According to reports in the Pakistan Daily Times:

Bombs ripped through several music and video shops in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, wounding at least four people, officials said.

The injuries occurred when a blast hit a video shop located on the 2nd floor of Bannu Market in main Bazaar of the garrison town of Kohat, which has seen several attacks in recent months blamed on Pakistani Taliban militants. 

“The bomb was planted in a CD and video shop, resulting in the wounding of at least three people. The shop was destroyed and some nearby shops were also damaged,” local police official Shakirullah, who goes by one name, told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Separately, bombs destroyed two dozen businesses, including around eight music shops in Purani Ghari Mandi in Miranshah, the capital town in the North Waziristan, officials and residents said.

The attack came overnight, at the end of a one-week deadline issued by militants in the town near the Afghan border for shopkeepers to close outlets showing still and moving images, or selling music.

“We received a letter one week ago from the Taliban that we must close down our business and not sell any music, videos or photos,” shop owner Inayatullah Khan told AFP. “Now they have carried out their threat and left us without our business.”No one was hurt in the attack, according to the sources. 

At least no one died – but this is happening in a country that’s a key US ally in the “war on terrorism”. 

According to the libertarian think tank the CATO Institute:

Some cooperation between the United States and Pakistan is necessary to wage the war against terrorism, but that cooperation must not evolve into a new long-term strategic alliance. Washington should view Pakistan, with its dictatorship, failed economy, and insecure nuclear arsenal, as a reluctant supporter of U.S. goals at best and as a potential long-term problem at worst.

Synthtopia gets visitors from Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshewar, Islamabad & Sialkot in Pakistan.

If you’re one of those visitors, let us know what’s happening with music in Pakistan. 

MP3tunes

All music sold at MP3tunes will work on any computer and with any portable player including popular models like the Apple iPod, Dell DJ and Creative Nomad. At www.mp3tunes.com, consumers never run the risk of losing their music – songs that have been purchased are permanently stored in a “music locker” and accessible from any Web browser. Even if a computer crashes or a user switches machines, the music is saved and can be accessed without repurchasing.

“Digital music sales make up less than two percent of the total music business because many consumers know they aren’t really buying the music – they’re renting it from a big corporation that controls what software, computer and portable devices they can use,” Robertson said. “A consumer-friendly digital music store that provides true music ownership to paying customers can triple the digital music business almost overnight. MP3tunes gives the consumers more value because they can use the music on all their computers and MP3 players – whatever brand they may have. And it’s permanently stored in their music locker, so they never lose the music they paid for.”

MP3tunes only offers songs for purchase and download that are legally licensed for distribution from the copyright holders. More than 22,000 artists are participating in the launch of MP3tunes, and 300,000 songs representing nearly 30,000 complete CDs are now available for immediate purchase in high-quality 192k MP3 format at www.mp3tunes.com. No special software is required to sample the music and make purchases and virtually any Web browser will work.

MP3tunes differs from other online music services such as Apple’s iTunes and Microsoft’s MSN Music Store because it does not use digital restrictions management (DRM) technology, which restricts how a buyer can use the music. DRM restrictions limit what software or computer can be used to listen to the music and also limit what types of portable players will work. Songs in the open MP3 format, like those found at www.mp3tunes.com, are the most flexible for consumers because the songs work with a wide array of software players such as iTunes and Windows Media Player and are also compatible with virtually all digital players or computers, including the iPod series.

Features:

• 88¢ per song and $8.88 per CD
• Free Music Locker with permanent storage for all purchased songs
• Songs will play on all portable MP3 players
• Songs will play from any computer (Mac, Windows, Linux)
• Unlimited CD burning and downloads for personal use
• High-quality sound – 192k MP3s (most sites offer 128 KB)
• Chart-driven Web site
• You own the music

“All new trends in music start with emerging artists and progressive-thinking labels who are most willing to try new approaches, which is where MP3tunes is focusing initially,” Robertson said. “MP3.com started with complete songs in MP3 format from promising young artists like Linkin Park and Maroon 5. Then it expanded to include new artists from major labels, and eventually it grew to be a key promotional vehicle for all the major record labels. I’m confident MP3tunes will follow the same path – if music buyers come to MP3tunes, then ultimately forward-thinking labels will too.”

They guarantee the lowest prices on electronic music equipment, so they are definitely worth checking out.

Synth Music Direct is one possible answer. This site specializes in selling synth music from the likes of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese, Michael Garrison, Peter Namlook, Robert Rich, Steve Roach and Synergy. Their selection leans towards European electronica artists.

The site features reviews of most of the items they sell. They also have a large variety of music samples that you can play from streams or download.

They are 2nd only to Amazon in the number of independent CDs sold. They sell CDs that come directly from musicians, so the performers get $6-12 per CD.

They take their independence seriously – they note that “No Microsoft products were used in the creation of this website.”

One of the great features of the site is that you can browse music by “flavors”, such as occasions, moods, and tasks. You can find music to soothe you, music to be depressed to, to drink to, for driving, to work out to, and even to have sex to.

They have lots of interesting electronica artists.