A horribly edited and mangled version of this letter was originally published in the print issue of The Express Tribune. However, they were able to rectify it and publish it in its original form online. It can be read here: http://tribune.com.pk/story/1287542/open-letter-salman-ahmad-former-junooni/
Dear Mr. Ahmad,
Dear Mr. Ahmad,
For the love of music, Junoon, and all that is holy, please
stop singing, recording, and rereleasing old Junoon songs and stop calling
yourself Junoon altogether. You are ruining the songs and the legacy of the
band for all of us. Forever.
Let me begin by saying that I am one of the earliest and
biggest Junoon fans. I was 13 years old when Junoon came out and I vividly remember buying that cassette tape
from a small music shop in Nazimabad #4. I remember being ecstatic to hear the
distorted guitar riff of “Chori Chori” and also a bit uneasy when my parents
asked me in a disapproving tone what I was listening to. That is when I knew I
was going to be a Junooni, an instant rebel, listening to the first Pakistani
rock band on my cassette player. I literally broke that tape in the coming
months, listening to it day in and out; although I do admit that I would
fast-forward the two tracks “Game of Chance” and “Downtown Princess,” mostly
because they were sung in English and also because they sounded way off
compared to what the rest of the album was about. I had just started to learn
the guitar at the time and “Heer” was one of the first songs I starting
playing. You were a hero for me; a prolific Pakistani electric guitar player
who was mixing Eastern scales into his rock solos. I was mesmerized, especially
by “Sunn.” What a song!
Next came Talaash. I
remember getting the album free with a tube of Colgate toothpaste, even though
it was not the complete album. It only had six songs, I believe, but it had
“Talaash,” “Heeray,” and “Woh,” which are still to this day some of my favorite
Junoon songs. By the time Inquilaab was
released, I was older and was regularly attending your concerts in Karachi like
a true Junooni, going wild on songs like “Saeen,” “Husan Walon,” and “Mera
Mahi.” You guys used to play at the Bahria Auditorium on Karsaz every weekend,
sometimes on both Thursday and Friday nights (because Friday and Saturday used
to be off and Sunday was a working day then), and I would be there, standing in
the front, rocking out to your songs every week, sometimes on both nights.
Junoon once played at the Alliance Francaise in Karachi and I could not afford
the tickets, so my friend and I snuck in early after school and stayed hidden
behind the stage until it was show time many hours later. I got to witness you
do the sound check. I even met you that day and we had a little talk. That was
one of my best days from that time.
Then came my late teens and heartbreak. I would find solace
in songs like “Kyoun Pareshan” and “Mukh Gaye Nay” from Azaadi. Soon, I left Karachi and went on to my university, where
you truly continued to be an inspiration to me. I performed “Heer” on stage for
my university’s talent show, and later also played in a band where we used to
play an acoustic version of “Heeray.” I remember being in the States at that
time and Junoon would be the music that united all Pakistanis there. Songs like
“Sayonee,” “Mahiwal,” and when Parvaaz came
out, “Bulleya,” “Pyar Bina,” and “Sajna,” could be heard all over the campus.
Since then, whenever I hear these songs, it brings an overwhelming wave of
nostalgia over me, as I am reminded of those evocative days in college where Junoon
was the greatest, most iconic sufi/rock band ever. I know that you came out
with a few more albums after that but I was not able to listen to them in their
entirety as I had a chance to do so with all the previous albums, especially
after I heard the more pop-sounding “Pappu Yaar,” which was a grave departure
for me from Junoon, although that album had “Tara Jala,” a great song.
It was quite sad when I heard that Junoon had decided to
break up with you, Mr. Azmat, and Mr. Connell going their separate ways.
I did not follow Junoon after that because to me, the band
was over. But I recall that you continued to take the name forward and even
came out with an album or two. It was only yesterday that I had a chance to
hear a mangled version of “Bulleya” called “Bulleya/Lonely Heart” from your
2010 album Rock & Roll Jihad, which
only includes you as the sole member from the band but the album is credited as
being produced and recorded by Junoon. In this version, not only do you (badly)
sing the song, you have also changed the chorus from “Buleya kee jana mein
kaun?” to say “Lonely heart. Help me heal.” No. Just no. As soon as I heard
this atrocity, I was enraged and I immediately wished I had never listened to
it. This new version has completely ruined the original song for me. Now I
cannot listen to the old song without hearing you sing “Lonely heart. Help me
heal.” And that is not ok. All my wistful memories associated with that song
are ruined. Destroyed. Decimated. Forever.
I also found out that you have recently rerecorded “Khwab”
from the first album in your voice and that you plan on releasing this new
version on an album “celebrating” the 25th anniversary of Junoon.
Again, to my great dismay, when I heard the song, I found you had changed the
melody. Of “Khwab!” Please stop this. Please stop messing with classic old
Junoon songs by re-releasing them in your voice. Even though I feel that “Meray
Pass Aaja” from Junoon is a brilliant
song and you did a very good job singing it, please understand that singing is
not your forte. Why would you even want to do this? Why would you want to
re-sing these old songs and re-record them? Many bands have broken up in the
past and the individual members have all moved on, gone on to create new songs,
doing various other projects. I am not aware of any member from any band who
was a guitarist and who has gone on after a split to continue singing the
band’s old songs in his or her own voice, releasing them again and again in new
albums. Singing them and playing at concerts is fine because they are your
songs and people come to listen to them. But please. Do not re-record them in
your voice. Save us all the horror and stop spoiling Junoon songs and the
band’s legacy.
Also, how is it Junoon’s 25th anniversary? Didn’t
the band break up and split in 2005 when Ali Azmat left? Or possibly even in
2003 when Brian left? That’s at least 11 years ago! The band is done and
dusted. It’s finished. Stop calling yourself Junoon, especially if you are
going to release Indian movie songs like “Kaise Bolun,” where you are singing
auto-tuned lines like, “I am in love, soul to soul.” Quit doing it in Junoon’s
name if you are going to sing such crappy non-Junoon-like songs like “Door.”
Make a new band. Call it whatever you want to but not Junoon because Junoon,
along with you, was Ali Azmat, Brian O'Connell, Malcolm Goveas, and Ustad Ashiq
Ali Mir (the last two you unfortunately never officially recognized as being
part of the band; sadly enough, neither Malcolm nor Ustad sahab’s name appear
anywhere related to Junoon, not on your website and not on your Wikipedia
pages). Junoon is no more (pun intended). It is dead. Accept that
and move on. Let the dead lie and also spare Junoon’s fans from having to go
through the trauma of hearing bastardized versions of the songs that mean so
much to them. You are not only destroying the songs, you are destroying the
nostalgia associated with them.
It
pains me immensely to see and hear what Junoon’s legacy has become and you are
the only one ruining it. I would urge you, nay plead with you, to please stop
with this nonsense and stop further ruining Junoon for all of us forever.
Sincerely,
A
Junooni who no longer wishes to be one.
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