When Aahaa FM 91.9 hit the airwaves back in Chennai, I was part of a crowd that felt nothing but disgust towards its ad campaign that had lewd undertones.
A year later though, starved of Tamil film music, I bump into Aahaa’s website that provides 24-hour live streaming audio of its programming. Must say I quite [...]
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
Listening to the Mozhi soundtrack after a while. I still am amazed by the movie and the songs. Wah! A piece of art that just could do no wrong.
And pray don’t tell me there was a better song in 2007 than this.
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
Of all the many beautiful songs of 2007, this one from Saththam Podaathey is probably the most haunting; even when taken out of context.
pesugiren pesugiren un idhayam pesugiren
puyal adithaal kalangaadhu naan pookkal neettukiren
edhai nee tholaiththaalum manadhai tholaikkaadhe
adangaamale alai paayvadhen? manam allavaa…
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
A recording of M.S. Subbulakshmi performing Purandaradasa’s Jagadho Dhaarana live at the United Nations. Such a moving song, and such soulful rendition, I can’t help being moved to tears every time I listen to it.
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
(Thanks, Harini, for the link.)
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… best expresses a mixture of happiness and melancholy. Probably why it towers all other raagas when it comes to expressing a sense of intense longing, passionate yearning.
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Filed under: Music
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Filed under: Music, Personal
The highly anticipated soundtrack of Azhagiya Thamizhmagan (ATM) was released today. Any Vijay movie raises expectations, but this is a double whammy because it is AR Rahman who is the music director. Of course, Shriya and Namitha are also around, so that’s another double whammy.
Here are my reactions after a couple of rounds of listening [...]
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
Please can someone explain this line?
viNmeengal kan paarkka suriyanum thOnRumO! pugazh maindhan thOnRinAnE
It appears in the song “anbenRa mazhaiyile” from the movie Minsara Kanavu. What fantastic wordplay!
The song is in praise of Christ, as sung by a group of nuns. Does the line mean that Christ’s advent was like the radiance of sunrise against the [...]
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
Today I ran into someone who claimed to have had a few years of formal training in Carnatic music. When I asked him if he would rate Tyagaraja’s “Endharo Mahanubhavulu” as a favorite kriti of his, he said, “What was that?” “Not even heard of it” was next response to the quizzical look on my [...]
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The shortest music review for the AVM-Shankar-Rahman-Rajni starrer Sivaji reads thus: “the worst soundtrack for a Rajnikanth movie since Arunachalam“.
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
The final instalment of this series… is also the first since I upgraded to Wordpress 2.1 (Ella).
10. Oru Naalil Vaazhkai (Pudhupettai; Yuvan Shankar Raja): Many people would forgive Selvaraghavan for the unmitigated gore unleashed on screen in Pudhupettai. What they could not digest was the non-inclusion of the song in the movie. Well, I don’t [...]
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
There are some songs which I considered for inclusion, but those didn’t make my top 30. Some songs from 2006 that deserve an honourable mention are Kitta Nerungi Vaadi (Dishyum), Taj Mahal Oviya Kaadhal (Kalvanin Kaadhali), Innisai (Varalaaru), Pooncholai Kiliye (Aran), Maanamadurai Kudhirai (Thimiru), Munbe Vaa (Jillunu Oru Kaadhal), Kiliye Kiliye (Unakkum Enakkum), Ilaiudhir Kaalam [...]
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Filed under: Music, Tamil
Traditionally - tradition being defined as anything carried into the second year - I have substituted for lack of topics at the end of the year by publishing movie and song lists. Some pressing work however has kept me away for a while, but here go the lists.
I have not much to offer in terms [...]
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Chanced to listen to the soundtrack of Pokkiri (Tamil) yesterday. Have been listening to it ever since. A friend tells me that some / most of the songs are carbon copies of the original Telugu soundtrack. Haven’t listened to them, so these tracks sound fresh to me. My thoughts on the album…
1. Dol Dol Thaan [...]
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While returning home from work a couple of days ago, I had to endure one of the worst Tamil film songs I have listened to in a long time. I had not listened to it before, so I couldn’t arrive at the movie without googling. And you wouldn’t disagree with me on the point that [...]
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This past weekend, Ilaiyaraja and Lakshman Sruthi joined hands to bring One Man Show - a live concert, in which the maestro sung some of his best compositions for movies.
Friend Selva was there, and he terms it one mesmerizing experience, despite the troop not being at their best, nor some female singers, whom the organisers [...]
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My top 10 for the year…
10. Raa Raa, movie: CHANDRAMUKHI - When I first saw the song name, I thought it would be similar to Raa Raa Ramaiah in Baasha. The surprise was lurking. Telugu lyrics. Can’t understand, but the composition was good. Another Carnatic-based number. However Jyotika’s dancing was funny. Only I could have [...]
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Filed under: Memories, Music, Tamil
After I posted the earlier list, I received some feedback, and it was that I was overly biased towards melodies and slow songs. Well, that’s the way I’ve always been, so my list doesn’t change. Here’s the next instalment.20. Vidikinra Pozhudhu, movie: RAAM - I liked three songs from this movie. This one, Aarariraro and [...]
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Filed under: Memories, Music, Tamil
I intend to list out my top 30 favorite Tamil songs of the year. The list is in 3 parts, and follows the Baba count, i.e. backwards! There is no great logic or survey behind this innocuous list. My methodology is to assign a higher rating to songs I’ve willingly listened to more times. Here [...]
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Filed under: Memories, Music, Tamil
My friend and colleague, Anuradha remembers December 11 for another reason.The same day last year, the airwaves became suddenly bereft of divinity, as Madurai Shanmugavadivu Subbulakshmi, inarguably the most famous exponent of Carnatic music of the 20th century breathed her last.
“Varundhum uyirkku isai marundhaagum” says a recent Tamil song. (Music is the medicine for troubled [...]
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Filed under: Music, People
