By Diane Werts - Newsday - Long Island, NY, U.S.A.Sunday, October 7, 2007
Cross-culture coolness in The CW's acclaimed new comedy "Aliens in America" extends beyond the lead characters, a geeky Wisconsin teen and his exchange-student housemate from Pakistan.
The series' theme song hosts another international pair reaching across the same sorts of boundaries.
"Beautifully Insane" troubadour PJ Olsson trades lines on a new rendition of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" with Junoon group frontman Salman Ahmad, the Pakistani rocker/ doctor/ activist seen on PBS in the documentary conversation "The Rock Star and the Mullahs" (online at YouTube).
The CW press release explains, "Both musicians grew up playing the traditional music of their cultures and were transformed by their experience with rock 'n' roll.
Olsson grew up in an orchestral family [in Michigan] and sang gospel music in church, but it was the experience of seeing Led Zeppelin that inspired him to seek a career in music.
In Pakistan, Ahmad played Sufi devotional music, but when he came to America at the age of 11 and saw Jimmy Page perform 'Stairway to Heaven,' everything changed for him as well.
"The Sufi rock of Junoon ("obsession" in Urdu) has sold millions of CDs not just in their South Asia stronghold, but around the world during the past decade, melding ancient poetry, contemporary world affairs and driving guitar lines.
Olsson's newest CD, "American Scream," drops Oct. 16 with the "Aliens" duet included. Their full-length music video streams at http://youtube.com/watch?v=%20JTKsJrpRtww
[Picture: Salman Ahmad. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Ahmad].
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