Bandbaja
Encyclopedia
Bandbaja was Pakistan
's first online music magazine. Formed in 2003 by several college students, it was headed by music critic and youth icon, Nadeem F. Paracha
. It was run and owned by a young music scribe, Safwat Saleem, who resides in the United States of America. The magazine received immediate recognition because of its relentless critique of the Pakistani music
scene.
The popularity of Bandbaja gave rise to several similar online music websites and portals throughout Pakistan.
Bandbaja was known for its blunt views and the promotion of modern popular music
as a social and even political tool. Although Bandbaja was hailed by many as Pakistani music journalism
's finest moment, die-hard fans of bands that have been on the receiving end of Bandbaja 's harsh criticism seem less than impressed by the effort.
As of 2006, the website is offline. It was expected to come back sometime in the future, however several bloggers doubt the return of Bandbaja because it has been off line for several months and no new material has been posted. The main page of the magazine is just the BandBaja logo.
As of mid-2008 the domain is no longer registered, signalling the end of bandbaja as an entity and putting to rest any rumors about a comeback.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's first online music magazine. Formed in 2003 by several college students, it was headed by music critic and youth icon, Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem Farooq Paracha , , is a left-liberal Pakistani journalist, cultural critic, satirist and short story writer.-Early life:...
. It was run and owned by a young music scribe, Safwat Saleem, who resides in the United States of America. The magazine received immediate recognition because of its relentless critique of the Pakistani music
Music of Pakistan
The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
scene.
The popularity of Bandbaja gave rise to several similar online music websites and portals throughout Pakistan.
Bandbaja was known for its blunt views and the promotion of modern popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
as a social and even political tool. Although Bandbaja was hailed by many as Pakistani music journalism
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
's finest moment, die-hard fans of bands that have been on the receiving end of Bandbaja 's harsh criticism seem less than impressed by the effort.
As of 2006, the website is offline. It was expected to come back sometime in the future, however several bloggers doubt the return of Bandbaja because it has been off line for several months and no new material has been posted. The main page of the magazine is just the BandBaja logo.
As of mid-2008 the domain is no longer registered, signalling the end of bandbaja as an entity and putting to rest any rumors about a comeback.