Pepsi Pakistan. How else do you expect them to make money in Pakistan. Most of the money made by bands is through album sales and touring. Pakistan music industry isnt organized enough to award royalties and they cant possibly tour such a small country enough times to make any money, especially when their concerts get banned in places like Peshawar where music has been declared haram. Junoon has been there for more then 10 years now something that is extremely hard to do, especially in our part of the world. Thats something to be proud of. By the way their registered name isnt Junoon Ltd, its Junoon Inc.

being an ardent classic rock and blues fan i actually feel very aggrevated for they have done on the new album. i can always understand inspiration from the rock legends, or playing a cover, or even playing a tribute song. what i don`t understand, or like in the least, is the way papu yaar is a complete ripp off. i can hear Cream, I hear a distorted jimmy page. whats going on here? karavan played gardish which has been said by asad to be a tribute to zepllins song kashmir, which is fine. but is it just me, or do i feel that salman really thinks that pakistani public is ignorant of where he `copies` his music from these days?

secondly, another reason why taara jalaa is a good song is because it is actually live. composed by ali azmat ( do correct me if i`m wrong) and the difference was i feel, allan smith on live drums.

Nooralain,
I grew up loving BoneyM. I got nothing against them, but they`re no Dylan, Pink Floyd, Beatles etc. You`re right about U2 as well. They`ve changed as well, but they`ve still kept themselves musically relevant and innovative. I personally think that Junoon`s Dewaar would have been a reasonable album if they had kept the lids on Salman singing and with the vocals of Ali Azmat they didn`t need Ali Noor singing at all.

[My parents had travelled as well. They lived in Britain in the late 1970s. What did they have to show for it? BoneyM, the Carpenters and the BeeGees. Woe is me, woe is me. ]

i must be the only one on chowk who still appreciates boneyM and the beegees. : )

i remember when junoon was appearing in my neck of the woods. the ad read junoon: the u2 of america. no, junoon is no u2, but i`m not sure that u2 is u2 anymore either.

and this was a good article. paracha sahib definitely is not the only one who can critique junoon or anything in pakistan for that matter, and i don`t see why there are those who think that any critique of junoon is the sole prowess of nfp.

Rozaiba,
I don`t know what possessed Salman to try his hand at singing. He seems to be going through a Bono complex (damn, should have said that in the article). He`s too busy trying to be a spokesman. His composition and his musical judgement has slipped.

CoolHandLuke:

Good! You cleared up the misconceptions inside your mind yourself! :-)

Good subjective analysis. Read it first in The News. Salman Ahmed`s singing is rather annoying. :)

Sorry Asif Bhai. I understand and respect your sentimental attachment to the band. I cannot cast the first stone since I am not without the same sin.

I once went to a junoon concert. I could just hear loud music and yelling and scraeming in the name of music. I had to step out immediately and listen to it from the hallway for a lesser impact on my eardrums. I couldnt even differentiate the words...

but Pappu yar is good.
I like the throaty `` tainOO paray bai`suryaaN di maar` and ` kuddi hovay taira bairah naa paar` bits...

By the way Paracha sahib would you like to comment for some of your puzzled Indian readers what do you yourself think of the extreme reactions you seem to get from your fans and haters? I`m presuming you`re eventually going to read this post for I did not want to ask you in the interact section of your more serious articles. Sorry to bother you like this but it is also said you hardly ever reply or post regarding what`s been said about you.

I`ve been surfing across chowk for more than 7 months now and luv it. But I`ve Finally decided to post, ummmmmm...can I say I am a huge NFP fan? I liked this Asif dude`s piece as well and agree with Baaghi Raja (NFP`s) post. Asif, you should keep on writing. I found your article a lot better than most other muska-polish critics of Pakistan. Agree with Mr. Trashman, loved that pic on your profile page (so nicked it!! :). He`s write if you are being compared with NFP that should be really good. What else? Hey isn`t this board turning out to be one of those I-love-NFP vs. I-Hate-NFP thingies which go on on those many Paki pop forums, lol!!

I`m new to chowk and to Pakistan`s journalists and writers but being an Indian Junoon are not new to me. This is a nice little piece but it`s strange how the replys have turned out to be. I discovered Paracha sahib here at chowk and after reading his stuff here found him to be a rather forceful writer. After also going through most of the replys to all his articles it looks like he`s a man whose writings generate very strong reactions, both positive and negative. He seems to be a pretty well known personality in Pakistan and I think due to chowk he is starting to be read outside Pakistan as well for I have already heard of him from at least two Indians. He is a powerhouse writer with a quick-witted stream-of-thought style, maybe that`s why extreme reactions? Asif sahib I believe you got put off by the comparisons but these sort of things happen to younger and newer writers, artists and all.
Nothing to be discouraged about. It`s all natural learning process. I particulerly loved your article, for I grown to love Junoon as well. In fact for quite some time they were our little window to Pakistan`s pop scene. Well done.

Very well written. Finally someone else (apart from Mr. Paracha) having the balls to stare the lovable multinationals and thieir sponsorees in the eyes and tell them you suck.
What`s the problrm with the young aspiring critic here being compared to NFP? I think he should take it as a complment. Why whine? You took his concept, his stand, even his words but used them well. He screams, kicks, fights and spits venom with it. A lot of us love that. In fact he`s a genius at it. You on the other hand have used it in your own nostalgic and narrative way. The verdict remains the same: Junoon tday are better Cocacola sellers than musicians. Rejoice.

hallo adnan,

all the people asking you to stop writing (if youll please click on their past replies) have only ever interacted on nfp`s boards and are more often than not, gushing..

i think this is a very good piece... please write more, its heartening to see such music crits from yourself and paracha on chowk after the mental constipation one develops after the chimpanzees and babooons on IM and fm... one question: do the news, dawn, the fridaytimes etc refuse such pieces or do u people not bother going to them at all?

AZURE,
Lol. So xtremely typical. The moment a bunch of people start praising NFP, there just has to be another bunch always erect to pounce upon, not NFP as such (he`s just to swift and good to suffer dumb criticism for the sake of), but those who enjoy his writings. So typical. Just because you like a writer doesn`t mean you ``worship`` him or her. And AZURE, what was the point of you saying this here? It`s quite obvious adnan was influenced by NFP. Nothing new, because almost every notable music critic in Pakistan is influenced by him. This does not mean that NFP is the only one who can write about what he writes about. Others can do so as well. Wasn`t NFP influenced by anyone? Of course he was. I remember seeing him talk about it in a PTV pop show where he said well known American critics like Hunter Thomson and Lester Bangs were his main influences. So what`s the big deal about it? Does that mean he ``worshiped`` them? You seem to like Junoon, does that mean you worship them? Give me a break!

Azure bhai jaan, stop behaving like Asif jee`s mom, I`m sure he is smart enough to take care of himself. Wonder why is a writer good enough to be published on chowk all of a sudden got sugar daddies and sugar moms speaking for him. Just because he was called that tyrant and blunt b**tard, NFP`s copy? God. Doesn`t that name make you want to puke out your cola and choak on your KFC??
Ras
Why did you have to be so deffensive? What IS, IS!

NFP
Your shweet post was as suga dadyish as Azure`s. Were you ever defended like this? Don`t think so. So why the concern for Adnan? I think you know him and actually gave him the idea of this article. Chaow.