The time is now

Only a few existing bands can boast of a career spanning two decades in the Pakistan music industry. Though thick and thin, and lifetimes of many rock bands, Strings have been a venerable force at the heart of our modern music industry.

 Similarly, Atif Aslam has set himself apart from the rest of the pack. After a tumultuous breakup with Jal the band, he has gone on to make his own mark in the music world — in Pakistan and beyond. Now the two powerful entities join forces to release Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga, a music video (or anthem) describing the current situation and state-of-affairs of our country.

The band wrote the song keeping in mind that it would be a collaboration, and the only person that they had in mind was Atif Aslam. It was his broad appeal as a musician which created the interest — and working with the young musician proved to be worthy experience. Speaking of collaboration, there was one more person Strings was very eager to work with: director Jami.

Both Bilal and Faisal praise Jami’s understanding of the vision of Strings, “Jami is a part of Strings. He understands our ideas and tastes; and most of the time our concepts are very similar,” said Bilal.

Jami reciprocates by saying, “Strings are family, I just can’t say no to them.” He added that they approached him with an idea about doing something for Pakistan in terms of an anthem or a message. “We decided to go completely basic with this video because that’s the only way the concept could have come across. The video features powerful imagery that we haven’t re-created — and instead got from news channels.”

The video of Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga is very simple but hard-hitting in terms of content. The band and Atif are shot in and around Karachi buildings. It’s kinda old-school like that which is pretty reminiscent of the times when music videos were just that — shot around Karachi with just the band singing along.

The truly stirring stuff is when we see the news footage: suicide blasts, violence, corruption, etc. Granted it may be clichéd but that is exactly what the band wanted. “We always show the pretty side of Pakistan in most of our music videos and never the real stuff,” said Faisal. “I think we need to face reality and face our problems,” Bilal added. “Strings have always been a very romanticist band, we’ve never been politically charged — until now.”

“Currently we have quite a few problems which led to the decision of what to show and what not to show. We didn’t want it to be overtly graphic that people would just be turned off by it,” said Jami. “So we selected a couple of shots just to get the message across.”

And what about the message? “The video itself doesn’t have a concept — it’s a neeyat for all of us. The band had this idea of what it was going to be and it was pretty clear to them; we need to do something for Pakistan and we need to do it now,” said the director.

“The easy way out right now,” Bilal added, “would be to go abroad and make music. We’ve done that. But now because of what’s happening here, we’re staying right here.”

However the band admits that because of the current conditions of the music industry, it is now relying on the most powerful medium of them all: the music video (and in part television) to spread their music. “Our focus is music videos now. Simply because it is more effective than churning out a 10-song album. With albums you tend to spread yourself too thin, so we’ve decided to focus on releasing singles — and it is better to have your attention on one project or song at one time so that you get a better results.”

Faisal Kapadia added, “Also the current situation is very bleak. On all levels, whether it’s the music industry or the political landscape. All we hear is people talking about change and not actually taking that first step to change. Music videos like these can inspire a first step in people. And it doesn’t have to be a violent first step.”

In Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga the content featured is from actual footage which might give it an extra edge in terms of credibility — but will it do good with the masses? The initial response to it is mixed; some love it outright whereas others call its rawness as mediocre.

However, Strings, Atif and Jami are very serious about this music video and its message. Are we seeing a music revolution in the making? Only time will tell. “We’re working on another single at the moment,” said Bilal. “It’s going to be even bolder in terms of concept.”

Young World Showcase

Director Christopher Nolan is known for revitalising the Batman franchise with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He is also lesser-known for movies such as Memento (inspiration for Amir Khan’s Ghajini) and The Prestige. His latest film, however, will establish him much more than a director that uses material written or published by others (both Memento and Prestige were novels) as he writes and directs an original story called Inception. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Michael Caine, the story is much like the Matrix visually. However, that is not the case. It is about how certain people are able to enter the minds of others and steal certain thoughts and plant others. The visual effects and story have been critically praised — expect this one to be a hit!

After much fanfare to the launch and release of the iPhone 4, users quickly complained of signal-loss and dropped-calls. A watchdog group also strongly suggested to Apple to either establish a refund or work on a repair for the error. In the meanwhile, Apple informed its users that the problem is design-based and that it could be rectified by a simple case cover for the phone. Very recently, in a much hyped press conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a free case for every user and also a refund for users who have purchased the phone. Also in the press conference Jobs said that the problem was hyped up by the media and that it occurs in a very small percentage of phones. The company has also released software updates to tackle the problem.

Photographs from the 1920s have shown that Mount Everest is losing ice. Comparative photography from the 1920s and 2010 reveals that there has been a significant ice loss over a period of almost 90 years. The photos were taken by a mountaineer on Everest in 1921 and have been recreated on the similar spot. The pictures reveal an ‘alarming’ loss of ice from the mountain since George Mallory took photos in 1921. The Asia Society arranged for the pictures to be taken in exactly the same place where British climber George Mallory took photos in 1921. In a statement, the Asia Society said, “The photographs reveal a startling truth: the ice of the Himalaya is disappearing. They reveal an alarming loss in ice mass over an 89-year period.” The statement also said that: “The melted waters of these high altitude glaciers supply crucial seasonal flows to the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Salween, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow rivers, and hundreds of millions of people downstream depend on it for their livelihoods.”

The Digital De-Clutter

What happened to the days when people would look up phone books to find out phone numbers, when computers were only used to type out documents, and when beepers paged us? They're far gone. it seems.

In the age of multiple accounts, a plethora of accessories and the constant need to be online, we have cluttered our lives with devices, computers and phones. We are swimming in the vast ocean of information and thanks to technology, that ocean is only getting bigger and deeper.

Just take a look at the smart phone; in the space of a beep and buzz, they signal if people are calling, smsing or emailing us. If that's not all, the computer tells us when we've been tagged on Facebook, mentioned on Twitter and been sent an invite to view a Flickr album.

Once upon a time, a messy desktop meant that your workspace was cluttered with bulky files and folders, stray papers running amok around it all. Now, it means that your virtual desktop is pretty much the same—if not as real. The digital age promised us a life free of clutter. It seems to have done quite the opposite; in fact, some people say it has exacerbated the issue. However, there are ways around the problem too. Technology can still save us.

The key isn't to keep folders and folders meticulously tucked away in your computer. That won't help you find what you're looking for because quite simply, we can't be asked to remember each and everything. How can technology help you find them? The answer is simple: search.

Searching on the computer is far quicker than it is offline. Don't go for organising folders; just go with properly naming files and documents. If need be, put in dates as a part of the filename so that when you search you can use the dates as a key. There are many programmes that help you streamline your searching also, like Google Desktop for Windows OS and Quicksilver for the Mac OS.

Paper can also come in use here. When you have multiple backups on DVDs or portable HDs, it's a good idea to have a printout of the file trees to let you help find that file you're looking for. Just take a screenshot of the contents of the DVD or HD and keep it in a folder. It is much quicker and a lesser hassle than to check each and every DVD you may have.

Multiple social networking accounts bogging you down? Don't worry, use sites like hootsuite and ping.fm to keep in touch with all of your accounts within one single website. It saves the hassle of logging in and out over and over again.

Finally, there's the tricky task of managing passwords. There are numerous programmes that help you manage your passwords. But the fact of the matter is, in this digital day and age are we truly secure with sharing or storing our passwords someplace? The only manageable answer here is to do what suits you best.

Some people prefer to have their passwords written down—albeit in a safe location. Some people prefer to keep their passwords within the confines of their memory—with some rather drastic outcomes. Whatever your password quirk maybe, it is imperative to change your password every three months or so. This helps protect you against any forms of hackings or digital attacks.

Finally, the decision to de-clutter also involves one big aspect: you. The user must have the drive within them to be able to de-clutter their lives and to seek out efficiency. Just because it is digital doesn't mean it may help you. Seek out other offline methods if they are better suited to your needs.