Question Authority

I really didnt understand the point of this article...was it to illustrate that the youths of today vent their frustrations by head-banging to rock? was it that local rock bands are leading the ``question-authority-revolution``? or was it just to promote a rock band that the author is seemingly a huge fan of?

judging by the lyric quotes, the website URL, etc .... me thinks its option c ;)

Seven years back there was a supposed ``undergroud revolution``, thats when I took up guitar, but it died off eventually. Lets be careful this time.

Dear Saba, restrictions and suppression of individualistic thought is something the youth from the ``non-elite`` schools can relate to, probably more than you can, yet theyre generally not a part of the underground culture. Where are we wrong?

The non comformist feelings probably die out with age, let the players change but the game must remain. Can it create an uprising from the roots of the society, and go on to be more than just abstract headbanging to something constructive?

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

#46 alismo

You`ve been listening to too much eminem apparently. and much though you may be smitten I tell you Rupaul isn`t good for you either.

#45 shades

It`s all about the mind, isn`t it? The shadier, the more frustrated

We have seen enough head banging eunuchs in our time to know they are what they are...

How`s that for lack of profundity

#44 Alismo:
Stop hitting on the girl.

And its not about love, its about frustrations.............

Saba

I wish you were 25.

Its all about love babeh...

Meanwhile I go and beat the crap out of that hippie outside my door

Alright
I want to thank Saminasha and Sac for their discourse on music.You`re right when you say that Junoon was the first band to sing on other themes than the ``i love u-you love me`` or ``i love u-why dont you love me`` themes.But Junnoon slowly and painfully turned into a corporate rock band, singing praises of the simplicity of the Sufis ans singing praises of the Great Cola Company that shelled out big bucks for their logo to appear everywhere.
Repression is necessary for questioning authority, but doesnt anyone here believe that repression may be present in every class of society? And just because I mentioned I study in an elite busines college does not necessarily mean that I am part of the elite itself.And another point which I want to highlight is that the new generation of teenagers, do have morals.We arent all decadent feudals living on the blood of peasants.Some of us do have morals, do question the authoritaive powers that have made our society into a mockery of human rights and values.
The world we live in today doesnt let teengers just have fun-when idealistic dreams are shattered by the realism of life, thats the moment you stop becoming a fun loving person.
Question authority.If someone tries to give us a message we can relate to, we follow it.The Pied Piper-esque effect.Just so happens to be that we all have some authoritative powers to rebel against, whether they be our peers/teachers/parents or just the mainstream section of society

Glad to read about up and coming Pakistani bands.
Exactly why anyone in authority should feel threatened by them is what is not clear.

Sac,
Abida Begum can sing ``my shoelace is untied`` as long as she keeps divining that spirit that makes her voice send chills up and down our spines...girl`s got soul in her split ends even...

Has anyone heard a group called Abstract Humanity? Check em out at www.abstracthumanity.com...they play their own instruments and sample and they are like, 17 years old...plus they come from Staten Island, so I can def. feel their pain...

re: Hiphop

How is it that hiphop spoke to so many? What are some of the themes that Chuck D, Rakim, Micheal Franti are/were addressing? Also, for the sistas, check out Sarah Jones at www.sarahjones.com for a very interesting counterpoint to booty rap.

Samina, Stuka, Drumz,
Fair points, people! I agree with y`all.

Righty then, Saba. Let me add my chavanni…

Reading this article and how `at day time I`m Clark Kent but at night the beast in me awakes and I become Super Spliff straight outta the ganja express commuting from the skunk station and taking the Tweed train,` made me smile. Ah, the innocent days when I had shoulder length hair and everyone called me Simba and Tarzan and that smell of teen spirit at Glastonbury…oh, and how I used to leave only one tissue in someone`s loo roll…oh the laughs we had…

This, I felt, was a sweet article…verging on the cute and hell, even adorable. I wanted to say `aw` and clutch Black entity`s jowl and give it a good squeeze between my thumb and index finger…that`s right - a good little squeeze - as the black man chatted in his `innit, dem, tings and dat` lingo. And entity dude, what`s with the new voice and new generation. Are you like part of the Pepsi generation or something?

And Qawwali is meant to be crap…err hello? Granted, the stuff I hear coming out of those paanvaale teeth (Scout should give `em free treatments) is rubbish and I know, Sabri, Nusrat and Aziz Mian are dead but still, come on. With all due offence, Urdu is too damn sophisticated to be rocked up and the guys end up sounding puffy. And that nursery rhyme about time and promises and what have you, I wouldn’t lullaby that $hit to my nephew.

Saying that, I was interested to hear of these rock bands and thanks for the link. Will definitely check it out though I think after listening to the ancient Guns n` Roses` Civil War and Double Talkin` Jive, I`ll never give any other rock band that respect.

I think it`s highly unfair that we ask Saba to go to Edhi or whoever else. For all we know, Saba`s the next best thing since sliced bread. Not trying to be patronising but saba`s 17 and I think at that age we all have similar attitudes and outlooks on life. With time we all develop and this development continues right until the day we die.

All youths have fire in their belly at that sort of an age and I`m sure the author is a good example of that. What differentiates the true fire starter from the fire crackers is whether that same passion is there when they are 26, 39, 53, have three children, a mortgage to pay and so on and so forth. One thing confused me. At one point the author is questioning authority via banging her head and at the other end she`s listening to Rock music so that she may get rid of her frustration. If one really wants to question authority, doesn’t the venting of frustration in such a careless manner deflate the desire to question authority? I`m not talking about the band over here. They are obviously in control of their frustration because they`re channelling it in a creative direction but I talk of the youths and there are millions of them who do exactly this: drugs, sex and rock n` roll are damn good fun but I don’t think they equip you better to question that authority. They may give you that illusion but on the contrary, it`s a neutralising force.

This sounds over the top but I would have thought that to question authority, you need a little well of frustration and inspiration. To frustrate oneself, one needs to repress to a certain degree. To repress effectively, one needs a strong character and strong walls and when the pressure builds up, you punch a little hole and channel your frustration in a positive manner. Biology lesson for you: it`s like a mitochondrion in your cell that holds back a reservoir of hydrogen ions on one side of the membrane. The drive for all the hydrogen ions to cross the membrane and disperse themselves on the other side is very strong but this drive is repressed. But the mitochondrion opens pores on this membrane where this process can occur and when this process is coupled to a beneficial reaction, we see that something good like energy is produced. A macro example would be water dams.

And I think true rebels are those who rebel against the rebels themselves, if you know what I mean. You`ll never hear any pierced up person say that they love Abba.

And finally, Saba, you`re fcuking 17 years old, for Christ`s sake. Just have fun!

Keep rocking and thanks for the article.

Umer M.

Pop is doing quite well in Pakistan, but Rap and Rock, i dont think so,,,may be to some areas of Clifton and Defence or Blue Area....it has to be good music, if its good it will find its way,,,,same thing happned when Alamgir, Nazia Zoheb started in pakistan, all big name were against them,,,,but now they all r turning to pop style music,,,,all classical are doing remixes these days,,,,,,the biggest example is of Nusrat Fateh,,,,,,,,untill Peter Gabrial turned his music in popular style, no one care to listen his amazing Qawalis. Its now more about music rather then lyrics etc.
Ali Haider`s purani jeans and Abrar`s Billo day ghar are good examples.

elite youth expressing its frustration by rock.....by the way what frustration they have?

i`d love to see more popular music acts emerge and take over the light from Junoon.

abida parveen etc. have their own place. lets see how the new youth can mirror the feelings of youth and sing them.

Umer:

``Rock was/is also the music of the racist man and even today various fascist nazi groups hold little rock gigs telling the foreigner to go home. ``

There`s supremacist rock but that`s not all there is. You would not classify Green Day as racist though it is rock.

Sac,

Have you noticed have quickly hiphop was co-opted from social commentary and economic critiques (Public Enemy, Spearhead, BDP) and somehow become all about the booty and the Benjamins? All those powerful voices got shoved to the margins by Will Smith, Eminem and the likes-its the commodification and co-option of a flexible genre that allowed so much creativity and social action-so that any kid anywhere can relate to the message: buy Nikes and and women are bitches...

Umer: No form of Music is not owned by one ideology. There are numerous rock groups which actively challenged racism. From the Beatles to Rage Against the Machine.

Same goes for Hip Hop. Numerous artists give a lot of proceeds to political activities in palestine, support for columbine victims, concerts to free tibet etc, yet these are never noticed by the system.

Its all good, i dont care if we use kerosene or gasoline, as long as we BURN this mutha DOWN.