By Faisal Ahsan
While many may have felt the need to stab out their own eyes and surgically remove their ears after witnessing this abomination, I feel we might be missing the true message of the song. Now, if you indulge me, the following is what I think is the underlying beauty of this…track.
Eye to Eye has three levels to its message. The first (and perhaps most superficial) is about making a connection. One is often regarded to have common ground with another person when the phrase seeing eye to eye is used and by God is it used a lot in this song. Taher Shah understands the fundamental human need to make a lasting connection and attempts to beat us over the head with it. Moreover: his point (…I think…) by telling us eyes are essential, sometimes fabulously so and at other times has us reflect on how exciting they can be. He also stares at the camera unblinkingly a lot.
The second layer to the onion is about diversity. Yes, Taher Shah is an equal opportunist. He does not care about the color of your eyes or the color of his eyes and therefore he also does not care about the color of your skin. He wants to live in a world where everyone sees eye to eye and how eyes all the colors of a rainbow can, rather than a sign of a life altering eye infection, be a good thing.
The deepest layer of Eye to Eye is perhaps the most frightening one. Taher Shah wants to make love to you. All of you. I’m not joking. He says so quite clearly. Make love to eye to eye; and then he goes into even more detail Our elegant, special love, sincere promise, blessful love, epic era love life, once in your life and if that is not clear enough for you he makes … noises. Hmmm, hmmm, aaah, aaah. He also call you a fairy. Taher Shah has realized that its time to cut out the pesky middle man of music, the context. He has no need for a love story or a plot for a music video. He has decided to make love to you and you will participate. He is also into some freaky things because at one point…Taher Shah begins to clone himself in the song’s message of love. Then they both unblinkingly stare at the camera a lot.
Some of my colleagues have talked about how this song is pure excrement and should not be given attention. As a music reviewer, I disagree. This is the most interesting piece of music out of Pakistan in the past few weeks and that in itself is more disturbing than the mental anguish Taher Shah imposes on all of us.
