KUSELAN SONGS - REVIEW

Kuselan - A yet another most awaited Super Star's movie. The music is been composed by one of my favourite young music director, G. V. Prakash Kumar. The songs are really good. Let me give you the song by song analysis, as usual.

Chaaral - This is a nice peppy song for the heroin (if I am not wrong) in Raaga, Naattai. In the beginning, there are a lot of resemblances of "Pani vizhum malar vanam". But later on, it proceeds fine. In the middle, it slightly sounds like "Chithira sevvaanam sirikka kanden" but the further notations are really nice. The starting of the charanam and the guitar cords are exactly like the charanam of "Thom thom thithithom" from Alli Thandha Vaanam. Good that the composer did not involve any sangathis from "Iyengaar veetu azhage". The new lyricist Kridhaya has done a good job. Totally, nice to listen and well done!!!!!!!

Cinema Cinema - The song starts like the theme song of Anniyan and Mudhalvan. The song is for the opening scene of Superstar as in Muthu, I guess ;) The chorus "cinema cinema" sounds like "Munnal munnal munnal munnal vaada". In fact, there are a lot of places where the song resembles the above.The lyrics are really good. Shankar Mahadevan's voice adds up to the energy of the song. The chorus is based on an unusual style of "Sama Eduppu" which is good.

Om Zaarare - This song speaks of tribute to Rajini Kanth with the lyrics involving the oldie hits of Super Star. I do not know whether it is my preoccupied vision or what, somehow Sadhana's voice resembles the same as in "Manmadhane". Correct me if I am wrong here. The pallavi ending reminds me of "Macchaana Paatheengala" ;) Daler Mehndi has a good tamil, I would say, when compared to certain tamil singers who spoil tamil. The song makes me dance as I listen and is a perfect fit for Super Star.

Perinba - The song has the exactly same beats of our composer's very first song, "Veyilodu Vilayaadi". So far, so good. All songs are quite peppy and enjoyable. The lyrics are pretty much written with the same notion of the previous song because this song also speaks of Super Star. Khailash Kher's voice has a very good energy but reminds me of "Rangu rangamma". The BGM before second Charanam is the best peice. This is a typical North Indian Song with South Indian beats.

Sollamma Sollamma - As the one and only melody of the film, this is the best of all the songs with a very perfect choice of singers. Pa Vijay's lyrics are simply excellent. A flawless masterpiece with the best of everything.

Totally, I am becoming a fan of Prakash. All songs are very pleasant and entertaining. I bet, music will be a big plus for the film. My best wishes for the young composer to make miracles in future.

Subramaniyapuram songs review

This is the first movie for James Vasanthan, if I am not wrong. I was expecting this to be released. Two years back, I heard that James Vasanthan was working on this and that the songs were coming out well from his friend, Dr. Uma, who also happens to be our family friend.

Now its time to listen to the songs. Here we go...........

Kaadhal Siluvaiyil - The song is very good. Shankar Mahadevan has been given a chance to prove his excellence again. With less amount of instruments, the new composer has given a good piece of art. The anaagatham style in the background beat is simply pleasant.

Kangal Irandaal - After a long time, there is a pure reethigowla composition in tamil cinema. The raaga itself has its own credit. So i need'nt have to explain how appreciable the nuances are. The new singers, Belly Raj and Deepa Mariam (Malloos, I guess) have added to the original beauty of the composition, without "malayaala vaasanai". Lyrics are very romantic, at the same time very poetic and decent. I would rate this the best of all.

Theneeril Snehitham - The whole song is composed with shallow notes, without giving us a guess of atleast one raaga. The places where the swaraas deviate from the original path to confuse the listeners with the raaga, expresse the beauty of the notation. I personally feel that this kind of a composition is also equally difficult.

Madhurai Kulunga - This is the perfect folk song after a long while. The song started off very well, unlike the usual kuthu songs or the so called folk songs of this period. But the naathaswaram which is very out of place with the flow of the song did not impress me and it sounds very usual. I did not feel any uniqueness in that. The "thanne nanne naane" sounds exactly like Otha roobaa thaaren. Suchitra has done a different kind of a track in this song, apart from her usual item number stuff.

Theme song - Again the same usual stuff in the beginning. But in the middle, the "Vakra prayogam" of notes is good.

Overall, the songs have come out well as I heard two years back. I hope, this would give off a good start for James. All the best, James.

Dasaavathaaram Music Review

I had pinned up very high expectations in both perspectives - music and the film, as such. Now that the former is released, my expectation for the latter tends not to remain the same way. The latter always has a greater depency over the former, atleast according to my way of viewing films. I would say either the music director's choice or the director's approval or both had gone wrong. As such the songs are good to listen but I can't imagine them on a film like Dasaavathaaram. Moreover, it is very obvious that the music director is not from tamil industry.

Kaa Karuppanukkum - The song starts like a Sindhi song. Then as it continues, it sounds like some medieval time illayaraja's item number. Having just heard the music, without choreography, I could only imagine either Anuradha or Disco Shanthi dancing with the villain. Let the film get released so that i could cross check with my picture of the song. Many of the notes are similar to the old time hit, EN NINAIVU DAANE. At some places, it also sounds like the medival time hindi songs. I would rate this the worst of all.

Kallai Mattum Kandaal - Although the song sounds very familiar, it is ok to listen. It sounds more like the title song of Krishnadhaasi. As usual, Hariharan has been given a chance for expressing his hindustani individuality. Typical soga geetham with heavy beats. Though the lyrics are good, it somehow reminds me of our typical thathuvam # 1005 by varuthappadaatha vaalibargal sangam ;) I somehow personally feel that this song would be apt for Superstar than for Kamal Haasan. I am surprised whether Kamal also has some sentimental compulsion for this kind of a song in his movies like Rajini. Because, right from Hay Raam, he comes u with one song of this type in his films. In the middle, there is a slight imitation of 910 roobai song from Anbe Sivam. I think the Music director has previewed the previous movies of Kamal Haasan before composing in order to get hold of his taste :)

Mukundha Mukundha - This song is the best of all, I guess. Saadhana Sargam adds to the good spiritual feel of the song in the beginning. But as it graduates, she had mixed up with the emotions of her previous songs, Chaanakya and Manmadhane (may be because of the similarity in notation :)) This could also be taken in a positive spiritual sense, where in, like Aandal singing about Krishna with a touch of romance. Lyrics are very soothing and the music director has handled Shringaar Ras in a very beautiful way. By the way, i am still searching for Kamal's voice in this song, of which 5 minutes is already over. Wait.... wait....... I could sense a different voice towards the end. Let me console my mind that it is Kamal's voice.

O Ho Sanam - The song is good to listen. But I personally feel that Mahalakshmi's voice is a bit out of place. Her high pitch does not fit the song. Usha Udhup would have been a better choice with her strong base voice.. But when that is the case, not much distinction could be found between Kamal and Usha's voices. I could imagine the picturization like Magic Journey or that of Kalaignan, if at all i ignore the lyrics. In places like Kadavulum Kandasaamydaan, there is a very obvious imitation of Vikram's Dil Dil song in both the main tune as well as the background tune. The music before the second charanam, imitates A. R. Rahman's Thirupaachi Aruvaala.

Ulaga Nayagan - I guess this is the opening song for Kamal. I think the music director as well as Kamal himself should have kept Kamal's age in mind before they could have come up with such a composition. This song would have been very good for Sakalakalaa Vallavan. But definitely not for Dasaavathaaram. Atleast the musician could have chosen a mature voice for the song so that it would have fit today's Kamal. Though Vinith's voice is good, it doesn't sound good for Kamal. As such the song is not bad to listen.

O Ho Sanam Remix - This is the horriblest version of Remix I have ever heard. Except for the tempo, i never find any of the remix criteria against the original version, in this song. I personally feel, G V Prakashkumar is the best for remixes. Again, Mahalakshmi's voice is too out of place. Even Usha Udhup would be a bad choice for this ;)

Let me wait for the film, to be released...................

Jillendru oru kaadhal

This is a new release for surya and jyothika...

Majaa majaa song is like thazhuvudhu nazhuvudhu aarambathula ellam? but good....... shreya ghosalku ipdidaanu muthira kuthittaanga. semma mood song. nalla paadirkaa. ;) SPB charankum apdiye SPB voice? good. thaeritaan payyan. hindi songs mari kuda irukku charanam starting ellam. aana nadula ellam edho olarraanga. puriyala ;)

jillendru oru kaadal song comes for trailor. its in hollywood style. hollywood trailors paakara mari oru feeling............. aana differenta irukku paatu. yaaro thanvi nu pudusa oruthi paadirka. kuralgal ethanai vidham.......aaaaahaaaaaaaa..... aana idhu edho oru black and white paatoda copy. aana ennanu en mandaiku vara maatengudhu. konjam nadula ellam paalakaatu machaanuku paatunaa usuru song maariye irukku neraya :)

kummi adi song is like yaaro yaarodi...................athaan varuvaaga oru mutham koduppaaga........ apram innoru paatu mari kuda irukku starting. aana enakku nyabagathuku varala.

machakkaari song is horrible. i don like. its somewhere like rangola hola song. its a very usual tune. A R rahmaannu eduvume illa adhula.

marichan song is ok. aana romba katharaa kaatu kathalaa. indha padathula neraya vaayla nozhayaadha perellaam paadirkaanga. :)) indha song nadula jillendru oru kaadhal maariye erangi yerradhu.... orae padathulaye copy..... its also like ennuyire song from dil se towards the end. i mean the format of the song.

new york nagaram is also good........ nadula romba english song mariiruku. oru nanban irundhaal from enaku 20 unakku 18 maariye apdiye oru humming nadula........

munbe vaa is very nice.......... gooddddd. nadula orae oru edathula thottu thottu unnai music varradhu ;). mayiliragai mayiliragai raagam aarambathula varudhu.

Saint Thiagaraja

The following post is recovered from google's cache of my earlier blog.

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January 31, 2005
Thiagaraja Aradhana
Last year mid-January, I was travelling to USA on a business trip. When I boarded the connecting flight at Frankfurt, there was an old guy sitting next to me reading some research papers on music. I started conversing with him and came to know his name is Robert Morris, Professor from East Man School of music. I had a wonderful time talking about world music, instruments, musicians, comparisons of styles, variations, compositions, notes,etc. It was a truly enlightening experience. Till then, I have not talked to anyone to that detail in that topic. He was returning from Thiruvaiyaru after attending the "Thyagaraja Aradhanai".

There are carnatic musicians, some of them tour around the world and perform. If not like their 'rock' counterparts, they get quite some money for their performance. You can see such people coming to Thiruvaiyaru for the aradhana, donate money to the sabha and perform in the stage.

The small town of thiruvaiyaru with a few thousand population witnesses lakhs of people during the time of aradhana. And lakhs of people who cant go, remember this and tune in to the radio or TV to watch this program, which nobody advertises to watch. This is not a one time thing like a Tsunami relief fund. This is happening for more than 150 years (158 to be precise).

Who is this Thyagaraja, whose appointment even the VIPs dont miss, even if they are in the other part of the world? Who is this thyagaraja, who has never met any of those VIPs but lived his life as a very common man without even saving food for tomorrow ? Who is this thyagaraja, on whose memory lakhs of people assemble without expecting any personal benefit out of it? This is not a religious crowd of people who take an amarnath yatra, haj yathra. He is not a hero who has saved the life in the earth by pushing a meteor out of its path.

The answer to the above questions is very simple, if you experience it once. Unfortunately, that is the only way to know the answer. Experiencing that is so simple. There is no pre-requisite. You can do it right away. Search for "carnatic music" and if possible get some composed by Thyagaraja. If you get the same song performed by a different artist, dont think you have heard it before. Instead try that also. Finally, if you go to thiruvaiyaru for the next aradhana on your own, you will not remember you read this blog, but you will only think about attending it next year again.

Thyagaraja did not release any album that sold million copies. He did not compose a symphony with several instruments in harmony. His music is as simple as he was.

When I hear someone say "Elvis Lives" or "Punk is still alive", i just smile.

big deal huh?

I attended the 'big deal' music competition for corporates conducted by 'James Vasanth' in chennai. There were participants from HP, Infosys, HCL, Titan to name a few. The judges were 'Anna nagar andalu' fame sabesh mani, 'apdi pakradhunna venam' fame Mathangi, 'radio mirchi' fame suchitra and (wouldnt require details fame) Gangai amaran.

My little sister also participated in the event (and won the second prize). The Tabla and the keyboard players provided by James Vasanth were below standard. They were so bad that some people even asked them to stop whatever they were doing and decided to do without any instruments.

All the solo competitors sang well. But the team events made me to go out of the auditorium for a while. Gangai amaran came late(dint even ask excuse) and couldnt attend the solo competitions. No wonder he was very unappreciative of the participants.

Suchitra was well received among the fans. Mathangi kept her profile low with a sore throat. Gangai amaran displayed his exuberant knowledge of music that all songs have sorrow inside. He sang a few songs in slower tempo and showed how they suddenly became sad songs. Somebody should have asked him to sing something sad in mohanam or play 'fur elise' in sad mood. What best can I expect from a person who filmed 'manguyile poonguyile' in two moods ?

The compere did a decent job. I dont remember his name. James, please bring better troop next time to play the instruments.

This also got covered in Hindu...

Sound

You might know that sound is created by vibration. Sound requires a medium for propagation. A vibration can be considered as a periodic back and forth movement of an object. The frequency of vibration is the number of vibrations that happens in one second. So if something vibrates faster, there will be more vibrations in one second and hence the frequency is higher. Shrill sounds are characterised by high frequency and deep sounds are characterised by low frequency. Human ears can hear only the sounds that are between 20Hz to 20000Hz, where a Hertz(Hz) refers to one vibration per second.

When air is pushed through the vocal cords it vibrates producing a sound. In many contexts, the words 'pitch' and 'frequency' can be used alternatively. Each object when vibrating in its natural form produces a sound which is called its natural frequency. Depending upon the physical dimensions of each object the natural frequency could change. During a simple vibration, the resulting sound would mostly have its natural frequency and it may also have sounds that are in multiples of natural frequency. An object can vibrate twice, thrice or a few times faster/slower than its natural mode, but its unnatural to vibrate in any frequency in between these values without a change in physical dimensions! The frequencies that are multiples of the frequency are collectively known as 'harmonics'.

Now take a deep breath and say 'saaaaaaaa...' and extend the 'aaa' sound as much as you can without any disturbance in the sound. Make the sound as natural as possible with least strain. Congratulations !! you just sounded in your natural frequency ! This can be roughly equated with the term 'kattai' in (carnatic) musical terms. This sound varies from person to person. In an adult male this frequency averages about 125 Hz, adult females around 210, in children the frequency is over 300 Hz.