The 20 Best Pakistani Pop Songs … ever!

Nice recap Nadeem. Last night I was transferring my collection of Pakistani music CD’s to PC, and went through many of these tracks. It was nostalgic (especially the original version of Aetbaar). Did you find any of the Atish Raj recordings? Thanks.

you did not list any criteria, any mertics, or surveys you conducted that gave you the idea that these are the 20 best pop songs!! So these must be the songs YOU like. Not others.

Where are these songs :

- ``aa kariyae piyaar diaN gullaN``
- ``mannay dee moj``
- ``goray rung ka zamana kabhee ho ga na puraana``

etc etc.

so, what do I do now with your list? shove it?

re: NFP

How can any list of pop songs be complete without the following singles:

1. Dil Dil Pakistan - Vital Signs

Before this song, few people took music bands and young musicians seriously. Every year on yom-e-azaadi, PTV replayed the same songs from the usual suspects. Benjamin Sisters, Alamgir, Shehki, Amanat Ali Khan, Mumtaz, Mehdi Hassan, Nayyara Noor and Noor Jehan told us many many times that we are living on a ``sohni dharti``, that ``ye wattan`` hamara hai, that we need to take ``khayal`` of this wattan, and we better pay homage to the martyrs because ``aye puttar hattan te nahin wikday``. Moreover, we were also told that we are a ``zinda aur paayinda qom``.

To sing a patriotic song, you first had to wear an achkan/sherwani/waist coat over a starched shalwar kameez and also wear a sticker of the Pakistan flag over your heart. The video was recorded in a studio. The singer would either stand straight (no dancing). The choice of instruments was limited to harmonium, sitar, baansri, beenn, dholak and may be a trumpet.

Vital Signs shattered dozens of rules with their Dil Dil Pakistan video. They wore jeans. The played keyboards, guitars and drums. And they shot the video in a park. They rolled around on the grass.

A new era in Pakistani pop was born.

2. Mast Qalandar - Nusrat Fateh

Now this was a really innovative idea. Take a traditional qawwali. Mix it up with slick acoustics and you get a completely new beast. The pop-qawwali album of Nusrat Fateh rocked the pop scene in 1991 and dominated the charts until 1993. It became the ``offical soundtrack`` of Pakistan`s Cricket Team during World Cup 1992.

3. Heer - Junoon

This is one of the greatest instrumentals ever produced in Pakistan. This established Salman Ahmed as Pakistan`s leading guitarist.

4. Jazba Junoon - Junoon

Pakistan`s 1996 World Cup campaign could never have reached that feverish pitch, without this song.

5. Hawa Hawa Ae Hawa - Hassan Jehangir

Listen to the song. It is absolutely marvelous.

Nadeem F. Paracha sahib,

you must believe in ``hum jahan kharay ho jain line waheen say shuroo hoti hai`` thats why no criteria/metrics/genre was used?

i could actually relate to this. . .given that i`ve heard more than a few of these songs.

and yes! how could you leave out the patriotic songs out of what is actually YOUR list of best songs ever? and ever sounds so finite, don`t you think? is it the end of the world as we know it, and have you (and i) seen the last of the best? i already feel that way with american and british rock. *sigh*

oh and will you answer atif miyaN`s last question to you in the affirmative. .and can i watch!!!???

best,
ana

Nadeem -

I`ve been out of touch with Pakistani songs for a while. But I`ve heard a few. And among my most favorites is Lift Karaday by Adnan Sami. This song rocks!

Btw, how can I hear the songs you listed on the internet?

NFP, a very refreshing article for a change. Breath of fresh air amongst the articles on Mullahs and travelogues. Great article!

well written article, BUT, i don`t think that your list is a conclusive one.

For those interested in listening to these songs, visit the following website:

http://www.muziq.net/

Godot

http://www.muziq.net/
http://www.pakistanimusic.com

Nadeem Paracha

I am sure these are your favorite songs but they cant be the best of all time. I dont like vital signs so they wouldnt be on my list or for that matter DrAurBilla or Collage. I can see why you would have Nazia Hassan. You dont have any Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan type songs or folk songs. Regardless its a pretty good list.

I back HISEXELLENCY --
DILL DILL PAKISTAN is one of songs which everyone knows -- there cant be a better song then that in Pakistani Pop History - its a song which everyone knows ; if you go to Thar they would know and if you go anywhere in Pakistan the most common people would remember and with a smile sing the song ..
Jazba Junoon : another awesome song !
how could we all forget a mixture of pop and folk ` Allah Allah ker Bhayaa Allah he say Dar Bhaye-ya `
Hawa Hawa is another master piece ; Yaroo Yehee Dostee Hai by Strings ..purani Jeans aur Guitar by Ali Haider is not that bad as well :P
thinking of these songs reminds me more of Pakistan and Karachi where I went to school and then came in UK for studies ; it reminds me of when I was in class 3 and we sang ` Dil Dil Pakistan` in front of 1000 people :)

Thanks for writing this piece.
Is something better than ``Sar Keay ye Pahar``? I am going to get it right now.
As a teenager, I remember I used to play it at full volume repeatedly;ended up pissing off my father and the neighbourhood uncle; first time both of them agreed upon something.
VS- I like ``yaad karna`` more than ``aitbaar`` bcoz of what u say floydic overtones.guitaring in VS is superb as compared to the singing which though spirited, is ok types.Two more VS favorites are ``Ajnabi`` and ``Yaarian`` , which was plagiarised by Anu Malik.And I also rememeber pondering abt going to Pakistan on hearing.. ``amreeka ke na japan ke..``.
Wonder why VS were not launched in India.Ali Haider,I think is more popular in India than in Pakistan.Jeans used to be a cult song and I think still is.Sajjad Ali did cover versions of Hindi film songs and it is because of him that I discovered some great Hindi movie numbers. I think he is the best singer of the Pakistani pop scene.Nazia Zoheb and Hadiqa were are quite popular in India.Hadiqa,I think has a good voice which suits all genres.And ``Boohebarian`` is simply out of this world.Hasan Jahangir(HAwa HAwa...we used to sing this song when somebody farted :-)) was actually quite popular in India.Was he not that popular in Pakistan?
Do you follow Indian Pop?Actually if you take punjabi dance remix out then there is not much left in the mainstream but Silk Route is really really good specially the first album ``Boondein``. I dont care about the film playback singers turned pop stars..they are mostly trash..like you might call ``carbonated music``.I
And can someone please write about the Ghazal singers?

ah, one of the front page eye-catchers (not this one) once again is stirring up the pot, and still no sign of cactus gas. what is up with that?!? :)

Nice to see you take a break from that surreal stuff on religion, capitalism and all. I love them but this has proven that NFP can take life lightly as well. :)
I do not agree with the list but people will notice because it is by Pakistan`s finest and
most respected and of course feared music critics. Keep surprizing us.

No mr/ms.nass, NFP can be anything but light. agreed he is pakistan`s ace music critic
but this is old news. him blooming into a wicked short story writer was the most awesom
thing that could have happned.
And this list is deffinately his personal views but I agree people and mostly
musicians will take note because it is by none other than nadeem farooq paracha
the man they love to hate but jus cant ignore.

Thank You NFP

There are two types of people, the song you mention are from a genre, where some of those detractors who are questioniong your list do not belong to or have any emotional connections to. I mean some of these nuts are asking you to put Adnan Sami, Lift Karaday in the list, have they lost the point or what.

DIL DIL PAKISTAN was a great song of the moment, but musically it was never a masterpiece. Like Yeh Sham or Aitebar.

Hawa Hawa again rid the storm of popularity on a particular moment and then disappeared.

For me Personally, Sar Kiyay Pahar would probably be the number 1 Song coming out of Pakistan. Infact Strings have never again produced a song of such calibre and intensity. But than as NFP would say, there is something about Corporate Sponsorship and the creative gulf between a talented band and a commerically successful band.

Rgds

Wajahat

These songs can definately be classified as the most popular songs ever because no one can get enough of them. But isn`t the tune of Ham Kinaray Par Kharay Hain by Sajjad Ali a rip off? Heard Channo`s music was too.

Cheaters enjoying the credit that others deserve.