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Why Atif Aslam works

Daniyal Bilgrami July 2, 2007

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#16 Posted by dr_h on July 4, 2007 7:38:21 pm
This is a disgrace. Atif Aslam is a fad that will wear off in no time. His popularity is not unlike the vibe created by Himmesh R. (however his last name is spelled). The sad thing is that either singers` rise to the top suggests continued degradation of quality music in the Indo-Pak sphere. The imitation of Western-style stardom ought to be recognized as a turning point for the subcontinent`s talent pool. We are encouraging losers, yes losers, to dominate while the real talent--the hardworking composers, lyricists, singers, musicians etc. are left abandoned.

This is a direct cause of the damage done by ourselves, as we looked to modernize through embracing Western style--especially the English language--and abondon one of the most beautiful (sister) language(s) Urdu/Hindi. Most of the lyrics coming out these days lack quality, neither the audience nor the performers seem to know that more than just rhymes are required for quality poetry/lyrics.
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#15 Posted by SaimaShah on July 4, 2007 11:36:43 am
Hey Daniyal

--What Atif Aslam has is inexplicable. His voice has existential angst--no doubt as you rightly point out, he seems to know every ache of one`s heart and then some. Kuch Iss Tara is gorgeous. Apna Koi Thikana Nahin is another favourite of mine. His singing is a call to our deepest selves to feel what we spend our lives trying to avoid. The only other singer/song that does that nearly as successfully is A.R. Rahman (how can one forget Maah Tujhe Salaam). Unfortunately technique far too often drowns out soul in Indian music, cinema and art (these days FAR too often), and I hope that Atif Aslam does not get submerged in the `right way`, to lose that spark of genius, that naturalness--which is what music must have been before we invented the `right way`.

S
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#14 Posted by PapuPanwari on July 4, 2007 2:32:05 am
Re: # 12
why you are so upset dude ... ???
Anywayz im not a chowk`s spokesman but on the behalf of chowk I`d like to remind you one thing which is `` At chowk all are welcome to read,write and think !!`` ..
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#13 Posted by s_kewl on July 4, 2007 1:44:26 am
the voice is no doubt gud but he definitely needs riyaz........another thing a ``most wanted`` for his songs is a bunch of professinal song writers.
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#12 Posted by rumpus on July 3, 2007 11:42:38 pm
how sad that a badly written, poorly though out, and a piece without any substance is now making it to Chowk, Talk about a hack PR job! wow. If this piece was supposed to be a musical critique I fail to catch on to it. How was Daniyal have the gall to say mekaal hasan looks like a B-grade act in front of Atif Aslam? Atif Aslam performs a completely different genre of music from the ones he compared him to. Its like comparing apples to oranges. Sure Ali Zafar and he can be compared but why should they? is there some kind of metric he`s using? there`s no way to track record sales in pakistan because of piracy so what yardstick is he using? I`m no fan of either but pieces like this should be on this boy`s blog and not on chowk. this is a sad day for all chowk-walas.
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#11 Posted by bts on July 3, 2007 12:13:30 pm
my question is for chowk editors, who considered this worth publishing; besides having typos, the article presents reasons which only a unicellular specie could figure as arguments.

``As long as pain and depression will remain, Atif Aslam will rule the roost and no matter how peppy Ali Zafar & Co. get, they will not be able to mathc him as the masses suffer from despondence. ``

did you run out of material? or are you seeking atif-aslam-like popularity for the website?

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#10 Posted by scout_new on July 3, 2007 8:57:02 am
the best singer in pakistan right now is Shafqat amanat ali khan

atif`s voice is popular because it`s novel, nasally and loud....nothing wrong with that, we needed it
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#9 Posted by paradox on July 3, 2007 7:39:13 am
No, I am not a fan of Abrar and Hadiqa. Abrar can sing a bit but he has no variation, can sing only punjabi and sings in his nose while trying to hit a high note. Hadiqa is pure nonsense, should not sing at all. Jawad can sing live but still goes off-key from time to time and Sajad ali is the best as far as the technical aspect goes but does not have the best tonal quality.
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#8 Posted by smartsyco on July 3, 2007 4:11:58 am
waste of time .................... with sorry
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#7 Posted by PapuPanwari on July 3, 2007 12:43:54 am
Re: #5
Idk what you are talking about .....
how can one compare apples with oranges .....Jawad Ahmed n Sajjad Ali ....come on man ,
they are like two end of the road ....anywayzzz i think you are among those who like Hadiqa Kiyani and Abrar .....
so no comments ..... contact cliftonbridge for abrar`s n hadiqa`s song
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#6 Posted by Azure on July 2, 2007 8:48:37 pm
Atif Aslam is the suckiest singer in Pakistani pop music history. I don`t know why people like him so much.
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#5 Posted by paradox on July 2, 2007 1:03:32 pm
I dont know what you all are takling about. Ever heard Atif singing live, he is completely off- key all the time. The poor guy is unable to hit a correct note. Live singing is the true test for any vocalist. Only few can sing live these days such as Sajad ali, Jawad ahmad and Shafqat amanat ali khan. Atif aslam should not sing live or better not sing at all.
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#4 Posted by Trauma on July 2, 2007 12:01:26 pm
I think this is so very true about atif.his music really seems aimless sometimes but his songs have a deep feeling of sadness.
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#3 Posted by echoboom on July 2, 2007 7:43:16 am
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#2 Posted by echoboom on July 2, 2007 7:09:59 am
Atif:

Whenever one writes parody, one informs the reader that it is a parody; otherwise one could be charged with plagiarism or claiming someone else`s work as ones own.

You have really done a great job here....NFP, after this, should quit writing and drown himself in the proverbial two-handfuls of water.

good work. write more!

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#1 Posted by PapuPanwari on July 2, 2007 1:32:55 am
hmm intresting ......
papu like ths ..... and u know why atif is so famous in a short span of time because of his marketing strategies ......... and one of his strategy was if u buy a pan than u can get a concert pass and if u buy a packet of cigarette than you can get his signed t-shirt ..... so this thing worked ....
now there is an another offer from PapuPanwari which is valid for life time and exclusively for chowk fellows which is if u buy a sweet pan than u can get an autograph of Atif ......and if you want a mix patti ka pan than u can get a pic of Atif ...... and these pans are free for Neembu ,Cigar ,HP , NFP (as he rox ) , ZEEMAX ,Zeena baji and for PM .
and cliftonbridge plz get aside .... kids not allowed you are too young for ths .
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Interact Index

    #16 dr_h
    #15 SaimaShah
    #14 PapuPanwari
    #13 s_kewl
    #12 rumpus
    #11 bts
    #10 scout_new
    #9 paradox
    #8 smartsyco
    #7 PapuPanwari
    #6 Azure
    #5 paradox
    #4 Trauma
    #3 echoboom
    #2 echoboom
    #1 PapuPanwari

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