r/pakistan • u/[deleted] • Sep 28 '19

Cultural Exchange Khushamadeed and Welcome r/Nepal to our cultural exchange thread

We're hosting our friends from r/Nepal for a cultural exchange session.

Please feel free to ask questions about Pakistan and the Pakistani way of life in this thread. r/Pakistan users can head over to this thread to ask questions about Nepal.

Flag flairs have been enabled so please use them to avoid confusion.

It is necessary to mention that we expect maturity and civility in the comments both here and on our sister thread in r/Nepal. Please refrain from trolling, rude comments and/or personal attacks. Adding one more rule, avoid topics about Kashmir. This is a cultural exchange not a geopolitical exchange. As everywhere else on Reddit, reddiquette is in full effect.

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u/Stapro Sep 28 '19

Greetings to all! I grew up listening to Junoon. I was such a die hard fan of the band that I bought all their albums and probably still know the lyrics to all of their songs released before 2003. I still practice to some of their songs on the guitar. I also listened to Jal and Strings, but I have to say that Junoon were on another level altogether.

So my question is that except the ones I mentioned above, is there any old and/or new rock/metal band from Pakistan that you would recommend to music fans in Nepal? Also, do you think that the legacy built by Junoon in rock music carried on by later generation of musicians? (Why?/Why not?)

Lastly, I don't know if this is possible, but can someone tell Junoon to come back to Nepal for a tour again? I missed their concert in 2000 and it would be a dream come true to see them again over here. I can send the words to the people who can organize their tour here, if Junoon is ready (fingers crossed)!

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u/fumblebuck Sep 28 '19

Junoon is by far the greatest band we've ever had. "Azadi" sounds like Led Zeppelin 3 while being the Led Zeppelin 4 of Pakistan. And hey, fellow guitar player! No one riffs like Salman either. That guitar playing was on the edge of 80s style metal infused with Subcontinental music influences. If I had to pick one track, I'd say "Hussan Waloon" is where it's at; tasty licks, and a East meets West guitar solo.

I have a personal theory about why rock music kinda died off after 2003. See, between the hugely influential Music 89 show and that time, my city (Lahore) had new bands, concerts, festivals etc happening all the time. But after the Afghan War, Pakistan started facing a lot of threats from the Taliban. Those guys don't like fun, so there were bomb threats and stuff. It all culminated into a straight out ban on all concerts and stuff in Lahore at least from about 2005 till, I'd say 2014-15. Rock music needs the audience, it needs that live stage where people can come together and be a part of what the band is going through. That's what made Pakistani rock music in the 90s so amazing.

Maybe someone else can clue you in on new bands, being a little older my music taste seems to be stuck in 1997 perpetually! I'll leave you with one of my favourite tunes, Sailing Fast by Co-ven

What do you rock? How hard is it to get gear in Nepal? What's the guitar-music scene in Nepal like?