Today’s Music: Some Thoughts

If you look at the music scene today, there are a lot of changes in the way music is produced as compared to how it was done about 2 decades ago. Technology has taken over almost completely and definitely it has improved the quality of the sound production, mixing etc. This is a good trend and as long as it facilitates the production of good music it is welcome. But there is one worrying trend that is related to the quality of music being produced and that is—the importance given to the orchestration over the voice. If you look at any song today, the tune is quite weak but the orchestration kind of camouflages the tune very cleverly. In many cases we can’t even hear the lyrics being sung as the accompanying music is louder than the voice! Hence the shelf-life (sorry for that word!) of many of today’s songs has reduced significantly.

If you notice the songs composed 2 or 3 decades ago, they had very strong tunes and the orchestration was just a support for the tune and it enhanced the overall song quality. That’s the reason we still adore and listen to the songs composed in those days even today. Today 70% of the songs have a very short shelf-life and the rest are good. It’s become like instant music, fit for only short term consumption. Also every film album has around 8-10 tracks, 5 songs and 5 more remixes of the same songs making it very repetitive. Most of the remixes are pathetic and they kill the soul of the original song itself.

In the interest of good music, we must start reviving the trend of the olden days of creating good tunes which can stand on their own even without fancy orchestral support. We must integrate the good practices of those days with the modern technology of today so that the quality of music is never compromised.

Raagas in Films:Vasantha

Vasantha is one of my favourite raagas. It is an evening raaga and probably the most intense raaga alongwith Pantuvarali. Whenever I listen to any composition in this raaga I get goosebumps, such is its effect. Though there are only a handful of songs in this raaga that I know, all of them have their unique magic. That’s the beauty of Indian music.

  1. Andhi Mazhai-Ilaiyaraja-Raaja Paarvai-A classic song, one of the greatest hits of Ilaiyaraja. I feel this song would have sounded great, had the recording quality been better.
  2. Minsaara Kanna-A.R.Rahman-Padaiyappa-My favourite Vasantha of all time, sends me into a trance, sung with gusto by Nithyashree and Sreenivas. A.R.Rahman surprises you every time by treading the path where you think he may not go.
  3. Kandaen Kandaen-Vidyasagar-Pirivom Sandhippom-A very good song, Vidyasagar has used the raaga beautifully especially in the charanam ending.
  4. Guruvayur Unnikannan-Jaison J Nair-Aanachandham-A great attempt by debutant music composer Jaison sung by Madhu Balakrishnan with superb off-beat percussion.

Title Music: My Favourites

Title music is an indispensable part of any movie though it has not got the importance it has deserved. It is the first thing that the movie viewer sees and hears and a good title theme music creates a great impression for a movie to begin with, irrespective of whether the movie is good or not! I thought I can pen down some of my favourite theme music pieces from different Indian movies, as many of them were very good. I might definitely miss some other may-be-better ones, do let me know through the comments section! Here you go:

  1. Mouna Raagam-Ilaiyaraja-I am quite sure many would remember this one first. Its a rage even today and it’s probably the most famous ringtone. It elevated the movie to a different level. Spellbinding stuff from Ilaiyaraja.
  2. Naayagan-Ilaiyaraja-Another awesome piece.
  3. Aboorva Sagotharargal-Ilaiyaraja-Starts very annoyingly but soon becomes a melodious, captivating flute and strings ensemble, only Raja can do this.
  4. Punnagai Mannan-Ilaiyaraja-This man will keep surprising us with his talent.
  5. Jeans-A.R.Rahman-Very catchy, peppy AND melodious, the brand of music that we have got used to from Rahman. This is the perfect piece to hum along.
  6. Bombay-A.R.Rahman-This is what made the Bombay movie complete—the Bombay theme, calling it brilliant would be an understatement! Naveen’s flute was nectarine.
  7. Rakshagan-A.R.Rahman-Another wonderful piece which was not noticed much, very majestic, grand! My college brass band played this LIVE and boy, it sounded heavenly! The beauty of any music is best demonstrated by playing it LIVE and this is the perfect example for that.
  8. Azhagi-Ilaiyaraja-Heartmelting version of the Oliyilae Therivadhu song, Ilaiyaraja can play a song’s instrumental version and YET make it sound absolutely new. Pure bliss!
  9. Parthiban Kanavu-Vidyasagar-I saw this movie only recently and the title music was stunningly impressive. I was not surprised as I never doubted that Vidyasagar had the talent to compose something like this.
  10. Anbey Shivam-Vidyasagar-The “Yaar yaar Shivam” piece, great work by Vidyasagar again.
  11. Padayappa-A.R.Rahman-A very catchy, mouth-organ piece, again Rahman treads the uncommon path and comes up with something very special.
  12. Taare Zameen Par-Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy-I have never found Hindi music BGM’s/theme pieces to be very impressive but this was definitely an exception. Stellar stuff from the trio.
  13. Kaakha Kaakha-Harris Jayaraj-A very macho piece, befitting the movie’s theme, good work by Harris.

Child Reality Shows: The End of Innocence

One very worrying trend that is very disturbing in television is the concept of having reality shows for children. According to me most of the reality shows today are just money spinning avenues for the different channels and child reality shows especially are highly condemnable. Here is why I say that:

  • Reality shows give rise to an unnecessary spirit of negative competition among children, instilling a desire to WIN- AT-ANY-COST in them at a very young age, when they are like beautiful buds waiting to bloom. This is like an artificial method, where the bud is asked to bloom fast, curbing its natural growth process. I am not saying children should not have a competitive spirit but the way its being done in the reality shows is very dangerous for the children as it undermines their self-confidence thereby unsettling them.
  • The losses that the children face in reality shows causes a feeling of REJECTION and does irreparable psychological damage to them. We want them to be achievers at such a young age? I remember the dialogue said by Aamir Khan in that superb scene in Taare Zameen Par when he says, we put pressure in our children that they should come first in class, become a doctor, engineer, singer etc. Children are the embodiments of purity and innocence and its so sad to see them get dejected for such petty losses.
  • In child reality shows, the children are made to do things which are much beyond their age in the name of “performance”. For e.g. a girl child has to do a dance involving very suggestive steps and boys have to do similar movements. There is no better way to make the child go in the wrong path and pollute their minds. It is the age to study and play but here they are learning dance steps to an item number! It cannot get worse than this.
  • According to me almost all of our reality shows are 75% melodrama and 25% entertainment. The exaggeration in these shows is seen to be believed! The loss in a round looks as if the contestant has lost the most important contest of his/her life and he/she is a non-achiever. There are many more important milestones in life and winning a reality show/advancing to the next round may be one of the significant milestones but not THE most significant.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not fully against reality shows per se, I too watch a few of them but child reality shows are dangerous for the impact they leave in a child’s fertile mind. I read that there is a legislation that anyone below 18 years cannot participate in reality shows but I am not sure if its been implemented as I see many small children in reality shows. Its high time there is some regulation otherwise many children, who are the future of this great nation will end up getting their priorities in life totally wrong.

P. Jayachandran: Master of Melody

P. Jayachandran is a legendary singer who has always kept a low profile in spite of singing several hit songs in Malayalam and Tamil. He has sung many Tamil songs under Ilaiyaraja and almost all the songs were wonderful melody songs and most of them were duets. He has sung a few songs for other music directors like A.R.Rahman, Vidyasagar, G.V.Prakash etc. Here is a list of some memorable songs rendered by this soft-spoken, very talented singer.

TAMIL

  1. Poova Eduthu-Ilaiyaraja-Amman Kovil Kizhakaale-A song with an unconventional tune set in Mayamalagowla raaga, sung with the nightingale S.Janaki.
  2. Raasathi Unna-Ilaiyaraja-Vaidehi Kaathirundhaal-One of his biggest hits ever, an unforgettable number.
  3. Vizhiye-Ilaiyaraja-Thazhuvaatha Kaikal-A relatively unknown song but a very good one in Kalyani raaga.
  4. Poo Mudithu-Ilaiyaraja-En Purushanthaan Ennakumattumthaan-One of the best songs you can hear in Hamsadhwani raaga, sung with Sunandha.
  5. Kodiyile Malligapoo-Ilaiyaraja-Kadalora Kavithaigal-A song tailor-made for Jayachandran, sung with S.Janaki, very emotional number!
  6. En Mel Vizhundha-A.R.Rahman-May Maadham-A soft number sung with Chitra, great lyrics by Vairamuthu.
  7. Oru Deivam Thantha-A.R.Rahman-Kannathil Muthamittal-I like the Jayachandran version more than the Chinmayi one, one of Rahman’s best songs.
  8. Poovanathil-Vidyasagar-Thambi-A nice number.
  9. Kanavellam Palikithey-G.V.Prakash-Kireedam-I was so happy that GVP chose Jayachandran to sing this song as we were hearing him in Tamil after a long time. His voice sounded so good! This is an inspirational song sung with the singer-of-the moment, Karthik.

MALAYALAM

  1. Ariyathey-Suresh Peters-Raavan Prabhu-A brilliant composition in Darbaari raaga, sung with Chitra.
  2. Prayam Nammil-Vidyasagar-Niram-One of my favourite songs of Jayachandran, listen to it, its very addictive!
  3. Therirangum Mugile-Suresh Peters-Mazhathuli Kilukkam-A song with superb piano and guitar interludes.
  4. Aararum Kaanaathey-Vidyasagar-Chandrolsavam
  5. Kallayee Kadavathu-M.Jayachandran-Perummazhakaalam
  6. Chitramani Kaatil-Deepak Dev-Symphony-The ideal song to listen at night, so mellow!

Bose:Grand music by A.R.Rahman

Bose-The Forgotten Hero was a movie directed by veteran director Shyam Benegal. During that time, Rahman was composing music for most of the period-based movies like Legend of Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey etc. Rahman gave a scintillating music score for Bose but sadly the movie did not do as expected and the music too sank along with it! Rahman expressed his disappointment in many interviews conceding that the music was not promoted well by the producers. One of the unique aspects about the music of Bose was that Rahman collaborated with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra of Czechoslovakia and that made the songs an aural treat. The OST of Bose had 7 tracks and 13 instrumental pieces and all of them were good. But the outstanding songs of the movie were these:

  1. Desh Ki Mitti-If you listen to this song, you will fell proud to be an Indian. Such is the tune, the lyrics and the singing by Sonu Nigam. The icing on the cake are the symphonic interludes which transport you to another world.
  2. Ekla Chalo-It is difficult to say whether the former song is better or this one. It has the same characteristics as the previous song and its a double treat by Rahman.
  3. Aazaadi-This is an anthemic song about the freedom struggle and it cannot get better than this. Its sung by Rahman himself.
  4. Instrumental Pieces-Almost all the instrumental pieces showcase the beauty of the symphonic arrangements.

Raagas in Films: Sindhu Bhairavi

It is quite a task to write about one of the most loved raagas in Indian music, the versatile Sindhu Bhairavi. It is versatile because it gives a lot of scope for music composers to experiment. There have been innumerable tunes in this raaga but the beauty is all of them sound different! Another feature of this raaga is that it can be used for a variety of situations. Here is a list of the immortal tunes in this raaga. As always I have only posted some of my favourite Sindhu Bhairavi songs here, which showcased its beauty.

  1. Unnakenna Mele-MSV-Simla Special-Composing at its best, a very unique song with a varying tempo.
  2. Enna Satham-Ilaiyaraja-Punnagai Mannan
  3. Muthu Mani Maala-Ilaiyaraja-Chinna Kounder-Happy Sindhu Bhairavi, A case study on Sindhu Bhairavi composing. Period.
  4. Nilave Mugam Kaattu-Ilaiyaraja-Ejaman-This is Sad Sindhu Bhairavi for you. How many raagas will this man, Ilaiyaraja, play with?
  5. Maargazhi Thingal-A.R.Rahman-Sangaman-Brilliant song, very well sung, the pathos in the raaga rises to the fore!
  6. Nilavu Paattu-Ilaiyaraja-Kannukul Nilavu-Sindhu Bhairavi+Jazzy interludes, an unusual but captivating concoction!
  7. Ovvoru Pookalume-Bharadwaj-Autograph-Great tune+Inspiring lyrics+soulful singing
  8. Soll Soll En Nenje-Vidyasagar-Pirivom Sandippom-You will not imagine a song like this, especially the chords in the charanam.
  9. En Uyirukkul-Vidyasagar-Mahesh Sharanya Mattrum Palar-One of my recent favourites, splendid orchestration.

Margazhiyil Kulichi Paaru…..

You must be surprised on seeing the title of this post, this is the first line of a soothing tune composed by another talented-but-ignored composer Bharadwaj. This song comes in the movie Onbathu Roopai Nottu, where almost all the songs were melodious, folk-based rustic numbers. This song sung brilliantly by Sreenivas is the pick of the album. The chorus, the silent orchestration (means not intruding into the song by towering over the voice, which is the case in some songs!) and the mellow tune combine to give a healing experience. Listen to this when your chips are down, you will feel rejenuvated!

Found a TREASURE: I am elated!!!

I had been to Landmark this evening for browsing books and music (my monthly ritual of visiting major music shops-my temples!). When I was crossing the Tamil music section, I just saw 2 A.R.Rahman MP3 CD’s released by Aditya Music. I thought they must be Telugu songs of ARR but I was wrong! To my pleasant surprise, the CD’s contained most of the Tamil albums of ARR, especially the older ones whose original CD’s are difficult to buy today. Without second thought I bought them and when I listened at home, they were of superb quality.

The reason I am elated is that I did not have the original CD’s of many of these old albums of ARR as I could not find them. Aditya Music has bought the rights of all these movie albums from Pyramid Music-the original audio company which used to release these cassettes!

When I was listening to the songs I remembered my childhood, when I used to rush to the music shop to buy the cassettes of these films and play them so much that they almost got erased. Now I have the wonderful, ORIGINAL QUALITY MP3 LEGAL CD, which I can hopefully savour for the rest of my life! Thanks to God for giving me this treasure. The curious thing about this is that I searched and searched but found only 1 copy of these 2 CD’s Volumes 1 & 2. I was searching if there is a Volume 3 of these CD’s but could not find them. The tried the Aditya Music site but it is a static website 🙁 I will visit other music shops to see if there are more volumes.

It was almost I was destined to buy these today. This has happened to me innumerable times, where an album I am searching for years, suddenly falls into my lap! Each of the CD’s cost only Rs 75. Here are the details of the film albums on the CD’s.

Volume 1

  1. Padayappa
  2. Indian
  3. Bombay
  4. Karuthamma
  5. May Madham
  6. Kizhakku Cheemaiyile
  7. Love Birds
  8. Pavithra
  9. Rangeela (Tamil-I prefer the original Hindi)

Volume 2

  1. Muthu
  2. En Swaasa Katrae
  3. Duet
  4. Mr.Romeo
  5. Gentleman
  6. Sangamam
  7. Iruvar
  8. Uzhavan

This is A.R.Rahman’s vintage collection at its best. I already have Roja/Kadhalan & Pudhiya Mugam/Thiruda Thiruda original audio CD’s.  The only old albums left to have in original are:

  1. Indira
  2. Minsaara Kanavu

A million thanks to Aditya Music for bringing out these old gems of ARR again. I am going back to listen to these melodies………..

Duet Movies: Promoting Good Cinema

Duet Movies is the production house of acclaimed actor Prakash Raj. Apart from being a superb actor, Prakash is a wonderful producer too! He has produced 6 Tamil movies- Azhagiya Theeye, Kanda Naal Mudhal, Poi, Mozhi, Vellithirai and Abhiyum Naanum. I have watched most of these except for Poi and Vellithirai. All these movies are very good ones, which are quite different from the trash we see in Tamil cinema today. Tamil cinema is a strange dichotomy-On one hand you have wonderful movies being made by a few directors (who are a minority) who choose to tread a different path and on the other hand you have horrible movies like Villu, Silambattam etc etc this list is endless!

Duet Movies has consistently attempted to make different movies which can be enjoyed by all.  Being a patron of good cinema (movies which explore exciting different subjects, having the courage to do something novel), I have always appreciated Prakash Raj’s attitude as he says that cinema should be entertaining as well as trying to convey something positive in life. His movies Mozhi, Abhiyum Naanum have definitely done this. I don’t know how many times I have watched Mozhi, each time I see it I go into a different world. The natural humour, the dialogues, the music, everything was top class in Mozhi. Abhiyum Naanum was also a very touching and absorbing narrative, the travails of a father who is too “attached” to his daughter and how he overcomes that! It is shown so beautifully that every father should see this movie. I hope to catchup with Vellithirai soon.

I totally support Prakash Raj in this great service he is doing to Tamil cinema. He is giving us some respite from the commercial, rehashed, violent movies.  Hope other producers too try to follow Prakash Raj so that we see meaningful cinema which adds value to life!