By Mohammad
A. Qayyum
Blasphemy perhaps. But then again no band deserves to become what Junoon has become: an institution unto itself. And as one erstwhile band-member of another institutionalized band once famously said, ‘I am too young, too good, to be in an institution.’ He checked out. So too, I propose must Junoon. Junoon MUST split up.
Over the last few years, it been sad to note a general decline in the quality of Junoon’s work. The decline has been palpable and of late Junoon has become a sad parody of itself, going through the motions and working by a formula. While they seem more interested in making high profile appearances and performances and videos, their music has mostly stagnated and simply become boring. Their last album Ishq is a point on fact. For a band which has been at the vanguard of musical development in the country, they only remain the major Pakistani music act primarily by default. There is sadly no other band on the scene to challenge them. Strings are too soft rock, the solo artists too commercial-minded to incorporate any substance. So Junoon remain king of the hill, and extremely boring.
What is
most sad is that before Ishq they
seemed to have turned a corner. Parvaz
for my money was the strongest album they ever put out (if not, it gave
a good run to their first eponymously named album for the title which was exuberant
and fresh). The first half of the album was brilliant. Their appropriation
of Baba Bhulley Shah’s kalam
was masterful (even though the song bearing the Baba’s name was not). Matti showed remarkable maturity and Pyar Bina was fabulous.
Sajna showed off Ali Azmat’s chops at songwriting and surprisingly was rather good.
Then came the horrid Ishq, one album too many in the same vein. Is the album really that bad? Well consider their single Saqi Name off the album. Notice the similarity in intros to Heer and Saqi Nama? Not a coincidence - Mr. Salman Ahmad’s well of riffs seems to have well and truly run dry. Saqi nama is Junoon by the numbers. One meandering solo intro, grab one national poet, add a galloping tabla, layer an acoustic guitar on top, have Ali sing. Maybe have Brian add bass-lines. Boom ! A track done. Get hold of regular trendy video maker. Have him make trademark video. Maybe do this again for next album. Mint money. Forgive me, but what pap ! Even the cheap Chori Chori and Meray Pas Aaja were better than this. At least they had a sense of discovery and a fair degree of exuberance attached to them. The motto of the band seems to have become: Take the money and run. All their recent moves make commercial sense, but have little artistic merit.
What is painfully clear is that the Junoon juggernaut is today a great marketing act, a well-oiled machined, but the J magic is well and truly missing. Once upon a time U2 was faced with the same predicament. After the majestic Joshua Tree, they made one record too many in the same vein. Rattle & Hum was an extremely earnest album, yet even the most enthusiastic U2 supporters found it too much and thought it U2 by the numbers. Even U2 themselves thought so. So they reinvented themselves. They had the class to come up with the fabulous Achtung Baby album. Junoon should change. Personally I think they are not capable of that, and so they should just simply break up.
Or may they should just take a break. Do solo projects. Rumors have been rife that Ali Azmat has been working on solo material for ages. Perhaps, now is the time that he cuts the umbilical cord and strikes out by himself for a bit. Perhaps, though, this is too much to ask. Music is a business. And let us see how long Mr. Azmat, Ahmad & O’Connel continue to milk this cash cow.
One last word. I showed this article to my kid brother who put parts of it on the Junoon website for comments on the ideas therein. Much to my amusement, the Junoon management wrote in as follows:
Isn't it just a sad sign of
the level of psychological impact colonialism and orientalism
has taken on our collective consciousness that at the very moment Junoon is making a huge impact on the International &
American airwaves, with CNN, BBC, NBC, Billboard, New York Times, Village
Voice, etc. all praising and featuring Junoon at
the same time, someone could say that the band is finished? Its
tragic really. I mean, as the band's manager, I'm obviously biased. But can
you argue the fact that VH1 is doing a documentary on this band? Do you think
that would be the case if this band was "drying up", as the author
is trying to argue? How far can jealousy and envy take you? This band has
always taken its personal successes and converted them for Pakistanis everywhere.
Why do I get a feeling that this article came from somebody at the The News newspaper? Why don't you have the guts to name yourself?
(emphasis added)
The
personal agendas that comsume us collectively arrest
our development. But time heals all wounds, and I see a great vision for our
future.
(from: http://www.desihome.org/jforum/topic.asp?whichpage=1&ARCHIVEVIEW=&TOPIC_ID=2035)
The management's comment seems to quite simply prove my point. Sanctimonious, self-important and paranoid to a P. Junoon seems to have become that too. Pity.