Totally hooked on Dil Gira Dafatan!!!!

Is this awesome or what??

Not one, not two but THREE nominations for the Oscar!

He has been nominated for Best Score and twice for Best Song. What amazes me is there are only 3 nominations in the Best Song category. Out of those 2 are his! I'm so glad for him. Feb 22nd! Can't wait! I repeat! Jai Ho ARR!!!!

Best Score Nomination:

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=detail&nominee=Slumdog%20Millionaire%20-%20Music%20Original%20Score%20Nominee

Best Song Nomination - Jai Ho

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=detail&nominee=Jai%20Ho%20-%20Slumdog%20Millionaire%20-%20Music%20Song%20Nominee

Best Song Nomination - O Saya

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=detail&nominee=O%20Saya%20-%20Slumdog%20Millionaire%20-%20Music%20Song%20Nominee

And he wins the Golden Globe!!!!!

The only thing that's left is the Oscar!

Ghajini

The opening of Kaise Mujhe is beautiful, when it opens you think you’re getting a dance number but it turns into this lilting piece with my latest favorite Benny Dayal who does a convincing job. Shreya Ghoshal, as usual, is amazing. Dayal’s high notes could have been a little better, but I honestly think if men didn’t sing so high, then women wouldn’t be forced to shriek. What is it with Indian music and considering women who can hold a high pitch, good singers. I had a friend once say that the only problem with most Indian music is that the women are singing so high that it gave her the same feeling that she gets when she hears nails being run down a blackboard. And I agree with her! Wholeheartedly! If men would sing at a lower pitch women would sound normal. As much as the instrumental version is beautiful, I think ARR should do instrumentals like he did for Bombay(Bombay Theme). I'd rather hear something other than the instrumental of a song from the same movie.

Guzarish, I think someone with a stronger voice would have been better. Sonu Nigam sounds great, doing what he does best, crooning. The song has ARR written all over it! Javed Ali….honestly sounds a little lackluster, like he’s just going through the motions. This song has a strong Enigma feel. I like the laid back feel to the song. I’m not sure I care for the lyrics however. Bas ek haan ki guzarish…Phir honge khushiyon ki baarish….chanda, aasmaan, baadhal, no chein…..very cliche! It feels like he ran out of lyrics and added an extra paas here and there. Very hummable however. Good one.

Talk about experimentation. Behka is all that and more. It starts out innocently enough. Karthik is just A-mazing in this one! I wasn’t so sure about this one when I heard it the first time. It sounded like the cd was skipping at that section where Karthik’s voice skips. I love the way he actually sounds like Aamir Khan in his stress on certain words. The sax interludes and other bits in this song are mind-blowing! This song gives me goose-bumps every time I hear the crescendo between 2:13 and 2:30. Between the drums and the sax at this point I’m in heaven. The sax literally follows the voice, throughout the song. And of course, the little treasures that ARR always hides in his songs keep popping up each time I listen to the song. It’s like listening to a new song each time I play it on different speakers. Love the end. It must be obvious by now that this one is my favorite in this album. The ones that I don’t get when I listen to the first time are the ones that end up being my favorites. It had a Main Aisa Kyun Hoon feel to it. Like the tone of the song was similar.

That’s one step for man and a giant leap for mankind….Houston, the eagle has landed. What the heck?!!!!!!! What on earth does it have to do with being Lattoo on your yaar? Is Aamir supposed to be playing Neil Armstrong? Last I heard he was playing a rich businessman called Sanjay Ramaswamy. Mazari Mazara Zimbabwe? Lyrics! I disagree with the general opinion that Ghoshal should only be singing lilters. I loved her singing in this one. It was different and suited her just fine. I think she should do more of the same. I didn’t care too much for the constant repetition of yaara yaara yaar aaya mera.

Aye Bachoo….nothing really stood out as exceedingly good or bad. Suzanne D’Mello’s same gal who sang for Slumdog Millionaire. Now that’s a movie worth watching. But in my opinion, the music trumps all. I broke out in goosebumps several times during the movie…..but more on that later. D’Mello’s done a good job. Fresh sounding I like the electric guitar work, and as always the ARR layering.

I don’t know if the songs occur in the same sequence and time in this movie as they did in the original Ghajini. When the songs from the original released, they were a big hit, I listened to them fairly often. I think only Oru Maalai and Suttum Vizhi were actually good. Of course that goes with Surya and the red clothes in my head. He was super cute, which may be why they were so popular. Drawing a parallel between the songs is not a very good idea but inevitable. Let’s see how they’re picturized. I just might watch this movie!

Yyuuvvrraajj

I was a little slower in acquiring the cd on this. Maybe it's the "Yaadein" of all the terrible Ghai movies I've seen. I only started listening to Taal's music some 4 years after it's release because I tried watching the movie and I couldn't sit through the first 10 mins of it. Well, that is something I do a lot lately, listen to ARR's music and never watch the movie. Except for Jodha Akbar for the scrumptious Hrithik, of course! Alright, the music of the numerologically appropriate Yuvvraaj, I think is pretty darn good. It seems to have the older ARR touch again I guess. I think all the songs are great except for maybe one, and that I'd probably attribute to personal taste. There are some albums that ARR has come out with that have 1 or 2 really good songs while the other 2-3 are mediocre...for ARR. They're great, but given that they are ARR numbers, you expect that extra sumthin sumthin. This allbum took me back to the days when every song in an ARR album was a huge hit and is still remembered.

I'm just going to go through in the order the songs appears in my ipod:

The opening notes of Tu Muskura remind of something that I just can't put my finger on. I think I would have liked the song much better if Shreya Ghoshal had sung it with maybe Naresh Iyer. I find Javed Ali's voice strongly resembles Kamaal Khan in this number, not a singer I'm a big fan of. No comment of Alka Yagnik's voice. Love the Spanish touch with the guitar...not something new that has been used in Bollywood numbers but beautiful nonetheless. Beautiful melody, beautiful use of chorus, interspersed with the singing, and beautful arrangement. I love this song overall, but I feel like some element is missing. Maybe I'm looking for a new take on ARR's own melodic arrangements.

The opening piece of Dil Ka Rishta until the singing starts is phenomenal. When ARR starts singing in English I get a strong whiff of 'Pray For Me Brother'. He's definitely got the American accent down pat. I hear Sonu Nigam very clearly, and ARR too, but I don't hear Roop Kumar Rathod, or maybe he's over shadowed, did he do swaras? When ARR does the swaras, I thought of how Anarkali opens from Kangalal Keidhi Sei and the way raagam sound the same. And because it is a Ghai movie I couldnt but help noticing that the last part with the chorus reminded me strongly of Kisna's Theme Chorus. This song was my initial favorite and is definitely going to remain on my playlist for a long time yet.


Mastam Mastam.....now this is the one song that hasn't still grown on me. It sounds like a kiddy song. What with all the growls and the meowing. Catchy, but I'll pass.

The Shano Remix reminded of the concept with Rang De Basanti Paathshaala and the Paathshala Remix, not the songs themselves. It looks like ARR's idea of a remix is actually slowing it down and adding rap to it. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not a big fan of rap per se, but now that I look back a lot of awesome ARR songs from as far back Kaadhalan has rap and I actually recall completely enjoying those songs! Especially in Endrendrum Punnagai.

Benny Dayal! Who is he? He's got the most divine voice! Malayali from MCC! He handles all languages with nary a trace of a Mallu accent! Shreya Ghoshal! need I say anything else!? This song definitely has the sumthin sumthin that was missing in Tu Muskura! The dreamy duet bit starting at 4:46 makes me break out in goosebumps! The music right after reminds me of So Gaye Hain. I love Tu Hi Toh Meri Dost Hain!!!

I like the original Shano Shano plenty. But I think ARR should just have one dance number. Not one and then a remixed one. I love the part where the female sings those 4 lines at 3:29, it makes for an awesome contrast to the rest of the song. The whole song makes me want to get on up and shake a leg.....on the floor.

And now for my favorite! Not surprisingly, after Manmohana in JA, my fave in this one is Manmohini (Morey). I love, simply, completely, and totally love the opening notes to this song. This is ARR at his best, only he could possibly put pure unadulterated Hindusthani singing with a softly played western dance number as the background and make it work! Mesmerised. That's exactly what I am. I wouldn't be surprised if not very many like it however. Purists definitely will not. And there are a heck of a lot of those out there.

I found Srinivas sounding a heck of a lot like Hariharan in Zindagi. Simple, beautful number again. There are a lot of melodies in this album and all of them really good. This is a great hummable tune.

You did realize that I left the Salman Khan "piece" out. Sorry, I didn't find anything new there. Unlike Lalkaar which had a beautiful background, due to my strong allergic reaction to Salman Khan, be it only his voice, I had to pass on this one.

I think I've said it all. In this day of stupor-inducing dance and remix numbers, ARR is a breath of fresh air. As always ARR is his own strongest competition. True Rahmaniacs will always expect that extra something from him. It looks like he's delivered it here.

Better Late Than Never!


This is probably going to be very different compared to all my other views because this comes after at least 6 months of release of the music alone. Having seen the movie before I got a chance to let the Rahman-effect grow completely had me shifting favorites, and of course the song that I didn’t really like moved up to a higher level. I’m just going to go with the order that I have on my pod.

Jashn-e-bahara is simply the most amazing song of ARR’s I’ve heard in a while. I’ve probably listened to it bazillion times by now and I love….simply adore this song. Classic as it should be given the context of the movie, yet new sounding. How does he do it? I know that this is supposed to have a singer with a lighter voice, but I still feel that that he could have a deeper sounding one. And I loved the video of the song. Hrithik didn’t look too weird with the ‘stache, just wondering if it was a real one though. Having Hrithik Roshan and ARR in one movie was the ultimate for me. The most annoying lip-syncing that goes on isn’t in this song and I really appreciated it. Beautiful. Just incredibly stupendous. The instrumental version is just as beautiful. Normally I don’t really have the patience for most instrumental numbers but this one I can listen to again, and again, and then some more.

In Lamhon Ki Daman was another beautiful song. I like the ups and downs that ARR takes the listener through. Sonu Nigam does great justice to the song, as usual, couldn’t have asked for a better singer. Madhushree however, even for the little bitty part that she sings, sounds surprisingly old. The song was also shot beautifully. A little Hindi-filmi in some areas, but with a couple who look as good as the pair on screen, I guess that could be overlooked. I wondered why only Rai does any lip-syncing but not Roshan. Nothing simple about this one, great flute work, as usual, I suspect by Naveen.

Mann Mohana is probably my favorite out of the songs in this movie. I don’t think the whole song was used in the movie unless it was edited out. I like the way that it moves from utter despair to contentment and even holds a little sensuality toward the end. Sort of follows the story line, atleast for the character Rai plays. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a devotional number since Pal Pal Hai Bhari – and before that Oh! Paalanhaare. All Gowarikar movies, looks like he likes some amount of divinity in his movies. Wait! But the best part of the song is yet to be mentioned. Bela Shende’s voice is flawless. Clear as a bell and young sounding. Between the voice, the flute interludes and divine music (both because of the devotional element and because ARR’s music is divine) and the awesome lyrics the song ends with, this can’t help to tie for the first place in my rankings for this movie’s music. The way Hrithik looks in the last two lines – lovestruck, awestruck – take your pick, is just the icing on the cake. Never cared for Rai’s acting, never will. She annoys the heck out of me during this song.

Azeem-O-Shah-Shahenshah is a good, solid piece. ARR flexes his drum muscles, wonder if Sivamani worked on this. I loved it when I first listened. Very large scale sounding, perfect for the “Mogul” of all Mughals. Very desi video, dancing in circles and all that. Some of the stuff that Hindi movie clichés are made up of. One of ARR’s immediately likable pieces. Reminded me of Oruvan Oruvan's opening

Khwaja Mere Khwaja- This song took several listenings and sheer will to reach the position of being liked. It’s not possible to have a movie about the most well-known and remembered Muslim emperors of India and not have a Muslim devotional number as well. I liked certain parts of the song and I still don’t like some parts of the song. There are some inconsistencies in the accent and pronunciation, that I think I’ve learnt to expect when ARR sings in Hindi. But more than the pronunciation, I don’t like the opening too much but it was picturised well with the twins, but the extreme nasal sounding singing in the interludes that ARR does, does not appeal to me. Otherwise, I love the interlude at 3:45 to 4:00, except for when I watch the video. It looks like a mass PT session on the ground. These guys looked like they had clay pots on their heads and the emperor gets hit by a very artificially computerized light and then he twirls around. I’m guessing it’s some form of dance that gets done when spiritually charged? Whatever said and done, you have to admit that Hrithik is a very graceful twirler. The beginning of the instrumental version is beautiful, and is reminiscent of Pyara Sa Gaon from Zubeidaa.

I’m still working on Ada, and the more news that I hear about it, I think I understand why I had the initial reaction to it. Maybe the flight I take next week will give me enough time to fall in love with this album as I did with Jodha Akbar.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Yep, I know it's been a looong while since I've posted anything. Just in a position where I fly so often with my computer and have to put up with so many empty hours. I'm back to blogging again. I think I'll go back and give Jodha Akbar a good go too, even though it has been quite a while since it released. It's an awesome album that I've had plenty of time to listen to as well. Well for right now, here's my 2 cents worth

When I compare the last 2 works of ARR I find that one surpasses the other in more than just one glaring aspect. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na seems to be exactly what you expect to not expect from ARR. It’s young, fun, yet has its haunting numbers. It reminded me of Rang De Basanti because there were the fun-filled tracks but the awesome Khoon Chala is an unforgettable “haunter”. That’s exactly how I feel about the Jaane Tu Mera Kya Hai number rendered by Runa Rizvi. She sings it with a great amount of angst in her voice, somehow I wonder if college kids could actually feel that much in their increasingly brand conscious lives. Looking forward to videos. The song is made to sound simple yet is incredibly beautiful. This stands as my favorite, only because of its simplicity. She sounds great except for some points where I think she sounds annoyingly nasal.



Sukhvinder’s version of Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai brought back Raat Ki Dal Dal from 1947 Earth almost immediately. Slower, louder and less smooth than Rizvi’s version, still beautiful. However, something about Rizvi’s version just touches me more, just seems more poignant.

Nazrein Milana sounds more like something the cool kids would croon. Light, fun and extremely cool. Not pop cool, but actually cool with guitar work peppered with the electric guitar and the harmonica. And this, my friends, is what ARR is all about. He doesn’t do pop, he does cool. ‘Course his stuff becomes pop(ular) after we listen to it a couple of times, makes its way to the top 10 without fail. I can’t wait to listen to an ARR version of a rock song.

Now one thing that isn’t great about JTYNJ is the lyrics. And I say this right before I give you my view about Pappu Can’t Dance on purpose. The lyrics suck for this song. Is it funny? Heck yeah! But stupidly so. The song is as always great when it’s an ARR dance one. Different indeed from Yaakai Thiri, not quite as spell-binding, but pretty darn good nonetheless. I don’t really find that much of a difference with the remix.


Kabhi Kabhi Aditi was my initial favorite, possibly because I’d had the Rahman several listenings effect growing on me then. I read a review saying that it sounded uncannily like Musu Musu, the only thing I find similar between the two are the theme of the picturisation where the hero and his friends are trying to coax the heroine to at least smile. Just a little bit. Please? AND the words Kabhi Kabhi in this song and the title of that movie. Kind of like Yun Hi Chala from Swades in how likable it is on just one listening. I particularly like how he breaks the monotony of the song by having Ali whisper the lyrics. I wonder if Rashid Ali and Javed Ali are brothers. Javed Ali of Jashn-E-Bahaara fame? They sound fairly similar with their lighter voices.

What sounds like the title song of the movie, ARR does it again after the Jillendru Oru Kaadhal title song with Tu Bole. He refrains from using unnatural sounds and sticks to unadulterated Jazz that brings to mind the image of a smokey old restaurant/bar from the 60s. The only real ARR touch is the best – his voice! Soul food!

Looks like Rashid Ali is ARR’s latest favorite. I think Naresh Iyer would have been a better choice for Kahin To Hogi. Oh well! The Maestro knows best. After the cool, hip, dance, jazz and the haunting we have a soft romantic number with Kahin to Hogi. You’d expect Iyer here. No such luck. I guess after listening to all the variety, this just adds to it to make it an all-rounder. As much as it’s a nice song, I found it, to put it mildly, boring. I didn’t find anything different in it that hasn’t already been before by someone else.Talking about differences, Ada’s songs sounded like old Hindi movie songs. I was appalled to say the least. There are ARR touches everywhere, but Gum Sum ad Gulfisha sound like songs from the 90s before ARR trailblazed his way into Bollywood. I will discuss it further after having listened to it more. I’ve already been listening to it, maybe this is just one of those albums that I just might not like – I didn’t like Vandi Solai Chinnarasu or Parasuram either. More to come.

Sivaji

It has been a very, very, very long time since I've gotten the time or reason to blog I guess. Life got very hectic between the last time I posted and now. The dust has barely started to settle, and I'm heading for another roller coaster ride to God alone knows where and when. Anyways, moving on to the music at hand.

Athiradi: Loved it. Hilarious lyrics. Gun Gun, En Strong Gun, Roger Moore Poley, Dishum! Everytime I hear it I laugh especially at the usage of the word Dishum. The song is extremely likable though! So catchy, so fun, so funny. Bun Bun nee sweet bun? My Fair Lady nee thaan? I loved the Rathi thi thi...part a lot. Reminds me of Mukkala from Kaadhalan if only for the nonsensical lyrics and the catchy tune. And being the biased Rahmaniac that I am, I couldn't resist an ARR sung number. Sounds very Michael-Jacksonish. One question? Why does the female have this highly fake anglicized accent?? Sayonara? sounds good though.

Balleillakka: SPB at his best. This guy just keeps getting better than his latest best. As much as I don't like that song too much, and as much as I like this one, to some extent, probably because of the same singer, and the pace this song brought Devuda to mind. To me the best part of the song is the main chorus in itself, call it being homesick, call it the magic of ARR...I loved the Aey Balleilakka part the best. Whenever I listen to this part I have this feeling of coming home. Did not like the song at all when I started listening to it. Initially I was looking for the layers and it didn't seem like there were many, it took some serious headphone listening to actually unearth this gem. Am totally taken with this song as of right now. Love the eley...eley...eley parts every now and then in the background.

Sahana is a vintage ARR composition. If only there was someone else singing the male part, it would have been closer to perfect. I absolutely abhor Udit Narayan's Tamizh renditions. I don't particularly like his voice either these days. Enough said about that. Chinmayi's awesome. She sounds very different again. So different from the Oru Deivam in Kannathil... and very different from the Tere Bina in Guru. Full bodied, yet she manages to sound so good when she does the breathy bit. When she hits the high note between 3:47-3:55 she sounds breathtakingly lovely. I guess this song would fall into the Munbe Vaa, Snehidane, Kaatril Oru Vaarthai category.....somehow I thought it didn't quite make it to the standard of the aforementioned songs. Even the Dheem thana... part that ARR sings seems a little like he just wanted to get it done. Didn't sound like a final version. Slightly unsatisfying experience.

Sahara is like the beauty of Sahana magnified. Stupendously lovely. The only jarring note is when Vijay Yesudas tries to hit the high note but struggles with it. People have been questioning his usage in the song, but I think since the song isn't supposed to be the main version, being much shorter and with less background music, his tentative and softer rendition sounds about spot-on. Gomathi Shree - is she related in any way to Nithyashree?? The way they sing, their style seems similar. Initially she sounded weird to me, kind of flat, nasal. I guess, she sounds like she's trying to sound more classical. I love the lyrics for her. My overall favorite would be this number in the whole album. I especially like the background female singers work.

Style is one song that would probably go down better with other people. Initially screaming from the "adivaithu" was not so appealing. What the heck is he saying? Even after getting the lyrics I couldn't get the meaning of the pachai and vellai thamizhans. Spanish lyrics? The electric guitar work at the end really jarrrrrrs. I'm sure it'll be a big hit with someone. Oh My God! I'm growing old! I can't believe I don't think stuff like this is cool anymore!

Vaaji Vaaji is an enjoyable song. I loved 3 things in this song. Hariharan's rendition, the aambal-mavval part and the 3:27-4:12 interlude part. The music and the singing in this part is divine. I have no clue what the heck they're saying, but I get goosebumps everytime I hear that part. I'm convinced that I just don't like Madhushree's voice or the way she sings. Something just ain't right there. I think the only song sung by her I like is the number in Kisna. This song didn't strike me as being a stand-outter, except for the aambal-mavval part. Took a little getting used to, but a likable number. 2:12-2:18 has this male singing which adds a nice touch.

Boss - This one's an obvious Rajini number. Created only for the Super Star. Sounds like the BGM for all his fight scenes. 0:08-0:19 this section sounds like a slower part from Taal's instrumental piece Beat of Passion . Song has a lot of attitude. Goes down very well.

Overall, there were good parts to every song, but the negative aspects stood out and the good parts seem to be overwhelmed by some of the glaring negative aspects. I feel that this one was not given attention. Except for Sahara to some extent, I didn't think there was an outstanding number like Barso Re or Munbe Vaa or New York Nagaram. These songs were perfect. But all the songs are very likable. They grow on you and feel like your warm fuzzy blankey.

On a non-Sivaji note, I'm going through a Shreya Ghoshal phase. All the songs that she's sung for ARR are simply awesome, I'm surprised he didn't use her for Sivaji, maybe something else soon. I was extremely excited when I found out from the yahoo group that ARR's doing a whole bunch of concerts in the USA. I can't wait! Dang! I wish I could get the tickets already! Finally seeing him in action is going to be absolutely great!

Guru...Guru...Guru...Ho Ja Shuru!

Yep, it's been a while. Things have been REALLY crazy for a bit. The dust is still settling, but with the Guru music release I just had to post something. I just got my copy of the CD this Monday, so I think the ARR magic is still working it's charm on me. Right off, listening to ARR sing has been evoking a feeling of "coming home", so to speak. So I'm biased with this album, cos atleast 3 songs have ARR singing(WOO HOO!!!). I was really excited when I saw the cover and the number of songs he'd lent his voice to. I normally listen to ARR albums on Raaga when they release, but this time I wanted to listen to the "good" quality version and nothing less. And, initially I wasn't too happy with the songs. Now, lordy(!) I'm addicted! As usual, I'm getting something new on every hearing. Alright now, I'm going to dive in!!


Jaage Hain - my fav so far. This song is like the ULTIMATE! Simple, beautiful singing by Chitra, an amazing precursor to the orchestra and the Madras Chorale Group. The first time I heard ARR at almost a whisper, I was like w.t.h??? And then I heard the crescendo, and his higher pitched rendition, in TRUE ARR style. I can see him throwing his head back and giving it his all!!!! This part made me break out in goosebumps, and still does. The initial orchestra-chorus section, right after Chitra is done singing, reminded me a lot of the Bombay Theme. This is something you'd expect in a Western movie, and listening to it is sheer bliss. No doubt, Maniratnam will do a good job when picturising this song. He's always done an awesome job, which makes me want to see this movie as soon as it releases. This one I fell in love with on the very first listen. SO much soul in this song!

Barso Re : love this song. Sung with spunk, the versatility of the singer : Shreya Ghoshal shines through. Loved her rendition in Munbe Vaa too. When I listened to it initially, I wasn't too taken with it. I didn't hear the usual layers that ARR normally adds, it took me a while to get the layers, even when I was looking for them. This song is definitely a headphone piece, if you're looking to get all the little treats that ARR threw in. Makes me want to get up and dance. My body sways with the song naturally. This would probably fall into ARR's Rang De genre. Lots of verve in the song along with innocence. The loop reminds me of Ale Ale's underlying one as well as a part of Oh! Re Chori. The initial flute shadowing is just so beautiful. The Navin-ARR combo rocks! Especially after so long.

Tera Bina : Sufiyana comes to mind immediately, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan included. I know ARR is very much into this, so he musta had a ball making this one. I sure enjoyed this one, probably cos I love listening to ARR's voice. He keeps getting better. I still remember his shy, tentative singing for Mangta Hai Kya. His accent does need some teensy-weensy tweaking. Slower in tempo, lots to listen to, very likable, very hummable. Stays on my mind. Is it just Chinmayee singing? Is there someone else? Sounds like a more base, strong voice and a lighter, higher pitched voice. Didn't really like the heavier voice.

Ek Lo Ek Muft: like it....but HATE Bappi Lahiri's voice, and his total rendition. I find the lyrics funny, the song sounds like a fun song, like the music, but wish ARR had used someone else for the singing. The joyen..joyen..joyen reminded me of the way Ila Arun sang for Paas Aaja Baalam Re in Mr Romeo, when she sings the he-he-he-he part. Chitra (Shivaraman?)'s voice fits in rather well. The whole Gujju style for the underlying arrangement was enjoyable. Not much by way of an ARR number tho. Still wondering why ARR chose (the iffy) Bappi Lahiri.

Mayya Mayya: Just when I got over the Khalbali addiction, ARR dishes out another Arabian-style number. What ARR himself called Turkish. The lyrics booklet that comes with the CD also had pictures of Mallika Sherawat in her element. So I'm already picturising the video in my head. Lots going on in this song. Sounds like Maryem Toller couldn't quite get the hang of the language, and well who can blame her. On the first listen, this song sounds plain chaotic. LOTS AND LOTS of layers. Still finding new stuff every time I listen to it. There's supposedly the rip-off from Buddha Bar, still wondering if it's just a commercially available loop, or if it was an actual rip-off. I'm slowly, yet surely getting addicted to this one cos it's just plain catchy. This is probably a good headphone number too, there's some switching sides and stuff. Maryem Toller is an awesome singer, that's a given, I guess, or ARR wouldn't have gone out of his way to have her sing. Is it Chinmayee or Keerthi who's shadowing the singer with the ehe..ehe..ehe?? The male singer hasn't been identified in the CD, an oversight? I still don't get what he's saying, something in Arabic obviously! The song sounds very authentic, unlike other stuff that the Indian movie industry normally dishes out. Addictive stuff that.

Ay Hairathe : The beginning is very much like Poo Kodiyin Punnagai from Iruvar. I think that's something a lot of Tamilians have already pointed out. Simple song, very ghazalish. I've never been able to listen to ghazals, that's probably the only kind of music I don't have the patience at all for. But then this is ARR, he mixes it up with some old-sounding music. It sounds oldish to me probably because of the accordion. Interesting lyrics. And there's the fact that ARR's voice is makes the song perfect for me. Lately its been hard to listen to Alka Yagnik. Her voice just plain irritates me. There was that effect, but otherwise a beautiful song.

Baazi Laga: Catchy, oldy song. Nothing to write home about. Reminded me of Humraahi Jab Ho... from Pukar. Situational? Only -ve? Udit Narayan. Somehow, again his voice grates on my nerves. Probably the only song in the album that I'm not all that into. One part I did like is the way the chorus shadows Udit Narayan.

On the whole, a nice piece. Jaage Hain is going down in my book as a classic. Hope it gets the global audience that Dil Se is now getting. I've already had 3 ppl tell me that they don't like Guru's music. They stole my CD and pooh-poohed it!! It's just the growing effect. Most ppl just don't have the patience that Rahmaniacs have. They kind of close themselves off from sheer beauty. Oh well! Their loss.

The Golden Age

We're a privileged lot, you know! We've got Indian greats such as Shekhar Kapur and ARR offering up the very best. The Golden Age indeed, that we live in. Just found out that Shekhar Kapur blogs too!! I found his and (I think) his historian's account of The Golden Age(that they just completed shooting) fascinating. What was most amazing is the way you're actually able to interact with the man himself. Have always been a big fan of Mr. Kapur. Why wasn't he nominated for an Oscar, when his movie and lead actress were!? The blog isn't just about The Golden Age. There's so much more. It gives you an insight into what kind of a man Kapur himself is. I must admit, I'm ecstatic that he acknowledged my questions and actually replied. No points for guessing what the questions were about. Anyways, I think, after reading the blog it's not just about the music alone. One year for it to release, that's no fun at all. Check out the link for his and his historian's posts on The Golden Age alone.

http://www.shekharkapur.com/goldenage/

His historian mentioned the use of ARR's music in a certain scene in May. The last paragraph talks about ARR. The rest is also very interesting. There's history and historical accounts, and there's SK's interpretation of them.

http://www.shekharkapur.com/goldenage/archives/2006/05/thursday_4th_may_2006.html

I found the blog very interesting in itself. Throw in ARR and there's a movie that I'm going to be watching as soon as it releases. I wonder if it's too much to ask of ARR himself to maintain a blog. His thoughts and feeling out on the internet....I guess that would be asking too much. He is the kind who is rather private. Maybe just something short about his music. It would be wonderful to be able to communicate with him, and it would be more private than getting mobbed as he normally does when he's in public. Hoping and praying that this gets both SK and ARR (and Mr. Pinto) an award.


Latest Fav: Stuck on New York Nagaram. Simply beautiful. This one did not require the growing effect. Liked it immensely the very first time I heard the samples in Raaga.com. More on JOK later.

God! Stop It!

What's the deal with all this hate and all the killing? I'm just not able to understand it. Do men need a reason to shed blood? Is land worth as much as a human life? Is oil worth so much? Evidently, yes. Why does man think that human life is so expendable? Taking another human life, shouldn't that be inexcusable? Why is it that people just stand back and watch while more and more people just die. Aren't most of the places where there is strife, related to land disputes? Forget soldiers, terrorists, or freedom-fighters who know that there is a higher probability of their dying, whether for their country or their cause. What about the innocent lives that are snatched away in any land dispute. What kind of a hate targets innocent people travelling on trains? No matter which faith or religion these terrorists belong to, whether it be judgment day or just plain karma, don't they know that there will be some kind of reprisal? Wouldn't that damn the soul for all eternity? What or who propagates such hate that would result in such devastation? The worst part is that this is our history. History has told us of so many wars and so many deaths, of men killing each other for control over land. Does man learn NOTHING from history? Why do they make us sit through all those classes in school? Territorial fights are prevalent amongst animals. Does this not show just how base the human instinct is? Peace seems to be a faraway dream right now. Armies, nuclear testing, armament : killing machines. Shows you how insecure each country is. So much chaos. I wonder if this is when Kalki will come down. Why do we need constant reminders from a God above to live harmoniously? When we have been given a superior intelligence when compared to animals, why do we not use it? I guess if over 2000 years of fighting and killing each other hasn't stopped the population from expanding, maybe this is just one of those ways that God has designed for keeping the population in check. As much as I've read of peoples' feelings, the hatred just keeps spreading. I see no hope for humanity as long as the negativity in them prevails. The pattern is pretty much set in stone at this point in time. I just hope I am wrong though.

I've got the power...

Yeah! I finally got my comp back, and up and working, no thanks to Dell. I think I've had the worst customer service, for the simplest of all problems that could afflict a laptop. Part of the craziness was covered in my last post. I was annoyed then. I think I went through a whole gamut of negative emotions, until I got to this point where I just quit caring! And only then did I get my computer to work! Let's backtrack some. I got sent the wrong adaptor, which I returned and chatted with another guy who insisted that I had been sent the right adaptor and that I had a motherboard problem. So I packed up the laptop and sent it in to Dell on the 18th of May. It was supposed to take 5 business days. It was past 5 business days and I hadn't heard from Dell. So I go online again, chat with another nincompoop. This guy tells me that the laptop had already been delivered to me. I was like, WHAT?! Where to? Which address, cos I haven't recieved my laptop back again! To which the dumass says that it was sent to this city in this state. I keep asking him for the darn street address, and he keeps giving me the city and state!!! Finally he gets it in his THICK head that I'm asking for the street. He gives me the right address, and also gives me the DHL tracking number. I check it out and it shows the empty box that Dell delivered to me so I could send the laptop to them! He then tells me that the repairs that are required on the laptop are out-of-warranty. He says he knows nothing else, and gives me a phone number to call. I call them and this Indian guy tell me that it would be around the 2nd of June by the time I get the comp back, and that everything was very much going to be covered by the warranty. I figure since I'm moving to a different state, they should just mail it to me in the place I'm moving to. And it was delivered to the new place, exactly on the day I moved there! This was when I thought...whew! All's well that end's well. Boy! was I kidding myself or what!

I 'power on' the laptop, and less than a minute later the laptop turns itself off! They'd sent it back to me unrepaired. So I talk to another guy on the phone. Another Indian : Dave. He's all apologetic. Takes case ownership, says he'll do the needful. This was on the 4th. I send it back to Dell on the 5th. Here I'm thinking it's gonna take just as long again, but I get a call from the place I used to stay, on 7th evening. Turns out to be the DHL guy. He has my laptop with him and he's looking to deliver it to me. I tell him I'm a 4 hour flight away, he tells me to call Dell, but he takes down my new address. He takes it back to the headquarters in the nearest big city. And there my laptop stayed until it was delvered to me exactly 2 weeks. That Wednesday I called Dave, tried to leave a msg for him, but there was no space on his voicemail. So out of desperation, I try to talk to someone else. I get another Indian. I don't remember the initial name he gave me, but he did give me his Indian name at the end of the conversation - Kamal. He puts me on hold for atleast a half hour. Well, all Dell technicians and customer service reps put you on hold for a minimum of 30 mins. After a while, you just HAVE to get used to it. Anyways, Kamal tells me everything's all fixed, and I should get my comp in 2 business days. When a Dell anyone tells you that, you can be sure that it'll be over at your place the next morning. So I wait for a couple of days and hit the weekend, completely exasperated! I call and leave a msg for Kamal on his voicemail, but I don't get any response from him. Then I send him an email. No response again. He was supposed to call me on Friday to ensure that I got the laptop. Didn't happen. So I call Dell again, get an Indian woman : Soumya. She actually introduced herself as Soumya! Well! Whaddya know! She does the exact same thing Kamal does. Nothing happens. BUT gives me the all important tracking number. So I can see that that package is going nowhere. They actually had this message up there : Awaiting pickup by recipient as requested. Now I thought that it was obvious that given that I had the length of the country between me and the laptop, I never would have requested a pick-up! Anyways, nothing happens again. I call DHL and ask them what needs to be done. They tell me that I need to get some authorization done by Dell. The customer service rep at DHL was very vague abt it to. So I call Dell....again. I get this American - Drent. He conferences me with DHL, gets the right info from their customer service rep, he and I find out that DHL requires an email from the Internal Logistics something, with the right address. 24 hour processing. Should be with me right after the processing is done. Drent conferences me with a cust serv. rep at Dell, John - another Indian. Listening to them talk......I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry. Drent had just been told what to do, John hadn't a clue! Personally I don't think ANYONE at Dell knows how to deal with ANYTHING. They supposedly fix everything. This was on the 14th. I call DHL on the 16th, and theres no change. They email hasn't gotten through. So I call Dell again....getting repititive isn't it? I get someone who sounds Indonesian to me. She pushes the email again. I get the laptop again on Monday.

Lo and behold! It's still not working. I'm guessing if you've read this far, your abt a tenth as frustrated as I was. I call Dell again, and tell this other Indian guy - Nelson, to please send me an adaptor. He keeps telling me that there could be some other problem. I tell him (lying through my teeth here) that I can actually see some damage on the plug. He's forced to send me the adaptor. It gets to me on Wednesday, I wasn't in the whole day. I pick it up from the apt. office plug it into the comp, and guess what? It works.

Moral of the story : Don't buy a Dell. If you do, then make sure you have a landline, because the number of times they put you on hold, and the number of minutes you lose while holding, your cell phone will be out of minutes in a couple of days.

I'm just glad that I'm still under warranty. Can you imagine the amount of money DHL makes out of Dell's shennanigans????

Never Again a Dell

I'm more frustrated than ever! My laptop won't power up and I'm stuck with no ARR for a minimum of 5 business days, until Dell gets something done. I swear!!!!!! I'm never ever ever ever ever ever getting a Dell ever again. Arrrrrgghhhhhhhhh!!! To begin with, they no longer have a way to call and talk to someone. So I had to chat with 3 customer service reps. OH MY GOD!!!! I know these guys are Indians. Given the fact that their ids are Ashok, Raminder and the third - Prince! The worst part of the conversation was when I tell them that the comp is working fine with the battery, but the battery has run out and cannot be recharged as the comp is not taking in any power. After reading the whole thing, this guy asks me if I can please power on my computer!!!!!!! I was just about ready to tear my hair out! Vidiya vidiya Ramayanam ketu Sithai ku Ramar yaaru nu ketu epadi irrukum? And the second guy I chatted with asked me the same question. Twice in one day was too much, so I said there's no power and there's no battery, how will the computer turn on!? FINALLY this dude gets it and tells me he's sorry that he asked such a stupid question. I was so glad that I was getting the new adaptor this morning, until they delivered an adaptor that's obviously for another computer. When I chat with this third guy, of course the Prince(!) he insists that the adaptor is right. I have to tell him that it's physically impossible to fit that adaptor to my tiny laptop.

I'm just glad I didn't delete all the songs from my office comp. It's only when I'm at home and I hear nothin' but the birds chirping outside, I'm like GIVE ME BACK MY MUSIC!!! The moment I get my laptop back I'm making copies. Not that I don't have any, but I think I need them in CDs. Though it would be a little hard to play em, because I packed my boombox. I'm almost done packing. Now all I need to do is to get my books in somewhere.

Latest fav - Asathura Asathura. Fun song that! I kinda like all the songs in E20U18. I don't get why others don't? Maybe it's too techie???

Thoughts...

Long hiatus in some original ARR posting. Thinking up a topic to write about should probably be blamed for the hiatus. However, this time I'm probably going to be questioning ARR. One big big question I have for ARR is that why use singers who obviously don't know the language to sing in it? I remember the usage of Udit Narayan in Kaadhalikkum Pennin from Kaadhalan. His diction sucked, but it was such a cute song, that it didn't matter too much. This habit of using non-Tamil singers for Tamil songs has been questioned several times, but people while not completely appreciating it, continue to listen to it. I am one of these people. I did not like Haiyo Pathikichu from Rhythm at all because of Udit Narayan. I love the song, but everytime I hear his voice I cringe. There's also his work in Kuluvalile Mottu from Muthu. For the most part Sadhna Sargam's diction is phenomenal, but Madhushree's Sand kodi kodi... just blew! The original version wasn't too bad, but when she sang the song for the Tsunami event, hoo boy! What I'm really trying to say here is that there is immense talent in Tamil Nadu itself for Tamil singing. There are several bilingual singers who've made it big, both on their own and on account of ARR. Some of these people are Hariharan, Kavitha Krishnamurthi, Srinivas, and the latest Naresh Iyer. When there are several singers who able to sing in Tamil, why resort to people who obviously cannot pronounce the words right. There are even several Malayali singers who sing in Tamil very well. But isn't it logical to use someone who is well versed in the language? That's my question.

My latest fav - Ale Ale. I know, an older number, but when listening to Boys I never got past Girlfriend. Was the rage hit when I first got to the USA. I still remember the whole crowd yelling when someone played GF at an Indian event. Man, that's the magic of ARR. Getting back to Ale Ale, I love, simply and totally love the way the song starts out. Another movie I haven't seen, nor do I have the intention of ever seeing it. I do know that the songs were picturised well. I did get to see the Ale Ale , and well it isn't as bad as Anbe Aaruyire. The split sound of the the string instrument in the beginning gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.

I've been revisiting old numbers for the past few weeks, Paarthale Paravasam, Kaadhalan, Kaadhal Desam, mostly all his Tamil oldies. Another song that I've become addicted to is Baila More from Kaadhal Virus. I have not listened to this song before, and on the first hearing, I was like what is this?? Weird French stuff, Spanish words(baila more) sung by Indians followed up with Tamil lyrics. Sounds like a ''getting stoned'' song to me. :) Those who haven't heard it, this is another sample of ARR's experimentation. I think he based his I Wanna Be Free in Tehzeeb loosely on this. Or was it the other way around.

Anyways, waiting for Guru and Surya's JOK.

This post is going to cover some of the links I've been collecting over the past few weeks. Random links, random thoughts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_selling_music_artists

Attn: ARR skeptics. I got this link through the yahoo group. The only Indian on the list, the only Indian claimed to have sold over 100 million records or more. Looking a lil closer at the table you notice that other than him only Mariah Carey has the same number of "Years Active". What I'm trying to get at here is that all the others on the list have been selling records for a time span in some cases much larger than just the 90s-00s. ARR has sold over 100 million records in 14 years! Well you have to realize that a lot of people would have bought the record because they liked the movie, not necessarily for just the music. Lately, I've been doing the opposite.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/movieReviews/view.bg?articleid=131876
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199011

For those who haven't already seen the movie and those who don't already know abt the fact that ARR's Chaiyya Chaiyya starts of Spike Lee's Inside Man, here are a couple of links to reviews of the the movie starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer . The movie's supposed to be really good, and doing very well. Check out paragraph 3 in the first link and the last paragraph in the second link. I'm seriously considering renting a car to go see this one.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2100281,00.html

A short review and an appetizer for all us Rahmaniacs. You can listen to a short clip of Lothlorein, there's a link in the first sentence :) and I spent a goodly amt of time looking for the link after I read the last paragraph. Waiting to hear the rest of the music.

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=526588

**Charles Spencer of The Telegraph: "There is nothing here to rival the imaginative visual coups and heart-tugging emotion of such great family shows as Billy Elliot, The Lion King and Mary Poppins. And though the musical score, by the Indian film composer AR Rahman, the Finnish group Värttinä and the show's musical supervisor Christopher Nightingale is an engaging mixture of folk rock, trippy-hippy mysticism and eastern chants, it doesn't, at least on first hearing, seem to offer any memorable take-home numbers… There's a 55-strong cast, but they are often under-employed… Peter Darling's folksy choreography isn't a patch on his dazzling work on Billy Elliot." **

Mr Spencer says it all with that one sentence. ARR's music grows on you. You have to listen to it more than just once before you write a review on it. Any Rahmaniac knows that, well, others too, anyone who's acquainted with ARR knows that! Somebody tell these ppl how it works with ARR's music!!!!! There are several other excerpts of reviews in the link.

http://www.behindwoods.com/features/Literature/Literature3/iruvar_2.html

The second part was news to me, and I thought that I should let others know about it. Mani Sir to direct a Chinese movie. The author doesn't mention it specifically, but I don't have to guess when I say that ARR will surely be a part of this if it is true.

Will do something more original soon.

Basketball Fever

For a basketball fanatic like me, it was a dream come true to get to go to a game. I got to see the Aggies beat the UT Longhorns (Whoop!). Our girls pretty much thrashed 'em silly. And I got the best seats available! I was sitting right behind the girls as my boss was asked to be a Guest Coach. Since she knew of my passion for basketball she asked me if I wanted to go along, and the rest as they say, is history. My boss and I were at the Bright Football Complex for a short presentation and then got a tour of the Complex. These kids have got it made. They have every facility they'll ever need to help them ace college. But they do have to work hard and 'play' even harder. Then we popped over to Reed Arena for the game and wonders of wonders, we got the best parking spot available. We got to even go over to the girls' locker room and hear Head Coach Blair and Associate Head Coach Schaefer talk to the girls before they went in to beat the Longhorns. The clincher?? I got to talk to the girls too. I didn't know that I would be doing it, but I ended up saying soemthing stupid and well, the girls laughed at it. A’Quonesia Franklin is one awesome player. I know for sure that I'm taller than her, but I doubt I could ever be as great as she is.

Fact : Aggies are ranked #25 in the Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Top 25 Poll. They were ranked #21, but they dropped a few points when the lost a couple of games against Baylor(12) and Oklahoma(9). No. 31 on http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/Wrpi1.html?gender=W

I've seen like gazillion NBA, WNBA, and NCAA: men's and women's bball games. But to see it all happen and when you have ringside seats! is totally amazing. The commentary was vintage American style. They even announced the players and the guest coaches like the way they're announced on tv. "Here we have No. 3 Takiiiiaa Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarks." It was phenomenal. I forgot to take my camera to the game (I could kick myself so hard that I wouldn't be able to sit for a week!) , BUT I did have my cell phone! So here are some pics from the ringside :) The quality of these pics leaves a lot to be desired for. It's the best I could do.

This one was taken just as the Aggies scored. :)

That's Coach Blair preventing me from catching the Aggies acore again.

That's Coach Blair in the lighter colored shirt talking to girls during a time-out. And Coach Schaefer in the dark jacket. The pretty lady is Assistant Coach Tennison. You can also see the left shoulder and arm of Assistant Coach Kelly.

This one's of a freethrow. I did note that most of the initial points that UT scored were via freethrows.

I wanted to fight for the rights of the children that have been wronged! Child labor is such a horrible thing. I refrained :) They had lil kids do the cleaning up evertime there was a time-out. There isn't much to clean up at all, it's just so cute is all.

Reveille, Aggie mascot. Cute dog, makes her presence known by barking. (My lil secret...the Corps guys that take care of her are always cuter...ssshhh) I wanted to get a pic of the Yell Leaders too, but my lil camera phone ran out of space. Yeah, the Aggies do not have any cheerleaders, we have Yell Leaders. They're these really cute, BIG, beefy-lookin, man's man kinda guys. They plonked themselves down in the girls' seats in front of us during half-time and they looked like they had chips on their shoulders the size of the Himalayas, so I didn't make any space for 'em on my phone :) I don't think they'll rue the loss ;)

If you want to see a short video on the Aggie Women's BBall team go to http://www.aggieathletics.com/index.php?SID=WBB

Dang! I wish my dad had let me play some bball when I was accepted into the college team :( Oh what the hey! I got to watch a great game :)

MY Take on Godfather

Innisai is my current fav in this album. But it took my not-very-well-trained ears a while before the intricacies could work its magic on me and move it up to being my fav. I love his other carnatic pieces - Narumugaye, Minsara Poove, and Maargazhi Thingal are songs I listen to everyday. I kid you not. Innisai keeps playing in my head when I should be doing something else. I think there's too much going on in the beginning of Innisai, or maybe it happens throughout the song and I just get the beat somewhere in the middle of the song. The background murmuring at 1:20....lends to added confusion, and the introduction of Iyer's voice seems like it can't quite catch up with the beats, at least on the 1st hearing. I didn't like Iyer's voice in the beginning of the song. It was just not deep enough. You carnatic music pandits out there...is this one an Adi thaalam? At 5:13 I love the way the background singers do the thom thom thom thananana thom, initially in between Iyer's singing, and then while he's singing. The remix has this something that the male singers say(sing), during the beats, just before the half-yodel at 2:28 and 2:33. This sounds like whatever the background singers are saying four times in Thaniye at 3:51 in Rhythm. I love the humming that the female voice does at 2:55 in between Iyer's higher pitched singing.The beats and a halfway yodel before the dappanguthu part stick out a bit, but I'm all for it, and it even seems to sit fine in the midst of a classical number. You just have to love the all-female chorus. Light and airy, despite being what most youngsters consider the heavy classical stuff. The base something(?) sounds really good. No mrindangam here. I think Srinivas would have done a better job....but that's just me. While this one isn't quite my fav classical no. of ARR's, I love it.

Kama karayil brings to mind the Inijiringo song in Thenali. Probably because of the beats. I guess this one was in keeping with the regular, now monotonous kuuthu songs that seems to be becoming a fixture in Tamil movies. This one grew on me too. It's fairly catchy, but the lyrics don't leave much to the imagination. Kattil mele kabbadi kabbadi?? Kaaman thaan di referee referee??? What..the..?? I think only ARR can change the way even a kuuthu song sounds :) I don't know if it is ARR's voice in the background at 00:42, 3:14 and 4:20, after the female lead sings kamaaaaa? Clarification necessary here from other Rahmaniacs.

Thothapuram is an out-and-out fun song. The kids voices remind me of Kuchi Kuchi Rakkamma. I love the beats and I'm fairly sure that everybody'll agree with me when I say I love the way ARR uses kids in his songs. Ocharu ocharu ocharu bava garu, Ivan osaram parthu kodupar benz-u car-u. I wonder why there's Telugu in it? It works tho. Fun fun fun. I'm not so sure of the video, it bordered on stupid. Too many stomachs dancing around for my liking.

Ilamai was one song I wasn't into initially. Right now...this songs got me...hook, line, and sinker. The yodeling is reminiscent of Ye dil na hota bechara in Jewel Thief. The 'hey' in the beginning reminded of the beginning of Baba kichu tha. The lyrics are situational is all I can hope for: Unnaku hero naanadi, un udaiko villainadi. Well I guess I have to admit that it is funny though. In the remix as Harish pointed out in his blog early on, Blaze sounds like Donald Duck. I just found out that this is called the D.U.C.K Remix. Or is that someone's idea of a joke? :) It works....very apt :) Blaze's getting better when he's rappin' with his regular voice. I mean, he sounds much better in this one than the Be a Rebel- Paathshaala. He's starting to sound authentic(rap/hip-hop wise). It's not like I know a whole lot abt rap or hip-hop. I just get to listen to plenty of it when I turn on the radio. So I guess I could say that I know what they sound like. I liked him best in Baba. That song ROX! One more for the nightclubs, very very catchy...after a few hearings.

Theeyil Vizhunda Thenaa...is a beautiful piece. There's plenty soul in the song, but I still think something's missing in it. As was discussed in the yahoo fan group, this does sound somewhat like Mera Yaar Mila De. I've a big question, why are all the songs, in all their entirety, like Bollywood, Tollywood(or is it Kollywood? I can never remember) and all the other woods, why is it that we have only Maa-Beta songs?? Why not Maa-Beti songs? Why not dad-daughter songs? Maybe there are some songs on this one. There are brother-sister songs a-plenty. My mom is the most important person in my world. How come I don't get to dedicate a song to her?? Could it be because all girls grow up to be the maas?? Correct me if I'm wrong. I could just be ignorant here.
One more thing. The instrumentation sounded like Meenaxi's Potter's Village. The lyrics floored me. The way he ends the song, the last time he sings stays with me cos he switches the voice from both sides to only one side, only for that last one line (headphones usage apparent here). If you want to know all about the raagas used, and his usage of other raagas, you'll have to become a member of the yahoo group. There are some knowledgeable ppl out there!

Kaatril sounds like a postscript to Snehidane. It even has the words snehidi and snehida in it. It's a melody that was an initial fav. I love...and I'm probably the only one... the saahiba part. Is this Reena Bharadwaj? Loved her in Yeh Rishta. Even the video, though faster moving reminds me of the video of Snehidane. Maybe it's the Sadhna Sargam deal. I get goosebumps listening to her. The interlude at 1:45 that lasts uptil SPB starts, sounds partially like the Mission Impossible OST and partially like the interludes in Made in India by Alisha Chinai (I guess I was actually listening, instead of just admiring Milind Soman's pecs back then). A simply lovely, maybe slightly monotonous, melody. Why'd they shift from saahiba to snehida??

On the whole, I think ARR's biggest competitor is himself. He's been getting progressively better and let's face it ppl, he can't satisfy everybody, which he's tried to do with this one. I find that when he was doing period films people thought he was getting repititive and that he'd lost his mass appeal thing which he had earlier. Now when he does the mass appeal movies, there are others and perhaps even the same ppl who say that after TLOBS, Bose, Meenaxi, and other such melodious pieces, this is like a step back. His choice of Tamil movies has been questioned. Well I would have to join in on those ppl who question his work with SJ Surya after I saw Mayilirage. But the song itself is beautiful. I'm never into the movie, always into the music, unless its Maniratnam we're talking abt. Ppl, ppl, just sit back and turn off the videos and listen to the magic that ARR churns out.

P.S: Ever noticed the echo effect in Thaniye? Yeah this is another one I heard on my new giant sized headphones. It's awesome...and theres like a whole lot more. You HAVE to listen to this one of the headphones to get the little stuff again. Good God! How does he do it??????

Pirandha Naal Vazhthukal ARR Sir.

Here's wishing ARR a very happy 39th! I've been listening to his Water songs. As much as RDB was for the masses, I'd say Water is for classical music enthusiasts. There was another set of Water songs that were leaked out earlier and I thought those were mind-blowing. The CD doesn't contain one of the songs that were part of the leaked out set. The rest are pretty much the same except for the added instrumentation. Did ARR get wind of the leak and decide to throw a little extra in to entice people who have the leaked out version to go get the original? Hmmm... I really can't seem to pick a fav out these songs.

Chan Chan or what we thought was called Aayo Re Sakhi is a beautiful piece. What can I say, the part where Sukvindar croons koyal bhi kuhu kuhu gaane lagi, brings to mind these lush pictures of mango trees and rivers and ...and whole lot more. Rendered beautifully and set to perfection, this is one of my favorites. It has me closing my eyes and just immersing myself completely in it's beauty.

Piya Ho is another of my favorites. The sadness of the song is so evocative, so telling on the mental anguish this woman is going through. It reaches right into your heart and touches your soul. There is this haunting loneliness that is apparent in the song which tugs at my heart. Again this was another song that was sung with so much feeling it makes me want to cry.

Talking about crying..Naina Neer Bahae is literally a tear-jerker. It is also extremely beautiful and is also a song that tugs on my heart strings. I don't think I'll get the true meaning of the song until I see the movie. Prem tho hai Gangajal isme.. vish amrit ban jaaye...do I need to say anymore? Sadhana Sargam has seriously outdone herself. I never thought I would be able to hear her do what she did with Snehidane, but she does it over and over again in Piya Ho and Aayo Re Sakhi as well, as surpasses anything she had ever done before. Tha added instrumentation only makes the song more beautiful.

Shyam Rang Me sounds like a fun song. When a Hindu woman becomes a widow, her life is literally stripped of all color, and its not just the feeling that all women irrespective of religion feel, it is that color that society snatches away from her. So I could picturise this song with the yearning of some color being added to the main character's life. Wonder if its picturised on a Holi song??

Vaishnav Jan To is a song that we, as Indians, are well aware of. ARR adds his own soft, beautiful touch to it. I wonder what happpened to the Bangari Marori that was also leaked out with all the other songs. Maybe that will be added to the Indian version, so all those who bought this CD will buy the new one with the added track? I mean who wouldn't? Especially when I see that the tracks on the CD are far more beautiful than the ones that were leaked.

To conclude all I can say is that I definitely see why ARR rated this album a 10/10. The sheer beauty of the music takes my breath away. Only ARR could possibly lay it on real thick with a fast moving RDB and then strip away all those layers and bare the soul with Water. The imagery that these songs bring to mind is something that I have never experienced before. I don't know if you had a good b'day Sir, but I sure as heck did, what with this great CD as a premature b'day gift to myself? Guys n'gals, rahmaniacs, non-rahmaniacs, music-lovers, lend me your ear. If you don't already own a copy try to get your hands on one asap. It's worth every
penny you would have to spend on it.

I think a couple of my passions came together on this one. Water and ARR :) What not to like.

P.S: This post was to have been done, completed, and posted on the 6th of January, and was even started out on that day, but due to my being extremely busy , was able to be aired only now.

I tend to listen to music as loud as possible, especially ARR's because I can then listen to the little treats he throws in. I was forced to listen to his music on my headphones because of the fact that I was listening to 'Hai Rama' at the highest volume that my laptop will allow, at 2 am on a weekday. I figured that neither my roomies nor my neighbors would really appreciate it as much as I always do when it comes to ARR. Not only did I get the little treats he threw in there, I also was gobsmacked at how different and how much more there is to the same song when listened to on the headphones. The first song I listened to (after Hai Rama!) was Anthimanthaarai's instrumental. I always thought that ARR excelled at instrumentals/themes, but you have to listen to this piece on your headphones to realise how beautifully he mixes his music. I could hear the flute on one headpiece and the violins on the other. When I pulled away and covered one headpiece I could hear only the flute being played, and when I pulled away the other all I could hear was the violin. Oh well, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Listening to Narumugaye is always a treat, but listening to it on the headphones, is another experience. The chalangai sound moves from one side to the other giving you this circular feeling. Out of reach in one ear and into another. Is it just my imagination or can everybody else also hear the breathing in the beginning of the song? I've listened to Snehidane, I don't know how many times, but on the headphones, I got not only certain nuances I had missed before but also the same ARR-chalangai effect. Anbe Aaruyire had this secondary singing effect in the chorus. I tried hard to get whether the second voice was also ARR's but am still unsure. Even his No Problem has some of those switching sides deals. I've listened to RDB several times at work on the headphones, and noticed some of these effects in Khalbali, and why not? I think its the one song I've listened to over and over again, and still find something new, something minute. The Zarra Zarra... part moves from one side to the other, I think this however is something that's present in all ARR songs. Maramkothiye has more than a little bit of the switchin' sides deal. I have this feeling that I'm going to be listening to all of his songs again to see whether he does this to all his songs or just a few. I know that the mrindangam sound has been split in Minsara Poove. Even in Anbe Ithu... piano notes can be heard only in one earpiece. These are only to name a few. I'm very excited, this is like listening to ARR all over again, the experience listening to his music as it it were a new piece. Only it's a old well-loved piece.

On a more negative note, I actually got to watch the videos of Ah Aah..Anbe Aaruyire. I did not get to see the movie so I don't know the context of the songs. Was the title song supposed to be a joke? If it wasn't then I want to kill SJ Suryah for killing the song. The biggest letdown was Mayilirage. OH MY GOD?! We need to take lessons from SJ Suryah on how to kill a song totally by way of picturisation. One of the most beautiful songs of the movie and all I could see is this kinda pretty unknown actress' bloated stomach dancing on screen. Oh wait, I also saw some very unimaginative 'dancing'. Can it even be called that? It's almost sacrilegous!!! There's gotta be a law against such work! Why does ARR still make music for this guy?

Rang De Basanti

Oh...My...God!!! Seriously, I know I'm biased and all that, but I really wasn't expecting this one to be as mind-blowing as it obviously is. When I heard parts of the title track and Paathshaala, I wasn't too impressed, but I chalked it down to the "repeated listening - then liking" syndrome that Vijay referred to in his comment to my last post. I did eventually start liking and then got hooked on both of the tracks in a couple of days. After having listened to all the songs more than a few times, I'd say this lot reeks of ARR from a while back. There are some of his melodious pieces too, even Kaadhalan had Ennavale, and Kaadhal Desam had Ennai Kaavilaye. But it was the wilder numbers that stood out and made the youth of the nation stand up and take notice of him. But it's been a while since ARR did anything that sounded young and just plain fun in Hindi. The inclusion of Paathshala and given the amount of publicity that that one song is getting should do wonders for the lack of a hit for him. Well, atleast I hope it does.

The title track starts off very well..Daler, the King of Bhangra, does full justice to yet another bhangra number. Chitra was barely used at all. There could have been some more of her singing in the song. This song is one of those no win songs. It's a let down in that ARR didn't do anything new here. But if he had done something there'd be this big hue and cry about how he messed with bhangra . It wouldn't be bhangra anymore, would it then? Oh well, I remember him saying something about how the North is bored with the steady diet of bhangra it's being fed. Why this song then? I agreed with him. While the song was definitely an enjoyable and a good piece, I feel he sold himself short for a hit, something he hasn't had since what Saathiya? or was it Yuva? To which I would say, his music is awesome and mind-blowing without him having to resort to what everybody else is doing right now. Didn't we all start liking his music because he was making music that was vastly different from those who came before him and his peers? Besides the beginning seemed familiar, and with good reason. Paarthale Paravasam's Moonrezhuthu has the same tune to it. Oh well, it fits and it sounds good, what more can a person ask for?

Moving on, I loved the way Roobaroo started out and liked it even better when ARR starts out with the title of the song. Very non-hindi filmi. Or maybe it's just that I've been out of touch with most Hindi movies and their songs since the Salaam Namaste fiasco. Naresh Iyer sounds like he'd fit right in a pop song. Having heard him doing some heavy duty singing in Ah Aah (Mayilirage)...makes me think he's a very versatile singer. There are, however, some parts where he doesn't quite sound right, or where I can't appreciate his singing. The seconds in some parts remind me of Simon and Garfunkel. Very likable song.

Khoon Chala - Beautiful song. Everything in this song lends itself to prefection. I think this song depends on picturisation for it to be something big though. I hope Aamir obliges.

My abso fav initially - which totally rocked my socks off was Paathshaala. Granted I had some more exposure to the growing effect, but man this song just rocks. The lyrics had me smiling despite the way my body was swaying to the music. Loved it, loved it, loved it!! Was Aamir a part of the song? As in did he sing? Esp. the apni to paathshaala, masti ki paathshaala part. I read some other review where someone said that the song reminded them of a Michael Jackson number. I can see where that came from, theres a part where the electric guitar(?) is strummed on. I think I vaguely rememeber an MJ song that had it in one part. I don't know if it was lift or not. I'm thinking not, as nothing else in the song reminds me of any MJ song. Anyways, the song rocks (even though its not a rock song). I wonder how ARR would deal with an out-and-out rock number. Now that's a thought that's I'd really like to see materialised!

Paathshaala - Be a Rebel is pretty much the same with Blaaze rappin' it up. He always does a good job. I think he wrote the lyrics for this one. I liked the Zinda-bad Zinda-good part. It was cute. I'm fairly sure he wouldn't appreciate his lyrics being termed as 'cute'. What can I say, it was cute-funny. The song was neat.

I liked the way Khalbali opened. Hone hone de nasha, khone khone ko hai kya, ek saas main pi ja, zara zindagi chada.... I really liked this part. Didn't like the Ziddi parts in the songs. This one grew on me. Really liked it after the 6th or 7th time I heard it. Kinda tecnho, there's so much happening. Now that's something to expect in an ARR piece. Tecnho+arabic+some string instrument in some parts+ARR singing(albeit with accent issues) = one awesome piece. My current fav of the album! It's been exactly 10 years since his last Arabesque song was released, and he doesn't disappoint.

My first impression of Lukka Chupi - starts out great. A tad too long but still not bad at all. Would call it pretty darn good. ARR still doesn't seem to have his Hindi accent down pat. Kya bataVun maa kahan hooon main. Kya main vudnen...It's surprising how ARR sounds so different in each song. Sounds very nasal in Lukka chupi. Did he have a mild cold when he recorded the song? I think if he'd been singing the song in Tamil he'd have done a way better job. I think he was too busy concentrating on the pronunciation of the words that he couldn't quite figure the feeling into his singing. I didn't particularly like the sound of the harmonium in the background but it's growing on me too. I think he did great in Kannalane with the use of the harmonium, but I didn't think it really fit in here. Despite that, the song is very likable. His rendition towards the end was awesome.

All the slow numbers are vintage ARR. Tu bin bataye was great, just didn't like the way Madhushree draaags on parts. Tu bin Bataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaye, mujhe leeeeeeeeeeeee chal kahin, jahan tu muskuraaaaaaaaaye meri mannnnnnzil wahin. Meeeeeeeeeethi lage.... and so on and so forth. Beautiful, beautiful number though. I usually think of the sax as something that's played at the dentists and on phones when they put you on hold. I loved the way ARR's used it here. I also think Sonu Nigam would have been a better choice with the male singer. The church bells are a nice touch too. I know he tends to do this with a new find...overuse him/her. He sure did that with Naresh Iyer in this movie. He could have used some other singers as well, is what I think.

Lalkaar cannot really be judged as a song. It's more like poetry being recited to a background of humming and some singing. Ek Onkar is similar is that it is a short prayer (?). It's not really a song. It's a beautiful prayer.

Overall, I'd say he refrained from using his favs: Udit Narayan, Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam. Given that there's just one female in the movie: Soha Ali Khan, I'm guessing there wasn't a call for many female singers. He did use a couple of his regulars: Madhushree and Chitra rather well. Normally he sings one song in his films, I'm surprised that he allowed himself 3 this time around. Hey! I'm not complaining, I think he should do it more. He has a very different voice, it goes hand-in-hand with his different style when it comes to music. I really enjoyed it in Khalbali.

One thing I can say about the sucess of the music is that ARR has played around quite a bit, experimented some. Expectations that rise when seeing the A R Rahman name on a film, might be dashed because most people who are not really acquainted with ARR will not think to listen to the music more than once. I don't see very many people being able to appreciate this album. I think people's tastes lie in different areas that even when they are aware that a song is a copy (and a bad one at that) they will continue to listen to it and extoll the MD for his work. This has been my experience.

These are my views. I tend to be critical of anything and everyone. Bottomlin: I really liked the songs in this movie. Only ARR could possibly render a set of songs that are all almost flawless in and of themselves. I would say that the music of Lagaan was perfect. I would also say that this movie's is not perfect, but is close. Looking forward to his other work with bated breath.

The picture is courtesy of arrahmanfans · Fans of A. R. Rahman. Some of the fans (you lucky lucky ppl) were able to see ARR at the audio release of RDB at Planet M in Mumbai recently. This was one of the pics shared by them.