Music in 2006 - a summary

music roundup

- Everyone went crazy over Gnarls Barkley’s song 'Crazy', making it the first single ever to top the UK charts on download sales alone. The single was subsequently pulled from UK stores by the band and their record label in May after nine consecutive weeks at number one, so that people would 'remember the song fondly and not get sick of it’.

- People did, however, get sick of James Blunt, so much so that Essex FM announced that it had banned all his songs from being played after listeners said they were 'fed up with them’.

- Justin Hawkins left The Darkness. If you’ve heard 'One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back', you’ll agree that this was a sensible thing to do.

- Panic! At The Disco released singles, some of which had mindbogglingly long titles.

- Many of us were extremely surprised when Mary J Blige won 9 Billboard music awards. We know she’s amazing and all, and we could’ve made peace with something like 7 or 8 awards, but 9??

- Most of us were somewhat surprised to see U2 and Green Day do a single together, but only because we couldn’t figure out why no one had come up with this idea earlier!

- And absolutely none of us were even slightly surprised when Britney Spears filed divorce papers and ended her two-year marriage to Kevin Federline, who released an album that no one bothered to buy.

- My Chemical Romance started looking a lot like The Smashing Pumpkins, started sounding a lot like Green Day, and started making music that was inspired by Pink Floyd and Queen. The results were surprisingly good.

- The Pipettes released a really nice pop record that everyone failed to notice.

- Fergie released some singles that were totally, utterly and completely irritating. Needless to say they sold a gazillion copies and topped charts everywhere.

- And just when we thought that nothing could possibly be more irritating than Fergie, Gwen Stefani proved us wrong by releasing 'Wind It Up'.

- Ok Go were completely ignored by everyone everywhere till they released the clips for 'A Million Ways' and 'Here It Goes Again', which can be summed up as brilliantness in video format.

- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Robbie Williams, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and lots of other artists released albums.

- Guns N’ Roses’ did not release an album. This shouldn’t even count as news anymore.

- Paris Hilton released an album that she said was so good that it made her cry. It made the rest of us cry for a completely different reason, and apparently even led The Guardian (a British Newspaper) to comment: "She sings like a woman who has heard of something called singing, can’t be sure of exactly what it might entail, but is fairly certain you do something a bit like this."

- Madonna adopted a Malawian baby boy, and people didn’t seem to like that very much.

- Not many people had heard of Nerina Pallot before 2006. Not many people have heard of Nerina Pallot after 2006.

- Take That reunited and that pleased us old-timers by bringing back lots of memories of the 1990s.

- All Saints reunited and that didn’t really please anyone.

- Kanye West made no secret of the fact that he thought his video 'Touch the Sky' should’ve won the 'Best Video’ award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. He went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for 'We Are Your Friends', argued that he should have won instead...and was later sued by Robert 'Evel’ Knievel for trademark infringement in the 'Touch the Sky' video.

- Music show Top of the Pops ended after 42 years on British television.

- Italy lifted the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Italians celebrated by singing 'Seven Nation Army'; the White Stripes’ song (originally released in 2003) reentered the Italian singles chart at the third spot. Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi. Sebastien and Emmanuel Lipszyc made a song about it. The song topped the charts in France.

- Lily Allen expressed her 'opinions’ about other musicians. Other musicians didn’t like that too much.

- Muse continued to be their amazing self by making another amazing album that everyone loved.

- Tool continued to be their generally boring self by making another generally boring album that everyone loved.

- Pamela Anderson married Kid Rock. Pamela Anderson divorced Kid Rock.

- 'Rockstar: Supernova' proved that Tommy Lee wasn’t nearly as cool as we’d thought.

- Some American Idol contestants released singles and albums and stuff. Most of it was quite rubbish.

- Carrie Underwood won awards. Faith Hill got it right when she mouthed the word "WHAT?!!" at the CMAs when Carrie won for 'Female Vocalist of the Year'. But she says she did it as a joke. We do the exact same thing every time we see Carrie win something. We don’t do it as a joke.

- Artists including Shakira, Nelly Furtado, and Justin Timberlake released songs that became insanely popular.

- Aaaaand a lot more happened during the year, but we seem to have run out of space (actually, we ran out of space some 200 words ago), so I will now bid you all farewell with the wish that you guys have a very happy and blessed new year! Ciao!

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 5th January 2007

Music and 2006

farewell2006

Year 2006 and the Pakistani music industry

We asked the musicians about the music scene in 2006, their activities during the year, and what they have planned for 2007. Here's what they had to say:

Maaz Maudood (Kaavish, co-vocalist)
As time is progressing, the music industry of Pakistan is reaching new heights of creativity and success. 2006, in my eyes, was the best musical year ever, with the advent of so many different channels - like Play TV, Aag TV, and MTV Pakistan - who are promoting musicians not only in the mainstream, but also in the underground scene. All these factors prove to be a source of motivation for musicians because when we started off, there used to be one music channel and there was a major lack of exposure.
2006 has produced a lot of new and extremely talented artists who have come out with their debut videos, like Siege, Ali Khan, etc. The best part is that the quality and standard of our music videos has improved tremendously this year as well. Overall, it's been a good year for the musicians as well as the music lovers.
The year has proved to be a lucrative year for Kaavish. We came out with our second video, and the major source of motivation for us was the TMA's, where we got the award for the 'Best Rising Stars'. Our perspective towards work totally changed after that. We started taking it more seriously and totally dedicated ourselves to this purpose. This year, we managed to almost complete the entire album and are looking forward to the next year for the launch. At the beginning of the year, we plan to release our third video, and right after Muharram, we plan on launching our album. And after that, we hope to look forward to a good year.

Junaid Khan (Call, vocalist)
The start of year 2006 was very crucial as our album was just two months old in the market, and it was the time when the fate of the album was actually going to emerge. It's a good thing that we got through that quite well, as 'Jilawatan' topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks and is still among the top five albums. 2006 gave Call the place that we wanted in people's minds, and we are planning to reach more hearts in the coming year.

Atif Aslam
Our music industry has definitely touched new heights in terms of technicalities and videos, and now the international market knows that Pakistani music is second to none. In 2006, I recorded my second album for international launch, and apart from this, I performed at various concerts and went on two world tours. In 2007, I'm planning to grab more love and appreciation from my beloved fans.

Musti (Roxen, vocalist)
The year 2006 with respect to our music industry was not bad actually. Lots of new talent came up, and even when channels weren't supporting them, they still did their best. But let's just hope for the best, as channels like MTV and Aag are here now. As far as good albums are concerned, 'Jilawatan' by Call was too good, especially for rock listeners like me.We released our new video 'Sapnay', revamping Roxen, and had loads of studio recordings, and finally released our debut album, 'Rozen-e-Deewar'. In 2007, we plan to release our new video, and we have a Dubai tour scheduled for January. The band also has a couple of Bollywood projects lined up, scheduled to be released in February. We have an India tour in March, with loads more to follow, InshaAllah.

Sam (Akash, lead vocalist and guitarist)
2006 in terms of business was bad for most of the artists/musicians. Though some new music channels were introduced, the music scene wasn't very active; only a couple of albums were highlighted throughout the year, and most of the other albums never got any projection.
Akash released two videos in 2006 - 'Ji Liya' directed by Asiph Mahmood and 'Hum Aazad Hain' directed by Murzie - and both were quite well received. In 2006, we spent most of our time in our studio (PMR Studios) working on our debut album 'Aks'. We have tried to experiment a lot in our album by recording live Harmonium, violins, sitar and flute. In 2007 we plan to release our debut album, and then have concerts/gigs/tours. We hope 2007 is good for all our musicians in terms of business.

Farabi Hassan (Raeth, guitarist)
Basically, we did it all in 2006! We launched our first single 'Bhula Do' in early June. It started moving up the charts pretty quickly and topped the charts for a while. We became the first and the youngest band to be signed by Universal Records. Our album was launched in September in parallel in UK, USA, Canada, UAE, India and Pakistan, and, according to authentic charts, it has been topping all non-film acts all over the sub-continent. Raeth was artist of the month on both Channel V and MTV India last month. We also released our new single 'Tumharey Liyeah', the video for which was shot in India. The song is already the 'Top Gana' on MTV, just a week after its release. In 2007, Raeth plans to release the third video and finalize tours.
The Pakistani music scene is growing and is becoming more competitive day by day, and it's hard to make a mark these days. Raeth is currently promoting their album in Pakistan as it has already captured simultaneous platforms on all four music channels, including MTV Pakistan, Play TV, The Musik and Aag.

Nausher Javed (Inteha, guitarist)
2006 was promising and progressive in various respects. First of all, a lot of new talent has come up this year, thus creating an atmosphere of competition and progress, which is a positive sign for the music industry. Also, the emergence of new music channels was seen this year, which shows the growing strength of the music scene in Pakistan. In 2006, Inteha's main focus was the recording and completion of our debut album, which has been titled 'Kehna Chahta Hoon'. The album is now almost completed and all the production and mastering is being done at the Xth Harmonic studio by Xulfi. A couple of videos supporting the launch of the album have also been shot from which the video of the track 'Anjaana' will be released by the end of the year. Inteha has planned to release their debut album world wide in the first quarter of 2007 and has also scheduled a concert tour programme in the second quarter. Also, the band will be making music for an Indian movie, details of which will be finalized in early 2007.

Farhan Ali (Call, bassist)
In 2006, we performed in Qatar and Dubai. We were supposed to tour America, Canada and India, which we ultimately didn't. The response we got to the first Call album, which was released at the end of 2005, was great. We also did a song for an Indian movie, and had many gigs in Pakistan. The band won the TMA award for 'Most Wanted Band' of 2006. Next year, a lot more is planned, including the Channel V summit in India.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 29th December 2006

Bright Idea

album review

Album: Bright Idea
Band: Orson

Consisting of Jason Pebworth on vocals, George Astasio and Kevin Roentgen on guitars, Johnny Lonely on bass, and Chris Cano on drums, Orson are the latest American band to have achieved success in Britain. Orson’s sound? Think Maroon 5 meets the Scissor Sisters by way of the Rolling Stones, and Bright Idea has proved that this combination is pretty likely to land you a place on the British charts.

So what exactly is Bright Idea like, you ask? It’s catchy guitar-pop – shamelessly radio-friendly, a tad overproduced, and undeniably addictive. It’s the stuff they play to death on radio and TV channels. It’s what you find topping every second pop chart. And it’s the kind of thing that rock critics thoroughly disapprove of.

Sing-along-able choruses and sunny melodies, powered by a rather contagious enthusiasm, the album hosts the (very) catchy hits No Tomorrow and Happiness, the mellower Robbie Williams reminiscent Look Around, the more upbeat Save The World, and the somewhat New Radicals-ish Tryin’ To Help. In most parts, it’s fun and catchy, but look not for innovation and/or depth, for yours will be a futile search. The band hasn’t tried anything particularly groundbreaking and the lyrics aren’t exactly pearls of wisdom. So, in short, it’s an enjoyable guitar based pop-rock record, and that’s about it.

– By S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 22nd December, 2006

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

rewind

Album: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
Band: The Cranberries
Released: 1993
Roundup:
- The first full-length album by the Irish band fronted by singer Dolores O’Riordan; probably their best effort to date.
- Tuneful pop – simple, distinctive, ambient.
- Hosts Linger, one of the most memorable tunes of the 90s.
- A bit samey. Lacks variety.
Best bits: Dreams, Sunday, Linger, Wanted, and How.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 10th November, 2006

How To Save A Life

album review

Album: How To Save A Life
Band: The Fray

With the massive success of their single 'Over My Head (Cable Car)', The Fray have earned comparisons to the likes of Coldplay, Keane, and Jimmy Eat World. Give their debut album, ‘How To Save A Life’ one listen and you’ll know why. The band offers piano-driven mid-tempo pop with hints of alternative rock thrown in for good measure, and their first full-length album hosts music that has managed to win over the MTV audience and has also been featured on shows like Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy.

'Over My Head (Cable Car)', the band's biggest hit, is by far the best moment of the album. Title track 'How To Save A Life' is strong on melody, and has powerful lyrics influenced by vocalist Isaac Slade's experience as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. Songs like the more upbeat 'She Is' and 'All At Once' are catchy and enjoyable, while tracks like the mellower 'Trust Me' and 'Heaven Forbid' are easy on the ears and manage to captivate the listener. But where the album fails is in the quadrants of variety and originality. Isaac Slade's vocal delivery shows little variation from song to song, and most of the tracks on the album make you wonder if you've already heard them before.

So, yes, the band knows how to put together a melody, but loses points on originality, and even that wouldn't have been such a bad thing had the entire album not sounded like the same song over and over again. While tracks like 'Over My Head' and 'All At Once' have the potential of getting stuck in your mind, you'll have to listen to the album a couple of times before you can tell the songs apart. That said, if you like melodic slow rock, then you probably won't mind the monotony. Each song by itself isn't half bad; it's just that put together, the disk fails to offer anything new or different, and comes off as average at best.

- By S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 27th October, 2006

And then there were eight...

cover story
Poor Pluto had always been the odd one out – it was just too little, too far away, and unfortunate enough to share its name with a Disney cartoon character. Still, we’d embraced it as one of our own, accepting it as a member of the planetary family despite its small size and eccentric orbit. But the evil scientist people had other plans, and after more than seven decades of being listed as a planet, little Pluto was demoted to the position of (gasp!) a dwarf planet. Now, textbooks will need revision. Star charts and universe displays will need adjustment. And pro-Pluto groups might have to resort to therapy. All this because of a few hundred guys and their rather silly decision.


Astronomy

“Personally, I don't think there's intelligent life on other planets. Why should other planets be any different from this one?” - Bob Monkhouse

Astronomy, the study of celestial objects, is one of the oldest sciences, and continues to fascinate humankind for many reasons: it helps us in understanding mysteries like the nature of the universe and its contents; it attempts to find the answers to queries, like the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe; it is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in areas of discovery and observation; it opens the door to an intriguing world, showing us where we stand in the grand scheme of things; and, most importantly, it gives rich countries an excuse for wasting billions of dollars. The science has come a long way from its naked-eye observation and prediction days, and scientific advances have led to more data about the universe, primarily focusing on our cosmic neighbourhood.


Planets
“After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say, ‘I want to see the manager’.”- William S. Burroughs

Comprising of planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets, interplanetary dust, and the star known as the Sun, the Solar System can be defined as the portion of the universe under the gravitational influence of the Sun, which might be just an ordinary star with respect to the rest of the universe, but to our Earth, this fiery ball of hot gas helps to support almost all life on the planet, while serving as a brand name for everything from newspapers and tabloids to TV channels and cable services, and providing a source of income to the nice folks who make sunscreen.

For centuries, planets (planet: Greek word for ‘wanderer’) were simply objects that moved in the sky with respect to the background of fixed stars, and for decades, just as sure as we were of the facts that there are twenty-four hours in a day, twelve signs of the zodiac, and seven dwarfs who gave refuge to Snow White, we’d known that our Solar System was home to nine planets.

- Nine
“Not only do we not understand the universe, if someone explained it to us, we wouldn't know what he was talking about.” - Isaac Asimov

Since the discovery of Pluto in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, the Solar System was considered to have nine planets, typically subdivided into the inner terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), and the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). While some planets were discovered by sightings and telescopes, others were discovered as a result of calculations rather than observations, and since the start of the space age, a great deal of exploration has been performed by unmanned space missions and landings. It was the calculations, however, that would give science fiction writers something to harp on about.

- Ten

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” - Carl Sagan

For all anyone knew, the tenth planet, a.k.a. Planet X, a.k.a. Persephone, a.k.a. Proserpina, a.k.a. (insert whatever name you want here), might have been nothing more than a figment of our collective imagination, but it sure added some zing to those otherwise zing-less astronomy lessons. From measurements to myths, astronomers and the general public alike had speculated the existence of a tenth planet for many decades. Believed to be a fifth gas giant beyond the orbit of Neptune according to a hypothesis first put forth in the late 19th century, Planet X was intended to explain perceived anomalies in the orbits of the outer planets, especially those of Uranus and Neptune. But the discrepancies were largely resolved by more accurate calculations and caused the anomalies to vanish without the need for an extra planet, hence ending any chances for the success of the ‘Planet X for planetary presidency’ campaign. (The said campaign, however, was bound to fail anyway, as it never really existed in the first place.)

The discovery of the Kuiper belt, which is a vast population of icy objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune, led the nerdy types that make up the astronomical community to speculate that some other Pluto-like object might be awarded the tenth planet title. But the astronomers needed to do something else first: agree on a scientific definition of the word ‘planet’, and that’s what started the chain of not-so-eventful events that let to little Pluto getting kicked off the planet list.

- Twelve

“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” - Douglas Adams

In recent years, the discovery of new bodies, which are comparable to Pluto in terms of size and orbit, led to a situation where “either the minor bodies would be added to the list of officially recognized planets, or older ones would need to be removed in order to ensure consistency”. The need to categorize and name the recently-discovered bodies, and probably because the members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) had run out of things to argue over, ultimately resulted in proposals to redefine the term ‘planet’.

The IAU met in August 2006 in Prague, and initially proposed a definition according to which any body that had “sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape, and is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet” was to be considered as a planet. This definition would have led to the number of planets going up to twelve with the inclusion of three celestial bodies: Ceres, Charon, and 2003 UB313. The more the merrier, you’d think, but the proposed redefinition was criticized as ambiguous and did not make the final cut, and a further revision of the definition resulted in the number of planets being cut down to eight.

- Eight
“I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.” - Jack London

The final definition, as passed by the IAU on the 24th of August read:
“The IAU...resolves that planets and other bodies in our Solar System be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:
(1) A "planet" is a celestial body that:
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and
(c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that:
(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape,
(c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and
(d) is not a satellite.
(3) All other objects except satellites orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as "Small Solar System Bodies".”

Pluto fails to meet the third condition (1c) – its highly elliptical orbit overlaps with that of Neptune – thus concluding it’s reign as a planet and ending up in the dwarf planet category. The pro-Pluto folks, however, say that no planet ever fully clears its orbit. What did poor Pluto ever do to those IAU people? And is it not our responsibility to stand up for those who are smaller and weaker than us, etc. etc.? Although, to be fair to the IAU committee, debates on the whole “clearing its orbit” issue have since clarified that the term refers to the “process that happened during the formation of the planets, and does not talk about the presence of bodies that later strayed into the orbit after the accretions took place.” Oh well.


Controversy
“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

So Pluto was voted off. The IAU had spoken. But the announcement resulted in a considerable amount of bickering and astronomer backlash. Many astronomers had been unable to make the trip to Prague and, thus, cast a vote, and the orchestration of the final vote came under criticism within hours of the announcement because of the lack of participation from conference participants. Apparently, the final vote was taken on the last day of the 10-day conference, after many participants had left or were preparing to leave; of over 2,700 astronomers who attended the conference, only 424 remained on the last day. Why everyone had been in such a hurry to leave, I’ll never understand.

Only a week after the conference, astronomers who were dissatisfied with the new definition and the resulting Pluto demotion, launched a campaign to have the decision reversed. Currently, many petitions exist online asking the IAU for reinstatement, and it remains to be seen whether anything will come about as a result of the protests by Pluto well-wishers.


Impact

“The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don't have a space program, it'll serve us right!” - Larry Niven, quoted by Arthur Clarke

How fair is it to tell a planet 76 years after it's been discovered that ‘hey, we’ve changed our minds, we aren’t calling you a planet anymore’? The decision to strip Pluto of it’s planet title has raised quite a few issues about humankind’s prejudices and discriminations, and has led to efforts to protect the little ones from insults hurled against them by the inhabitants of a somewhat larger lump of rock.

And the rights of small cold gaseous planets aren’t the only cause for concern here. Up until a few weeks ago, Clyde Tombaugh’s ashes (which are being carried on the New Horizons spacecraft) were traveling towards a planet. The ashes are now heading towards a dwarf planet. I guess it would be safe to assume that he won’t be too pleased about this.

Other than that, you will have, by now, realized that distant planet-like-bodies don’t make for particularly interesting dinning-table conversation. And whether we like the decisions or not, it looks like we will all have to put up with “if it looks like a planet and orbits like a planet and has moons like a planet, then it must be a duck” jokes for quite some time to come.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 15th September, 2006

Get Behind Me Satan

album review

Album: Get Behind Me Satan

Band: The White Stripes

This garage-rock duo earned mainstream recognition with their minimalist approach to blues-rock in the form of their breakthrough album 'White Blood Cells' and it's critically acclaimed follow up 'Elephant', rehashing the sound that they offered in their self-titled debut, and second set 'De Stijl'. After four records, you'd be inclined to believe that you know what The White Stripes are all about. But if 'Blue Orchid' - the first single from their fifth album - had you fooled into thinking that the Stripes plan to stick to their tried and tested formula in 'Get Behind Me Satan', then you're in for a surprise. The album might have the same roots, but it branches into something that's totally different from their previous releases.

'Get Behind Me Satan' sees The White Stripes trade their predominantly guitar-and-drum-reliant style for piano-driven melodies, and shows the band experimenting on a whole new canvas. And the results are extremely interesting, to say the least. There might not be a 'Seven Nation Army' or 'Fell In Love With A Girl' on this album, but the chart success of songs like 'My Doorbell' and 'The Denial Twist' has proved that Jack and Meg White haven't lost any of their red, white and black charm.

The album finds betrayal and loneliness running through as the main theme, and retains the band's credibility while showcasing their newfound versatility. There's the Led Zeppelin reminiscent 'Instinct Blues', the bluegrass-tinged 'Little Ghost' (which doesn't come as much of a surprise seeing Jack's work on the 'Cold Mountain' soundtrack and on Loretta Lynn's 'Van Lear Rose'), and the piano-based ballad 'I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)'.

'Passive Manipulation' features Meg on lead vocals and seems to end almost before it starts, although one can (quite convincingly) argues that thirty seconds of Meg's singing are more than enough. 'Forever for Her (Is Over For Me)' goes to show that the marimba can indeed be used to good effect. And even though the absolute randomness of parts of 'The Nurse' might make it sound like a recording session gone wrong, but it is, nonetheless, one of the best songs on the record, and perfectly captures the feel of the entire album: it's raw, it's different, at times it's nothing short of strange; yet, it's weirdly pleasant and doesn't fail to capture the attention of the listener.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 4th August, 2006