Kehna Chahta Hoon

interview

Lahore based band Inteha, comprising of brothers Naukhez Javed (vocals) and Nausher Javed (guitars) recently released their debut album. We got a chance to talk to the band and find out more about their musical ventures:

Ink: What distinguishes Inteha from other bands?
Nausher: I think our music distinguish us from other new bands as we believe in giving our own identity to our listeners, not copying the music or style of top artist. Though being influenced is not very wrong and we ourselves are influenced by a lot of artists, but we don’t believe in copying their style.

Ink: And what would some of these influences be?
Naukhez: Umm, like, we are heavily influenced by Nirvana on one hand and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the other. So you can sense that our mood is our inspiration and our influence horizon is broad.

Ink: What is it about being a musician that you guys enjoy the most?
Naukhez: I always enjoy when I jam with different musician; in that way you can learn more.
Nausher: It’s an old quote that “mosiqi rooh ki ghiza hai”, so listening to music is like peace of mind, and if you are a musician you can let your emotions out easily.

Ink: Is it difficult for new bands to establish themselves in Pakistan?
Nausher: Well the system of our music industry is totally different than that of other countries, because overseas people come on the screen with a whole package – album, video and their sponsors. There is no band that comes up with a single in USA and because of that they are pre-established by the record label, whereas in Pakistan you have to produce your own video, you have to record your own album at your own expense, and whether you have an album or not it’s always about one hit wonders. So yeah, there are difficulties for every other artist in Pakistan to get established.

Ink: Why do you think some albums fail to get noticed in Pakistan?
Naukhez: Several reasons – bad production, bad promotion, lack of good strategies to promote artists, channel wars and so on. Any minor issue can disturb the album.

Ink: Do you think being a two-member band (as opposed to, say, a five membered band that includes more musicians) has its downside?
Nausher: It’s a duo. We have a separate band set up for live performances, and I think two members have an advantage that as a band you can play with anyone, and everyone has a different style of playing and adds to the diversity of the music.

Ink: Tell us about your debut album.
Nausher: Our debut album Kehna Chahta Houn was released a few weeks ago and features ten tracks. Some of the best musicians from across Pakistan have worked with us on different tracks, including Javed sahib, who is the best violinist in Pakistan; Shabir sahib, renowned tabla player from PTV; Hassan Badsahah on flutes - an underground gem; Waqar Ali Khan (EP); and Fahd Khan (Meekal Hassan band) on drums. The album has been produced by Xulfi at Xth Harmonics studio.

Ink: How has the reception to the album been so far?
Nausher: We’ve received an awesome response so far from our beloved listener, which motivates us even more to give our best in our music, and by the grace of God ‘Kehna Chahta Houn’ has been on the top of the charts ever since it was released.

Ink: Do you think it is difficult to promote the album?
Nausher: I think it’s a mutual collaboration between the record label and the artist. And I believe that in Pakistan, an artist can go to any level because we are so dedicated to our albums, and if the record labels facilitate artists then it’s easy to promote the album. But unfortunately the labels in Pakistan do not even know the definition of promotion.

Ink: Tell us about your latest video.
Naukhez: Our latest video is for our song Pyar, the main concept of which is that love is blind and it’s a mystery and no one knows what it really is. The story revolves around a protagonist who is a serial killer.

Ink: What inspires you to make music?
Nausher: Feelings. Expressions should be strong to make good quality music; without them you cannot make anything.

Ink: What has been your most memorable live performance so far?
Naukhez: The most memorable live performance for me so far is my first live gig at Alhamra Cultural Complex in 2005 along with Ali Zafar and Jal. Our first single Dastaan really got a tremendous response.
Nausher: For me, when we performed live at Aurangabad, India in 2008, that is the most memorable performance so far. We were very surprised that even though our album had not been released at that time, people were still very aware of our music and our two songs ‘Dastaan’ and ‘Anjana’ were very popular with them because they were singing along with us.

Ink: What are some of your achievements so far that you’re most proud of?
Naukhez: There are a lot of achievements which have made us proud, like having our debut single at the number one slot on all FM and music channels for approximately six months, Inteha being voted as the most listened-to debut band of the year 2005 on all FM station, and most recently our song Pyar being declared the most wanted song of the week by BBC’s Asian Network which is another feather in our cap.

Ink: Do you think television channels or the print media influence the success (or failure) of a band in Pakistan?
Nausher: They do majorly, but in Pakistan it’s all a PR thing, which should be abandoned because do to that a lot of artist suffer though they have mass appeal.
Naukhez: It’s all about talent. If you have it, you get it and you get noticed by media, but the Pakistani media needs ‘pakki pakai kheer’, otherwise they go with their personal contacts.

Ink: What about the radio? How important is that medium for our music industry?
Nausher: Radio is the backbone of the industry. Music needs to be heard and radio is the medium through which anyone can established himself as an artist – it’s the first step. Without it you are not an established artist.

Ink: What is your take on the Indian music market and Bollywood?
Naukhez: Bollywood is a big market for music, but they know nothing about genres of music. Whatever is popular around the globe, they copy their style, earn money and search for another style. I don’t think they have their own identity.
Nausher: But promotion-wise they are much, much better, and provide a lot of exposure for artists. They know how to promote an artist. I remember one of the renowned directors telling me that if you focus on 16 crore people (he meant Pakistan) then hardly 60 thousand will notice you, but if you target 1 billions people (India) then you will be noticed by at least 1 million people, along with the 16 crore of your own nation, and I think he was right. We have so much talent but we have to follow the Indian industry just to get fame and recognition.

Ink: Do you guys plan to release the album internationally?
Naukhez: Yes, it will be release in India soon; just waiting for the tension to ease between India and Pakistan. As far as the release overseas is concerned, that will be in a month’s time.

Ink: What can we expect from Inteha in the coming months?
Nausher: We will release another video in a month’s time to promote the album, along with launch shows in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Dubai, and we plan to go on a UK tour this summer. A couple of our songs will appear in Indian movies, and we are working on some projects for the corporate sector; all the details will be disclosed later with time.

- By Sameen Amer

Ink Quarterly, May '09

"Just theatre for the media"

As the defendants in The Pirate Bay case are handed a guilty verdict, the underlying issues of online file distribution remain unresolved

For the last few months, The Pirate Bay (TPB) trial had been generating a lot of interest from the online community. The Swedish website which claims to be "the world's largest BitTorrent tracker" had been accused of being a facilitator of illegal downloading, and the four men behind the website - Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm, and Carl Lundström, dubbed the Pirate Bay Four - were being charged with "promoting other people's infringements of copyright laws". The lawsuit was seen as an effort by the music, film, and TV industries, led by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), to curb the illegal sharing of copyrighted material over the Internet.

The Pirate Bay was launched in 2003 and has an estimated 22 million unique users. The website, which is primarily funded through advertisements, allows users to search for and download data files including songs, movies, and TV shows from other users, without actually hosting any copyrighted content on its own web servers. Throughout the trial, the defense had attempted to show that TPB was a tool with plenty of legal uses, and was, in effect, nothing more than just a search engine, while the prosecution portrayed the website as a profitable business thriving off helping others violate copyright law.

The trial had often been referred to as 'Spectrial' (a combination of 'spectacle' and 'trial') by the defendants, and its verdict made its way to the public in a fittingly ironic fashion: a few hours before it was officially announced, the verdict was reportedly leaked. "According to leaked information from the court, we lost (got the news last night)," co-defendant Peter Sunde wrote on Twitter. "Really, it's a bit LOL," he continued. "It used to be only movies, now even verdicts are out before the official release."

The defendants were indeed convicted by Stockholm district court and sentenced to one year in jail each and a total of 30 million SEK (3.6 million USD) in fines and damages, and intend to appeal the case. Protestors demonstrated in Sweden on Saturday (April 18) against the court's conviction, with rallies organized by Sweden's The Pirate Party, a political party which supports free file sharing for noncommercial use and strives to reform copyright and patent laws.

Meanwhile, the entertainment industry has applauded the verdict, calling it a landmark decision, and has hailed the ruling as a victory, despite the fact that previous cases - like Napster and Grokster - have shown that lawsuits have not been very successful in curbing downloads; for every site or service that is closed down, many others come up to take its place. File sharing, the industry claims, results in losses of several billion dollars each year.

But the tech gurus believe that the industry is missing the point, and that in winning the battle, they're actually losing the war. They say the entertainment industry is clinging to a rusty business model that is no longer viable, and is looking at technology as a threat instead of an opportunity. File sharing plays a vital role in increasing the fan base for both musicians and actors, which then results in greater revenues through tickets sales, merchandize sales, commission work, and even artist access. So evolve, they urge. Innovate.

Luckily, some musicians are catching on. The most cited example: Trent Reznor. The Nine Inch Nails frontman realizes the importance of evolving with technology and embracing unorthodox distribution methods, and has been releasing the bands latest albums online under the Creative Commons licenses (while also selling limited edition physical versions). "I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't think music should be free," he told Wired.com. "But the climate is such that it's impossible for me to change that, because the record labels have established a sense of mistrust. So everything we've tried to do has been from the point of view of, 'What would I want if I were a fan? How would I want to be treated?' Now let's work back from that. Let's find a way for that to make sense and monetize it." And Reznor is not alone. Artists around the world - old and new, established and un-established, touring and non-touring - are now realizing the importance of developing alternatives that work for them. Musicians like Ellis Paul, Jill Sobule, and Kristin Hersh have even managed to get their fans to pre-finance their albums through different tiers of sponsorship, proving that fans will willingly support musicians, as long as the quality of the output (and the associates perks) actually merit support.

Some of our own musicians agree that file sharing can actually be a helpful tool: "File sharing is good," says Abbas Ali Khan. "It takes your songs places. Everyone wants music for free, so why not give it to them. We don't get our royalties anyways." And the source of revenue? "Shows, corporate deals, commercials."

Call vocalist Junaid concurs: "Being in Pakistan, we don't work on royalty; we sell our product to record labels, so sharing is actually good for us because our songs are reaching spots where the record label might not be able to distribute. Even in Pakistan, stocks might not be available in certain locations, but the Internet makes our product accessible to more people making the Internet a good source of distribution for us. However, there is an eventual loss for the record label."

There are others, however, who think file sharing is not helping musicians: "It's about general ethics to support artists," says Jal guitarist Goher Mumtaz, "especially the newer ones. The ones who are established can make money through concerts and endorsements, but [the success of] the ones that are new can be appreciated through royalties [that will show] how many people have purchased their songs." He points out that "artists spend a huge amount of money on producing and making an album" and that there should be rules against websites that are "surviving on songs that they get for free". Goher also thinks that music videos are a better promotional tool than free file distribution online. "Videos have a larger impact," he says. "(After watching the videos, viewers) try to buy or download the same songs from the Internet."

Singer Atif Aslam opines, "Anything can be shared as long as it is being done within the copyright criteria. File sharing mostly hurts bands," he says, "as there is no copyright act being properly enforced in our region which ultimately affects sales."

But the fact remains that the file sharing battle is far from over, and the underlying issue behind the case still remains unresolved. As for the Pirate Bay Four, they say their case is "just theatre for the media" and plan to continue fighting. "We can't pay and we wouldn't pay," says Sunde. "Even if I had the money I would rather burn everything I owned, and I wouldn't even give them the ashes."

- Sameen Amer

Instep Today, The News - 22nd April, 2009

Another one bites the dust

cover story

As the 2008-09 television season wraps up, many series are falling victim to the cancellation hatchet. While some of these series have had the chance to play out their storylines, others have not been so lucky and are disappearing in a fray of unanswered questions as a result of their early demise. Here are some of the latest casualties that will not be returning for another season:

According To Jim
With the very unlikely pairing of Jim Belushi and Courtney Thorne-Smith, According to Jim was either very annoying or somewhat amusing, with the response largely depending on whether or not you want to hurl your remote control at the TV every time Jim Belushi appears on the screen. Revolving around a ‘Jim messes up, Jim fixes it’ premise, the sitcom surprisingly lasted for 8 seasons and a total of 182 episodes, and (if we’re really unlucky) could remain in syndication for many years to come.
Deserved cancelled? According to me, hell yes!
Original run: October 3, 2001 – May 19, 2009

Boston Legal
The very awesome spin-off of The Practice, this quirky legal drama was one of the very few shows on tele that were actually worth watching. Centred around the attorneys at Crane, Poole and Schmidt, the very awesome dramedy featured the acting talents of the very awesome James Spader and William Shatner. Boston Legal was cancelled after 5 very awesome seasons, probably because people didn’t recognize how very awesome the series was, and a 100 episodes after it started, the show ended with a very interesting two-hour finale at the end of last year.
Objections to the cancellation? As we have already established, the series was very awesome. Therefore it should not have been cancelled. I rest my case.
Original run: October 3, 2004 – December 8, 2008

Eli Stone
Another legal dramedy, Eli Stone was the story of a thirty-something attorney who suffers from an inoperable brain aneurysm that causes him to hallucinate. With Jonny Lee Miller (yes, that would be Ms. Jolie’s first husband) playing the protagonist, supported by a cast that included Natasha Henstridge and Victor Garber and a host of cameo appearances by George Michael, the series was an amusing mix of comedy, drama, music and fantasy, but sadly couldn’t make it past season 2.
Will it be missed? By some if not all. Eli Stone might not have been the best series ever, but it certainly wasn’t the worst either. Shows of the more boring variety (I’m looking at you Ghost Whisperer) continue to trouble our TV sets.
Original run: January 31, 2008 – December 30, 2008; the remaining four unaired episodes are now surfacing (in March and April) as the series is aired in various countries.

ER
The long-running medical drama set in the emergency room of the County General Hospital that at one time featured (the amazing) George Clooney and (the lovely) Noah Wyle had been on the air since 1994. But by the end of the 11th season, all the original cast had been replaced by newer characters, and the viewership had gradually declined. At season 15, NBC finally decided to pull the plug on the series.
Let it go? The original cast members moved on a long time ago. Maybe it’s time the viewers did the same.
Original run: September 19, 1994 – April 2, 2009

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Late Night With Conan O’ Brian
Not so much a cancellation as a shuffle, talk show host Jay Leno will be moving to his own primetime series (tentatively titled The Jay Leno Show) which is expected to start in September, while Conan O’Brian will take over The Tonight Show starting June 1st. O’Brian has been succeeded by fellow SNL alumnus Jimmy Fallon who started hosting Late Night on the 2nd of March this year.
Original run: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno started on May 25, 1992 and will end on May 29, 2009; Late Night with Conan O’Brian aired from September 13, 1993 to February 20, 2009.

Kyle XY
Kyle XY has often been described as John Doe Jr; the two series began with a very similar premise – the title character waking up without any recollection of who he is or how he got there despite his super-human capabilities. But while the series diverged in execution – John Doe was driven by action and mystery while Kyle XY decided to turn into an overindulgent teen drama – both ultimately shared the same fate: neither got the chance to wrap things up. At the end of season 3, Kyle XY wasn’t renewed for another season, and viewers were left hanging as the series ended on cliffhangers, never getting a chance to come up with a proper finale.
Axed why? The show might’ve been high on conspiracy, low on making sense, and a little too desperate to appeal to the younger audience, but the series did have a loyal fan base who did not deserves to be left with unanswered questions and unresolved storylines.
Original run: June 26, 2006 – March 16, 2009

Monk
This delightful dramedy starring Tony Shalhoub as an obsessive-compulsive detective has been on the air since 2002 and follows Monk as he investigations cases while his OCD and various phobias both impede and aid him in the process. The show has even inspired a series of novels, and although it has been cancelled, the show will return for a final season.
Time to end? Well, we’ll make our peace with it but only if Mr. Monk ends up solving the mystery of his beloved Trudy’s death.
Original run: July 12, 2002 – present; will return for what is believed to be its final season in mid-2009.

October Road
From the very first episode of October Road, it was fairly obvious the series wouldn’t last. The drama, which revolves around a writers-block struck author who returns to his hometown after ten years, is apparently on a mission to bore to sleep anyone who would make the mistake of watching this show. And while October Road made a few unconvincing attempts at seeming sincere, it was just taking itself too seriously and ultimately failed to connect with viewers. With ratings falling by the episode, it all went downhill until someone mercifully pulled the plug at episode 19.
Short road to ruin? In the series’ Star World promo, Laura Prepon says that there’s nothing like this series on TV. Yes Laura, nothing is nearly as boring.
Original run: March 15, 2007 – March 10, 2008; the 15-minute series finale will be released as part of the second season DVD on May 5th this year.

Prison Break
When it started, Prison Break was one of the most interesting and (ignoring the plagiarism allegations) original shows on TV. It’s premise – a man deliberately getting himself sent to prison to help his brother escape – was touching, its moral ambiguity refreshing. Yes, Prison Break was awesome…and then it was renewed for a third season. Shark-jumping antics pursued. And if season 3 was a stretch, season 4 was downright ridiculous. Viewer-ship consequently fell, and cancellation followed soon after. Its first season will remain one of the best debuts of recent time. If only it hadn’t wandered off into the realms of ridiculousness thereafter.
Bring it back? Not unless you want to see how far fetched a series can get. Maybe the show will redeem itself by the finale?
Original run: The series started on August 29, 2005, and will return for its final episode(s) on April 17, 2009.

The Emperor’s New School
Based on the characters of The Emperor's New Groove, the animated series chronicled Kuzco’s attempts at passing all his classes so that he can become emperor, and was possibly one of the more delightful things Disney channel has done in years, something they probably would’ve noticed had they not been so busy mass-marketing teen-pop clones like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
No more doodles? Looks like it. To the person who killed this show: may a llama eat your paycheque.
Original run: January 27, 2006 – November 20, 2008

- By S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 17th April, 2009

Once upon a time...

cover story

On an otherwise uneventful morning of an otherwise unremarkable year in the late ‘80s, a single-digit old me was busy throwing a tantrum over having to go to school. Usually a rather placid child, I only had two major sources of grievance in life: 1) socks, which were a plainly uncomfortable and ridiculously unnecessary part of day-attire in non-winter months, and 2) school, which made me wear socks as part of the day-attire in non-winter months. My parents, not the biggest fans of my periodic protests against these major inconveniences in my largely pleasant existence, understandably preferred the more agreeable version of their only offspring, and to calm me down on that particular morning, my dad offered me an incentive: if I’d stop whining and go to school, he’d get me a special present when he picked me up from school that afternoon.

I did, eventually, go to school that day and, quite predictably, had a thoroughly rotten time. And when dad came to take me home that afternoon, I was in total sulk mode and had completely forgotten about his promise, but turns out he hadn’t. Waiting for me on the front seat of our car was an assortment of big, brightly coloured (and insanely expensive) children’s storybooks. The very sight of the grand bound-paper creations achieved their purpose: the brooding was immediately suspended, replaced first by the simple excitement of getting a present, and later by immense awe – for someone who was still learning to read, the whole concept of words coming together and opening doors to enchanting worlds of endless imagination was an entirely fascinating discovery. And that is how I fell in love with books.

The book-reward program ended up becoming a semi-annual tradition of sorts; at the end of every school term, my parents would take me to the biggest book shop in the city where I was allowed to go crazy for about half an hour, after which I’d blatantly refuse to leave, and would eventually have to be dragged out of the place, half a dozen books clutched firmly in my little hands. Deciding which books to choose out of the thousands on display was the hardest decision this kid ever had to make, although there were some standard favourites – I’m fairly certain my parents helped put Enid Blyton’s grandkids through school.

But a few years later, my obsession with books had started to dwindle. The middle/high school curriculum – clearly put together by someone who hated books and wanted everyone else to hate them too – left me with too much printed material to peruse. Additionally, I was being subjected to supposed English classics, which were so interesting for ten year olds (or at least this particular ten year old) that they always made me think about how doing something (anything) else, like repeatedly slamming my head against the wall, would be a more constructive and enjoyable use of my time.

I don’t remember reading many non-schoolbooks during my early teens, in part due to the immense popularity of the Sweet Valley series at the time which I’d somehow (without reading a single volume) decided I thoroughly disapproved of, but more so because I’d ended up becoming a bit disenchanted with books due to their correlation with school, and how they’d become a representation of both competition and conformity, both of which I thought the world would be a saner place without.

Then one day, probably in the tenth or eleventh grade, I found myself in temporary possession of a PG Wodehouse novel. I’ve never been sure how or why I ended up borrowing that book; not fond of being quiet unless I want to be quiet, the school library wasn’t exactly my favourite place on the planet and keeping a disapproval-induced distance from the room was a standard practice. Yet, as a result of some inexplicable and since-forgotten series of events, I was the confused keeper-for-a-week of a Mike and Psmith omnibus – a series I’d never even heard of by an author that I knew nothing about. It turned out to be the single most delightful thing I’d ever read. Reading that book reminded me of why I’d fallen in love with books in the first place and why they’d meant so much to me as a kid, inspiring the same awe, although in a completely different way, as the stories from the children’s books from when I was still learning to read.

After finishing the three omnibus editions available in the library, I ransacked a hitherto ignored bookshelf in my house that had been home to my parents’ literary collection, largely made up of books my mum had bought when she was young. She’d read each of them, and then relayed the entire story to my grandmother (which I’m sure must’ve been considerably less torturous than all those times I’ve sat my mother down and made her listen to Nirvana). I’d been told I could find a lot of Wodehouse there, but was disappointed to find only one, Code Of The Woosters, because apparently when people borrow something they don’t put themselves through the trouble of returning it. So I decided to nick some Ian Fleming instead. And then borrowed some Archer from the library. And bought some Salinger and Adams and Grisham and Hornby and Fforde and Ludlum and Tolkien. And eventually even made peace with the classics. Yes, I was hooked, and I still am to this very day. The ride that started with children’s stories has since given me a chance to discover things that I couldn’t possibly have imagined, and led me to worlds I would’ve otherwise been oblivious to. And it’s made life – even the parts of it that I’ve spent with my feet trapped in disagreeable foot hosiery – a lot more fun.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 27th March, 2009

Two Thousand and Nine

Helping you plan your year in advance

We’ve said goodbye to 2008, and now we welcome the New Year by taking a look at what’s scheduled for 2009. (All the events and releases are, of course, subject to change depending on circumstances/ laziness of the people involved).


2009 is:

- The International Year of Astronomy: 2009 has been declared as the International Year of Astronomy by the UN in an effort to “help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery”. Joy. (Visit www.astronomy2009.org if you’re not easily bored.)

- Not just that, 2009 is also the International Year of Natural Fibres: Seeing how much we’ve learned about potatoes and their importance in 2008, we can hardly wait for the UN to raise our awareness of natural fibres while boosting the performance of the natural fibres industries. (To find out what the heck they mean by “natural fibres” anyway, go to www.naturalfibres2009.org.)


Political landscape and the economy

Last year the world overdosed on democracy, thanks to America and their seemingly never-ending electoral process. This year (a quick search on Google has revealed that) elections of one variety or the other are expected in various countries including Iran, Germany, Indonesia, Panama, Macedonia, Republic of Congo, Algeria, Malawi, Portugal, Norway, as well as many others. Even India has its parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2009. Therefore it is safe to assume that CNN will not be going out of business anytime soon. The focus of the year, however, will continue to be on Barack Obama as he takes office in January.

As for the economy…well, we’ve come to the point where whenever someone mentions the word “economy” to us, all we get is this mental picture of some unfortunate company executive jumping off the 98th floor of a skyscraper, and every time someone starts talking about it, we get a terrible headache, so we’ll keep it short and simple: it doesn’t look good. But not to worry: if it doesn’t start to improve in the first quarter or two, we can always start up that Large Hadron Collider thing again.


Books

Yes, books still exist. No, just because the Harry Potter series is over doesn’t give you an excuse to give up reading. Many works - both fiction and non-fiction - are slated to be released in 2009. The world’s favourite legal-fiction writer John Grisham returns with his new novel The Associate. Stephen King’s latest horror thriller Under The Dome is expected to hit the bookshelves this fall, while Stephenie Meyer is set to release The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide which will give further information on the world of the Twilight series. 2009 also sees the release of Lee Child’s Gone Tomorrow; and Lord Sunday the seventh book in Garth Nix's series The Keys to the Kingdom. Heck, even Sarah Palin is expected to “write” a book, having secured a book deal (reportedly worth $7m!!); we can only hope it’ll be as amusing as her interviews!


Movies

It was franchise films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Quantum of Solace, and even Twilight that ruled the box office in 2008. And 2009 is likely to go down the same path, with a number of prequels and sequels among the most highly anticipated films of the year. These include X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May), Terminator Salvation (May), Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June), Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian (May), Angels & Demons (May), Star Trek (May), and the one that everyone who is me is particularly looking forward to: the animated hilarity of Ice Age; Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July).

But the one that almost everyone who is reading these words must surely be waiting for is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter series, with Potter mania expected to grip the world in July with the release of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Meanwhile, Disney fans will be flocking to the cinemas when Hannah Montana: The Movie comes out in April, while star power is likely to draw attention towards the ensemble powered New York, I Love You (February), which features appearances by Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon. Other notable releases include the chick-flick Bride Wars (January), the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (February), the spy-thriller Duplicity (March), the animated Monsters vs. Aliens (March), crime drama Public Enemies (July), action driven The Taking Of Pelham 123 (July), and the dark comedy The Informant (September).


Music

Music fans are expecting a lot from 2009: albums are expected from bands and artists including Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Franz Ferdinand, the Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Muse, Tori Amos, Hoobastank, Michelle Branch, Eminem, 50 Cent and even Michael Jackson. We hope that at least some of these albums will be as good as we expect them to be, and make 2009 way more interesting than the year that preceded it. But if we’re really unlucky, then Paris Hilton will actually release that second album she’s been threatening the world with for the last few months; even the thought of that makes us shudder. There are even rumours that Guns N’ Roses could release another new album in ‘09, but we all know that that is SO not happening. Also, American Idol returns for its eighth season, while previous winners Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks are expected to issue their new albums this year.

On the local front, Pakistani music will try to recover from the slump that was last year, with a lot of hope resting on the new album by the Meekal Hasan Band, which is slated for a 2009 release. Also scheduled for ’09 are albums by Inteha, Call, and Raeth. Oh and the Kaavish debut album is expected to come out any decade now (barring any unforeseen delays).


Sports

Pakistan has been struggling in the sporting arena in the last few years, and our inability to win medals and tournaments has only been made worse by the cancellation of the sporting events that were supposed to be held in Pakistan. Last year the ICC Champions Trophy was postponed due to security concerns, and the cricket teams of India and Australia also pulled out of their tour to Pakistan. But here’s the good news: the Champions trophy is expected to come back to Pakistan this year, and we can only hope that it won’t be cancelled this time. In addition, Sri Lanka have stepped in to tour PK in place of India, Australia could complete their cancelled tour, and New Zealand might also visit us for a tour.

Apart from cricket, the year will, of course, also see the annual football leagues and championships. Rafael Nadal will try to cement his No. 1 ranking in tennis when the year kicks off with the Australian Open, baseball has its 105th World Series, WWE holds its 25th Annual WrestleMania in April, while the fifth edition of the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be held in Dubai.


So there you have it – the events that are scheduled for 2009. But how will the year actually turn out? Will this be the only time you’ll read the words “natural fibres” in 2009? Will Obama be able to bring peace to the world? Can Pakistan manage to host any cricket tournaments this year? Can any Pakistani band manage to actually release an album on schedule? And - most importantly - will Us Magazine return to its 24-paged glory? We can’t really say (on account of not being fortune tellers), but we assure you 2009 will reveal all the answers!

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 2nd January, 2009

Rewind

Pakistani musicians comment on the state of the music industry in 2008.

Umar Mansoor (Kain)
Well, in my opinion 2008 was a dull year for music in Pakistan apart from the debut video of Azal, Aisee Tesi, which was based on the corrupt atmosphere of our society, the debut solo album of Shafqat Amanat Ali with the hit track Kheriyan, and the epic songs by Rahat Ali Khan in his album Charkha. The highly expected albums of 2008 were Meekal Hassan’s and Call’s upcoming albums, but I think due to the unstable conditions of the country, they have not been released yet. Apart from all that, there was the same old commercialised stuff; same old Jal, same old Atif Aslam wearing "shocking colours", and same old Ali Zafar with some new models in his videos. Mizmaar and Ali Azmat were two of the few rock releases this year. Ali Azmat – my all time favourite – came out with Kalashinfolk with a different sound, that is reggae rock, this time; the songs Leh Sambhal was my favourite – kudos to Ali Azmat, the only man who supports and understands rock in Pakistan. Other than that, no good rock music made its way to my ears. I expect a lot of good music in 2009 from Call and the Meekal Hassan Band, and I hope the music scene will be a bit more impressive and less commercialised in 2009. As far as I am concerned, I will most probably release some more videos of both of my projects (Kain and The Max Project) and maybe an album in late 2009.

Atif Aslam
Pakistani music industry is improving day-by-day. A lot of good people are coming and performing really well. I like the songs by Azal. All we need is that people should consider it seriously – some are coming only to get fame and money, losing focus on their passion for music; if that’s not there, it won’t work!

Sami Khan (Lagan)
A lot happened in Pakistani Pop in 2008: good videos, many new albums, but I totally failed to understand why there was no impact of most of the releases, be it a new artist or senior. It’s sad that now our people only appreciate or listen to the stuff released in across-the-border movies. It’s about time we start taking our local talent seriously and appreciate them and give them the respect and return they deserve. On the whole, I think 2008 was quite productive, as a lot of talented artists were added to the industry, like Falak, Zeb and Haniya, and many more. Many senior artists released their new albums with new flavours, like Shehzad Roy, Ahmed Jahanzeb, and the Strings. I am hoping that 2009 is even better for all artists, including Lagan.

Faakhir
We’ve been increasingly dependent on Bollywood to give us some sort of endorsement so that we can bask in the glory of the most popular source of entertainment in the subcontinent – Indian cinema! The sad thing is that they are not using Pakistani music; they are simply using Pakistani voices to sing on the tunes composed by Indian musicians. Other than that, the ongoing financial crunch, worldwide failure in combating music piracy in all its forms and manifestations, and then the law and order situation in our country resulted in the reversal of all the good work done by us in the last few years. So, overall, the year has not been a good one for music in Pakistan, but some really good music albums have been released during 2008. And I see a great 2009, because the resilience and never say die attitude of our highly talented and passionate musicians has done it before and we’ll do it again!
On a personal front, I’d taken time off work since my father was diagnosed with a major ailment in 2006. He passed away in November 2008. Therefore, I did not come up with anything new this year. But I am due for an album next year. However, this year, one of my songs, Marjawan, from my first album Aatish, was picked up to be featured in a Hollywood thriller called Stiletto as part of its background score. Marjawan’s inclusion in an English film proves that we can also successfully sell our music directly to Hollywood and other international clients instead of routing our work through India.

Sam (Akash)
Overall this year was a bit cold because of the security issues. Most of the shows got cancelled just because of the threats and bomb blasts. Business in the industry was quite cold, as I’ve mentioned before, but still a few artists managed to release their albums, although most of them couldn’t sell. Also, most of the artist made highly expensive videos, but the standard of the audios was not up to the mark. As far as Akash is concerned, 2008 was a bit good for us. Our biggest achievement was the Indian tour where we performed four shows in Punjab and Delhi, although we had to cancel two of our shows because of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Still we manage to perform and we also released our album this year in USA.

Nausher Javed (Inteha)
Year 2008 has not been a very good year for the music industry as very few albums got hype and approval from the audience. Indeed some excellent videos came out, like Laga Reh by Shehzad Roy, but again they hardly stabilized the music scene. The main reason has no doubt been the politically unstable situation of Pakistan. The recent Mumbai crisis and the situation in Karachi acted as fuel to the fire. This is one of the reasons why we had to delay the release of our debut album Kehna Chahta Hoon, which was due to be released in December. We hope Pakistan’s situation soothes in the forthcoming year and we get the chance to hear some good music.

- By S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 2nd January, 2009

MMVIII

This may not be how you remember it

A long time ago, that is earlier this year, a lot of things happened. So as we bid farewell to the year, we recount some of the (few) highs and (many) lows of 2008.

But before we delve into the main events of the year that is but will soon be was, we must first take a look at what was happening in the background to make the year a little worse for the inhabitants of planet earth:


THE BACKDROP

- Global economic/financial crisis: Making us wonder if there is some secret competition between countries as to who can ruin their economy the most, the world spiraled uncontrollably down the financial-crisis drain. Inflation, record high oil prices, increased unemployment, credit crunch, bankruptcy of investment and commercial banks, and stock market crashes ensued.
- Load-shedding: While US scientists came one step closer to cloning the Woolly Mammoth, WAPDA decided to give the Pakistani populace it’s own taste of the Stone Age by depriving most of the country of electricity for extended parts of the day for the entire year. Now we really know how the Dodo must’ve felt!
- Unrest: In their quest to make the world a safer place by bombing every country they can think of, USA was so successful in its fight against terrorism that there were hardly any terrorist attacks or suicide bombings this year. Of course there was the Marriott Hotel attack…and the Jaipur and Bangalore and Ahmedabad and Mumbai attacks, and the bombings in Baghdad and Kirkuk and Diyarbakır and Dimona and Kabul and Kandahar, and the ones in Wah, and outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad, and…
- Natural disasters: Feeling left out, nature decided to join in on the task of making people miserable. This resulted in calamities including earthquakes in Chengdu (China) and Baluchistan (Pakistan), as well as a tornado outbreak in Southern United States, floods in Santa Catarina (Brazil), and the Cyclone Nargis in Burma/Myanmar.

So with that out of the way, here it is: 2008 in all its (very limited) glory…


THE EVENTS

January
· Year of the Potato: The UN declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato, a fact that the majority of the population of the world would remain blissfully unaware of for the rest of the year.
· Iraqi Flag: The Iraqis, forever dissatisfied with the design of their flag, decided to change it yet again, the fifth time they’ve done this since 1921, and no, they’re still not sure it’s quite as perfect as they want it to be. Expect more changes soon.

February
· Pakistani Elections: General elections (originally scheduled for January and delayed till February due to riots following the death of Benazir Bhutto) were held. PPP and PML (N) agreed to agree with each other just long enough to form a coalition government with Yosaf Raza Gillani as the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, people tried to get justice for the deposed judges, including the ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry; the issue would remain a subject of much debate for the rest of the year.
· Kosovo Independence: Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Ten points to anyone who can mark either Kosovo or Serbia on the world map…
· Cuban Presidency: Big change in Cuba – President Fidel Castro (who resigned due to “critical health condition”) was replaced by, umm, his brother Raul Castro. Revolutionary.
· Yahoo! acquisition attempts by Microsoft: In it’s ongoing mission to ruin Yahoo!, Microsoft made various takeover offers to Yahoo!, all of which were subsequently rebuffed. By the end of the year, after being pounded with criticism by stockholders, Microsoft watched smugly as Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang announced that he will be stepping down as CEO.

March
· Russian Elections: After serving as the President of Russia for two terms, Vladimir Putin was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term as the President, so they decided to make him the Prime Minister instead. Dmitry Medvedev won the presidential election and then nominated Putin for the post of the PM.

April
· Politics in Kenya: The formation of a coalition government and the appointment of Raila Odinga as the Prime Minister of Kenya marked the end of the political crisis in Kenya. Now you must be thinking “What? There was a political crisis in Kenya?!!” Yes, we didn’t know either.
· Indian Satellites: ‘India set a world record by sending ten satellites into orbit in a single launch’. Showoffs.

May
· Nepal monarchy: After considering its pros and cons for 240 years, Nepal finally decided to abolish monarchy and establish ‘The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal’.
· Premier League and UEFA Champions League: Manchester United retained their Premier League title, and also won the Champions League by defeating Chelsea in the CL final (6–5 on penalties, 1–1 draw after extra time). Take that, Man U bashers!

June
· Microsoft: Bloatware manufacturers Microsoft Corporation’s Chairman Bill Gates stepped down from “daily duties” to “concentrate on philanthropy”. Seeking redemption, eh Mr. Gates?

July
· 34th G8 summit: The heads of the world’s “richest industrialized countries” got together for a photo-op in Hokkaidō, Japan.
· The Dark Knight: The Dark Knight was released. It was depressingly awesome.

August
· US Presidential Election: John McCain decided that he didn’t want to be the US President after all, so he chose Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the Republican party’s Vice-Presidential nominee. The strategy worked. (See November for details.)
· South Ossetia war: Georgia and Russia went to war over South Ossetia, an issue the world would’ve paid a lot more attention to had it not been for the…
· 2008 Summer Olympics: Beijing, China. 08-08-08 to 24-08-08. Most expensive games ever. 43 new world records, 132 new Olympic records. China: 51Gold, 21Silver, 28Bronze; USA: 36G, 38S, 36B; Russia: 23G, 21S, 28B; Great Britain: 19G, 13S, 15B; Pakistan: 0G, 0S, 0B. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps.
· Musharraf Resignation: With the axe of impeachment swinging over his head, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf chose to avoid impeachment by opting to resign instead; he did this not because even “a single charge in the impeachment [could] stand against [him]” – of course not, how dare you even think that! – but because he loves Pakistan too much to ruin it any more than he already has in the last nine years. A true patriot, him.
· Tennis: The very amazing Rafael Nadal became “the 24th man in the history of the ATP Rankings to rank No. 1 in the world”. He replaced the very amazing Roger Federer, who was No. 1 for a record four-and-a-half years.

September
· Pakistani Presidential Election: Pakistani politics continued to astound/baffle/confuse/horrify people when Benazir Bhutto’s widower Asif Ali Zardari was “elected” as the president of Pakistan. While Pervez Musharraf had run the country on a strict ‘if it ain’t broke, break it’ policy, Zardari offers a new approach to the system as he seems to be following the ‘if it’s broke, don’t fix it’ program of governance.
· US Debt: Always looking for more milestones to achieve, America got another reason to celebrate when the U.S. federal debt passed the $10 trillion mark for the first time. Americans of the past had never even dreamed this day would come, which would explain why $10,000,000,000,000 would not fit on their debt clock, and the clock’s dollar sign had to be replaced by the extra digit. Congratulations America! Next target: $10 umptisquiddlyzillion.
· Big Bang Experiment: The world’s top scientists tried to destroy the Earth in guise of a science experiment that aimed to collide high-speed beams of protons in the Large Hadron Collider. LHC however ran into some trouble and will not be operational again until spring 2009. The estimated cost of the project? Somewhere between €3.2–6.4 billion. Good thing no one’s starving in this world and poverty has been eliminated from the planet, otherwise these scientists would’ve looked like a bunch of heartless morons.
· Zimbabwe Politics: Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal, as a result of which Mugabe would “continue to retain control over the army”, and Zimbabwe would continue to self-destruct.

October
· Kashmir Trade: ‘A trade route opens within Pakistan-administered Kashmir and India’s Jammu and Kashmir state after a 60-year barrier.’ Yes, it only took us six decades to figure out that cooperation might not be such a bad idea after all.
· Eid ul-Fitr: Dunya bhar mai Eid ul-Fitr pooray josh-o-kharosh sae manaey gaey.
· India’s Moon Mission: The Indian Space Research Organization launched its first unmanned moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, which aims to “survey the surface of the moon” and “attempt to locate resources”. Looks like someone didn’t get the ‘the moon is a barren piece of rock’ memo…

November
· US Presidential Election: Barack Obama was elected (by humans, sorry Isaac Asimov) as the president of the universe United States of America, becoming the first black president of the US, much thanks to George W Bush – had he not messed up his country so much, do you think they would’ve been open to such historic change?
· Formula One: At 23, Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2008 Formula One World Championship, becoming the youngest driver, as well as the first driver of black heritage, to win the title.
· Piracy in Somalia: Pirates (who had been hijacking cargo ships “off the coast of Somalia”) began hijacking ships “well outside the Gulf of Aden”. And just like everything else, this too is Hollywood’s fault; they just had to go and “glamorize” piracy, didn’t they. These pirates must clearly be inspired by Johnny Depp, because we can’t think of any other reason why they’d go around hijacking ships full of oil.

December
· Holidays: Eid ul-Adha, Hanukkah, and Christmas were celebrated by Muslims, Jews, and Christians respectively.
· Leap Second: Just when we thought the year was finally about to end, they decided to add another second to it. A WHOLE extra second. Like, WHY would anyone want to make 2008 any longer than it already is?!!
· End of the year: Thank God.


FAREWELL

· Ahmed Faraz (77) – poet, considered one of the ‘greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century’.
· Arthur C Clarke (90) – science-fiction author and futurist, famous for his novel ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.
· Bernie Mac (50) – actor and comedian, appeared in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and its two sequels.
· Charlton Heston (84) – actor, known for playing heroic roles in movies such as ‘The Ten Commandments’, ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘Ben-Hur’.
· David Foster Wallace (46) – author of ‘Infinite Jest’.
· Edmund Hillary (88) – mountaineer and explorer, first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
· Heath Ledger (28) – actor, appeared in movies including ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’, ‘Brokeback Mountain’, and ‘The Dark Knight’.
· Michael Crichton (66) – author, wrote ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World’.
· Mitch Mitchell (62) – drummer, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
· Paul Newman (83) – actor and director, appeared in hits like ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, ‘The Hustler’, ‘The Color of Money’, and ‘Road To Perdition’.
· Richard Wright (65) – musician, member of Pink Floyd.
· Roy Scheider (75) – actor, best known for his roles in ‘Jaws’, ‘All That Jazz’, ‘The French Connection’, and the television series ‘seaQuest DSV’.
· Sydney Pollack (73) – director, works include ‘The Way We Were’, ‘Absence of Malice’, ‘The Firm’ ‘The Interpreter’.
· Yves Saint Laurent (71) – fashion designer.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 26th December, 2008