Rich Kids in the Pakistan Metal Scene
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(This post is written, partly, as a reaction to this video I watched on Facebook)
Pakistani society is intriguing, most obviously, pertaining to our perspective on our respective roles that define it. There is little likelihood that you are going to move up the food chain without you having your daddy throwing away some serious bank. WE are a tribal civilization where respect and social well-being are associated with how loaded one’s pocket is. The Law is distorted, ad nauseum. Absolutely every civil institution, without the exclusion of the noble Government and the Army, of course, is corrupt as fuck. You can erase your crimes, your sins, evade punishment including all accountability – you can BUY your way out – if you allow the money to do the talking. Your life is trivial and you contribute nothing of substance to the ecosystem if you lack money.
I must acknowledge I tackled the first few lines very homosexually but you cannot possibly understand what it feels like when the oppressor alluded to above, begins to hijack the Metal Scene. All the previously described features of our society are similarly deeply reflected in a segment of the Pakistani Metal Scene, most undisguisedly, in the shape of rich kids. Heavy Metal is rooted in bored working class teenagers trying to outlet some of the bottled up frustration that they found difficult to release through any conventional media. Pay mind to the deliberate mention of the social status of the Forefathers of Metal. They were people with little or no means. They had to work their way to the acclaimed position of artistic nirvana. I do not intend to classify the entire metal scene as snot-nosed and obscenely wealthy fucks but those that are should donate part of their wealth to the President so he can have his manhood repaired.
You obviously cannot fully appreciate Metal unless you are a middle-class individual for Metal is the anti-thesis of what a rich person denotes. The following is generally the case; metal is about subject matter and a mindset which most people refuse to accept; problems with a capitalist society, the unreliability of authority figures in that society, the consequences of hedonism, the idea that everything isn’t exactly hunky-dory etc. It is the rich who have employed religion, money and the media to control us and they are the ones telling us everything is ok which – pay attention here – is the exact opposite of what Metal discusses in terms of lyrical content. The rich playing Heavy Metal is tantamount to an Industrialist complaining about the hike in the price of Aik Kilo Aallo.
We must not, however, turn a blind eye to how expensive instruments are here. You are only on the safe side when you have your daddy funding your musical propensities. WE do have people who manage just fine without their daddies but their spotlight is being hogged by these daddy-sponsored travesties which is the main object of this post.
Since our scene is relatively infantile and the fact that these rich twat-badgers represent a considerable portion of it, we must take every step necessary to silence this abomination in its infancy. Obviously, being rich and living in a fucking bubble means these diluted cock-monkeys are always detached and never seem to care about what the country is like instead they sing about their visions of a utopian Pakistan where everybody talks with an accent, has indiscriminate butt-sex on the streets and subsists solely on McDonalds. The Metal Scene has started to look like the Fashion Scene because of these little fuckers, which, fundamentally, is a closely-knit cluster-fuck of like-minded misfits who believe their own hype.
Obviously, we know how to make the distinction. Chutya is popularly used to describe such individuals. Shining examples would be the bands Constricted, Restoration and Guantanamo Evasion. Nevertheless, your social status is no determinant and anyone can produce Metal Music. Artistic Honesty is the basic component, though.
Nevertheless, Metal has mysterious ways of filtering out the poseurs.
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June 9th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
[...] This cup of tea was served by: Metal Seinen Blog [...]
June 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2007-weekly/nos-03-06-2007/instep/article4.htm
a relevant article-
June 10th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I’d just like to point out for those who misunderstand – it is not a crime to be a rich kid and like metal. What’s important is artistic honesty which many richsters lack. And being a ‘rich’ kid myself, I can testify to that.
Its a shame how metal in Pakistan is in danger of turning into a commodity for the wealthy and well off. It was always going to find itself into a certain section of society though, considering its a niche product and nothing more, commercially.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
* just wanted to point out that I’m not a richster in the traditional sense of the word. Like Asadulah, I never make my hatred of accented burger kids and rich snobs a secret. I have to deal with those people every day though hahah.
And whoever reads this article – COMMENT and post your opinions! This is the type of article on which we want – no, NEED, opinions.!
June 10th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Very nice article and well written. Though young I really think that the Pakistani metal scene has a lot of promise keep up the good work guys and stay heavy!
June 10th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Well metal scene is not actually for poor people. It’s for everyone either young or old, rich or poor. It depends on what peoples drive and hype to listen to. And it depends to the influence that they brought up to.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Very well written article. Completely agree with it. It would be very sad if these said few bands got big and everyone started eating them up and saying “guitaring aala hai yar” just like what happened when Atif and Jal-like crap got big. And I can definitely see it happening as well, seeing how everyone starts following trends so quickly around here. People would start saying that they love “rock” music without any knowledge of it whatsoever.
An example of this: One day a person in my school was showing off how he can play “Iron Man” on his guitar and how he liked Black Sabbath. I was sitting near him another time and I started to play “Hand of Doom” on my mobile. Without recognizing who the band was, he said “Bhenchod Lun”.
Remember when every person who had touched the guitar could play the short solo on the song “Aadat”? Do we want metal to become like that? It’s quite sad but that’s pretty much how people’s attitude over here towards music is and it would be a shame for these people to be introduced to and start playing metal.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
It would be shame but for a scene to grow it still needs exposure and acceptance- if everyone did start playing iron man tunes then it would represent a greater acceptance..but thats not the topic now is it. xD
June 10th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I would like to point out one thing, do you know that atleast one guy in Orion was a very ‘rich kid’, and they still ended up producing a landmark album in Pakistani metal?
I completely understand what you’re saying about this ‘metal rich kid’ phenomenon, I myself spent 4 years worth of pocket money to buy an Ibanez – buying something the rich kids would just tell their daddy and daddy will take care of it. But, as much as Clifton and Defence are an integral part of Karachi, these rich kids have always been an integral part of the Pakistani metal scene, and have, in many cases, played much part in metal’s promotion in Pakistan.
Its not the rich kids’ fault that they are born in a rich family, so if they have metal tendencies, let them play. Let’s not judge people by who they are, but by their actions.
One thing I must mention is metal has never really been considered ‘cool’ in Pakistan – the guys playing hip-hop beats on their expensive woofers driving a luxury sports car are cool, not us, we are, have been, and always will be labelled as ‘geek’, ‘weirdos’ and ‘outsiders’ and our music as ‘noise’ or ‘noise pollution’. Anyone who was a metalhead before their teens or in their early teens should know that.
But one thing that must end is the divided scene, with the rich kids only promoting their rich friends’ bands. That must end. Complete harmonization of the metal scene will benefit metal in Pakistan as a whole.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Great reply v.fury. I guess this would help clarify issues on all sides- generally helping out the scene.
bury hatchets!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Like Hassan said before, there is nothing wrong with a rich kid liking and playing metal as long as it’s out of genuine love for the genre.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:57 am
it’s the start i’m afraid. now sooner or later geo DAAG or shit like that will seep more and more in the paki metal scene resulting in gr8r poser bands.
however, i agree with the last statement wholly:
“Nevertheless, your social status is no determinant and anyone can produce Metal Music. Artistic Honesty is the basic component, though.”
rich kids have a higher tendency to go the less artistic, more commercial way because their easy access requires less long-term determination, but that doesnt mean that they do not possess the ability to come up with pwn-able stuff. likewise, there are not-so-rich kids who produce mediocre or less music too, and thats simply ignorance.
by far the iron markhor has done a fine job of discovering the much needed talent for the pakistani underground. maybe you guys can make these folks realize that its not just about playing one or two cover songs and thinking they’re the bigshots out there. they need to do their homework.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
ha great artciles and comments…..while im outta touch these days (what witha job and wife and kid to support et al), i know very well what you are talking about…seeing privileged kids being all snotty about metal….but some of them were and are awesome people…..and some dicthed their privileged life to embrace a real rock n roll lifestyle :drugs and violence included…how many of these new wannabees have those kinda balls ?
and some of the best metal and rock in pakistan did come from the middle class……..while some of it came from the rich…but to be honest how many middle class people have the time, exposure and resources to appreciate the subtle nuanaces of drone metal or viking folk metal….for some of them being exposed to bands like metallica /maiden or nirvana is enuff…..
as a kid i had limited budget but hunted down any and everything to do with metal (in karachi it was Scanners – who stocked all kindsa thrash/death and black stuff on pirated tapes)…in isloo it was virgin air and offbeat (who had a catalogue of amazing stuff from the 80’s)…just buying stuff baased on name and instinct
how did i find out about these bands ?…by buying cheap second hand magazines from old book stores…so if there is will there is a way
September 13th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
[...] hun) and he was the perfect example of a kid addicted to the internet with no grasp on reality. Read this article and you can just feel the envy oozing from it. Asad, yaar, don’t be depressed. Go out, [...]