World cup anthems get clean-bowled

After Strings’ disappointing attempt, Ali Gul Pir’s songs also fall short of expectations

KARACHI: The World Cup season is upon us yet again and with every tournament’s arrival, a catchy track is necessary to get the spectators’ spirits heightened. Sadly, it has not been the case this time around. Like Pakistan’s fast bowling stocks, the stocks for our world cup anthem also seem to be on an all-time low.

Defining a quality world cup anthem — it is one that manages to galvanise a listener, create excitement and spur on the viewer. Ali Gul Pir’s song, Shor Macha, fails to strike the right note and delivers the exact opposite of the definition.



Enough has been said and written about the world cup song produced by Strings, which features several Pakistani stars (such as Asrar), lip-syncing to the vocals of Atif Aslam. But that appears to be the tip of the iceberg as the Saeen of Satire, Ali Gul Pir returns to the fore with his World Cup song, Shor Macha, a song which would leave even the most passionate of spectators cold.

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Unlike world cup songs of the past, Ali’s anthem fails to incite any emotion in the listener. The song ends up resonating more like a hodgepodge of sounds fused with rhyming lyrics and signifies zilch to the context it is intended for.

Over the last two years, Ali Gul Pir has delighted audiences with comic songs such as  Wadeire Ka Beta, Taaroo Maroo, and the more recently released Kaisa Diya.

The song is a far cry from Ali’s earlier release Tum Hi Toh Ho Saeen — an anthem which he released for the 2012 WT20 in Sri Lanka, a song which can be regarded as a better-produced version of his debut release, Waderay Ka Beta. Tum Hi Toh Ho Saeen saw the singer riding high on the waves of the Saeen Sensation and coupled with a catchy tune and star power proved to be yet another hit.



But when forced to come out of his comfort zone and produce something original, creative and catchy Ali Gul Pir failed to deliver.

In cricketing terminology, Ali’s latest offering can be termed as a slog and mis-hit. His songs have never been about quality music but are designed for one purpose only, which is to entertain the audience at all costs and get embedded in the listener’s head like a hook. Unfortunately, the song has been unable to live up to the fans’ expectations.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th,  2015.

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