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Pakistan’s wave of protest rock Can activist-minded music shared online galvanise a movement for change across Pakistan? The Stream - Pakistan's wave of protest rock http://youtu.be/og9YKL0d0j4
Can activist-minded music shared online galvanise a movement for change across Pakistan? Pakistani bands Laal (“Red”) and Beygairat Brigade (“Dishonour Brigade”) recently released political songs on the internet criticising extremism, corruption and political opportunism. The Kominas, a Pakistani-American punk band, last year also released a song called “Sharia Law in the U.S.A.” Beygairat Brigade’s song “Aalu Anday” (“Potato Egg”) satirises that country’s political system, and has already received more than 300,000 views on YouTube. In the video, band members are dressed as schoolboys complaining about their potato-and-egg curry lunches while taking jabs at Pakistan’s politicians, military establishment, and extremists. Their name satirises the “Gairat Brigade,” a group of media commentators who appear regularly on mainstream Pakistani television. Laal, the Pakistani band known for supporting protest movements in Pakistan, recently performed at an Occupy Lahore protest event inspired by the U.S.-based Occupy Wall Street movement. Critics of the establishment in Pakistan have been growing increasingly disappointed in what they say is a culture of corruption among the political elite, and reform-minded youth are speaking out against the rise of extremists. Imran Khan, a politician and former cricket star, recently held a rally in Lahore to encourage a civil disobedience campaign against political elites accused of misusing public funds. Organisers say half a million attended the rally, many of them students or young professionals. Basim Usmani of The Kominas will join the show in studio, and Taimur Rahman, member of the band Laal, will join the conversation via Skype from Lahore. Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream. These are some highlights of the conversation happening online. Beygairat Brigade, which means “dishonorable brigade,” is a new Pakistani band that released a song called 'Aalu Anday' satirising the political system in Pakistan. Only released last week, the video has become an internet sensation.
Their name is a play off the 'Gairat Brigade,' the news pundits and commentators that appear on mainstream Pakistani television.
Laal, a Communist Pakistani band known for supporting protest movements in Pakistan, recently released a song, “Dehshatgardi Murdabad” or “Death to Terrorism,” which directly criticises extremism and the politics of opportunism in Pakistan. The Kominas - Sharia Law in the U.S.A. http://youtu.be/NrypdueIJew
Uploaded by KutayKaminey on May 22, 2010
Video: Excerpt from The Day I Became a Woman (2000)
Sharia Law in the U.S.A. is a single from The Kominas' debut album, 'Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay'. Video edited by Imran Ali Malik
http://www.komin.as
“Alu Anday” means potatoes and eggs, a very common meal in Pakistan. The music video begins rather innocuously with three boys in school uniform complaining about their dreary “aalu-anday” lunch and their dreams of eating chicken with fancy bread. But slowly the video morphs into a visual critique of Pakistani politicians and generals.
Laal - Dehshatgardi Murdabad (Death to Terrorism) http://youtu.be/y57elLCPFQ4
Uploaded by redpak2000 on Oct 25, 2011 Also visit 'Laal against Extremism' http://criticalppp.com/archives/59688 Many people consider religious extremism to be, merely, a spontaneous response to drone strikes and NATO occupation of Afghanistan. The reality is very different. In fact, the CIA and the ISI deliberately planted religious extremism to fight communism during the Cold War. The truth is that the CIA and the ISI are responsible for the death and destruction we see in Pakistan today.
Directed by: Taimur Rahman
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The Streem ... AlJazeera English
Uploaded by AJstream on Nov 3, 2011 |
| The text being discussed is available at http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/pakistan%E2%80%99s-wave-protest-rock |
