The last 2 months have been incredible. For someone madly in love with film music, I’ve had a fabulous time – the result? 30 tracks listed as part of the 2 monthly ritual, ‘Recent Top listens’! I’m sure many of Milliblog’s readers will have other tracks I’ve missed intentionally, but this is really a list of tracks that has seen amazing staying power in my playlist over the past two months. So, if you’ve other favorites, bring it on the comments!
Baaro geleya: Circus (Kannada OST), Emil
Emil’s score was a tad lower than Nanda Nanditha’s hit, Jinke Marina, but this ‘Onn swalpa’ rack surely makes the cut! Very catchy and uptempo.
Tere naina: Chandni Chowk to China (Hindi OST), Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Its sad to see the kind of drubbing this film got – as a result, I think this song has completely vanished. Sad. Its one of the trio’s best.
Onnodonnu: Thirakadha (Malayalam OST), Sarath
I missed reviewing the music of Thirakadha, but caught up with the film recently (as a Prithviraj fan…if only I could lay my hands on his underated ‘Vargam’…been looking for this for quite some time) and this song really impressed me. Shankar Mahadevan RULES in this high-pitched track with fabulous music by Sarath.
Oru paarvayil: Siva Manasula Shakthi (Tamil OST), Yuvan Shankar Raja
Why Yuvan why? Why is this track so short? And to think this is the OST’s best!
Patte saare: Swarathma (Indipop), Swarathma
I thought of Junoon, when the band goes, ‘Patte saare’. Very neat track.
Chinnansirisu: Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puraavum (Tamil OST), Yuvan Shankar Raja
Javed Ali and Bela Shende are surprisingly good with their Tamil pronunciation (barring the stray mis-steps!) but kudos to YUvan for selecting them for this lovely melody.
Yem maayam chesave: Drona (Telugu OST), Anoop Rubens
Love ths track…total masala and super singing by Ranjith. Anoop meshes all possible massy elements very well in this catchy track.
Junglee shivalingu: Junglee (Kannada OST), V Harikrishna
The rest of Junglee was bad…but this track surely stands out. Very Kannada’ish, with a Hamsalekha-style twang, this song is a lot of fun – the added voices pitching in with an amused tone and the tune that pauses interestingly!
Yenno yenno & Po velipo: Kavya’s Diary (Telugu OST), Manu Ramesan
Manu is very good in this soundtrack – and these two tracks are on my playlist almost every day.
Rehna tu, Masakkali, Arziyan & Dil gira dafatan: Delhi 6 (Hindi OST), A R Rahman
Nothing more to add about Delhi 6. Simply amazing music!
Kai veesi: Nandhalala (Tamil OST), Ilayaraja
Even if sounds like it is from Karthikraja, between the sons and Dad, they seem to have evolved a particular kind of music mixing Raja’s own forte in tune and a fairly mod orchestration that is very unique to Karthikraja. Kai veesi epitomises that style.
Egire & Aanandama (Telugu OST), Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s Telugu debut is a shade more nuanced than Vishal Shekhar’s, last year, though the comments to my review seem to suggest otherwise. Anyway, love these 2 tracks, particularly the latter, where Shankar goes qawali-style out of nowhere.
Adhu oru kaalam & Mudhal murai: Adhe neram adhe idam (Tamil OST), Premji Amaran
Premji shows excellent growth with this soundtrack – these two track are trademark Yuvan styled, but have some layered phrases that showcase the composer’s flair. Mudhal murai, with its sneak Reetigowlai, is a clever piece.
Basin bridge: Mahaleela (Indipop), A Sivamani
Boy, what an exhilarating album! Mandolin Srinivas’ addition in Basin Bridge is really the highpoint for me, clubbed with some spirited percussion magic by Sivamani.
Amma un pillai & Om siva om: Naan kadavul (Tamil OST), Ilayaraja
Amma un pillai is vintage Raja – obviously – since its own age old tune. But it reminds us what Raja’s tune skills are – simple & heartfelt. Om siva om, on the other hand is spellbinding in its powerful sound and the range it scales.
Yeh zindagi bhi & Sapnon se bhare naina: Luck By Chance (Hindi OST), Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Getting Shekhar to croon Yeh zindagi bhi is a masterstroke…and he carries this serene track amazingly well. Sapnon se bhare naina is extremely progressive in the way it mixes d&b in a poignant tune.
Ek hulchul si, Nayan tarse, Aankh micholi, Duniya, Paayaliya & Emosanal atyachar: Dev.D (Hindi OST), Amit Trivedi
Dev.D’s music in one word – Trippy! And Ek hulchul si rules my playlist. Amit is a composer I’ll track very , very closely now.
