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The many lives of Pappu
A rip off or not, Junoon's Pappu Yaar is certainly controversial
Whether it is Salman's sherwanis, or Ali's alternating long locks and shaven
head, or Brian's flirtation with sufism, or the band's cross-border overtures,
or its tributes to New York, or even its noisy calls for accountability,
controversy has been Junoon's middle name and it has perhaps generated more than
its fair share of debate over the years. Probably the flip side of being the
country's numero uno rock band -- a title the band is finding increasingly
difficult to maintain.
Interestingly, the band does not face a threat just from the new crop of
talented musicians but a threat from within -- the threat of sounding more and
more the same and having to resort to plagiarism to stay afloat. "And the
saddest part is that they are promoting their most obviously plagiarized song
the most," says one of the band's fans on its official website (junoon.com) in
an obvious reference to 'Pappu Yaar Tang Na Kar', the band's latest hit.
Unfortunately, this hit has missed a trick and so has the band in the process. A
song that in essence takes a low blow at all those who refuse to play it clean,
is in itself a riff-for-riff rip-off of Jimi Hendrix's 'Who Knows' from the Band
of Gypsies.
For all Junoonis, as the band likes to call its fans, this is not all that has
rocked their boat. The band's outspoken manager Sheheryar -- a regular on the
Junoon website -- has defended the band a little too religiously and has
offended fans left, right and centre.
Here is what he wrote on the website: "What a bunch of baby imbeciles who are
accusing Salman of ripping of Jimi Hendrix. Oh momee, momee he 'stole' riff!
Wahhhhhhhhh! Get real you rock babies! The blues is a shared vocabulary; it's
called public domain. That means that this vocabulary of blues riffs are open to
anyone to compose new songs with. Examples are that the grand fathers of the
blues, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker etc... all
begged, borrowed and stole from each other as did the second generation of blues
players like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Eric
Clapton plus a thousand others.
"If Salman does it he's just paying similar tribute to the blues, which he's
always quoted as a major influence for his guitar playing. Think about it if he
hadn't played this riff 'Who Knows' would just be a stupid blues riff by the
Band of Gypsies. Now it's a monster Punjabi blues tour de force called 'Pappu
Yaar'. If all you guys are such geniuses then try to incorporate a blues riff in
a Punjabi song and make it work!"
The debate between 'paying tribute' and 'plagiarism' is an old one -- and quite
convenient for those who resort to plain and simple copying. One of the most
basic ingredients for paying a tribute is the declaration that you are doing so.
In this case had Junoon made a candid declaration that it was doing a cover of
the legendry Jimi Hendrix this argument would have perhaps made more sense.
Regrettably this is not the first time Junoon has been caught copying. The
resemblance between 'Sajna' and 'Rest In Peace' by Extreme is a little too
obvious to ignore. The same holds true for 'Discotheque' from U2 and 'Jazba
2000' from Junoon.
"Saying that bands abroad plagiarize as well does not, in any way, justify
Salman Ahmed making a song aimed at criticizing critics and musicians who copy
Junoon, nor does it justify him passing it off as his own creation and nor does
it justify Shehryar Ahmed spewing abuses in self-defense," says another fan on
the website's discussion forum.
Shehryar, however, denies having made any such comments on the website.
Expectedly, he also denies the assertion that Junoon has plagiarized. "This is a
load of crap," he says talking to TNS over the telephone. "These are just things
people are making up because they cannot see Junoon rise to new heights. These
are the people the song 'Pappu' is aimed at and I hope they get the drift."
Shehryar also claims to have no recollection of the song 'Who Knows' even though
he is a self-professed 'big time Hendrix fan'. "I haven't heard the song and
can't comment if it has any similarity with 'Pappu'."
Well it is time all those who care enough to listen to the song. The riff is not
just similar, but in fact identical. Till then 'Pappu Shehryar, just lay off' as
suggested by yet another 'fan' on the website.
By Adnan Mahmood
Jang News
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