Top recent listens (November 2011)

Tasveer – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Album: The RFAK Session)

Tasveer has a tune similar to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s ghazal, Tumhein dillagi bhool jaani padegi and even has a fairly traditional ghazal’ish version by Rahat himself. The version produced by Tarli Digital, in the album RFAK Session kicks up an extra mod layer and accentuates the base tune beautifully! Enjoy all the 3 songs and notice the progression here!

Jis jagah pe khatam, Ho gayi tun & Jhoom jhoom – Players (Hindi – Pritam Chakraborty)
Pritam back in form. It perhaps needed Abbas Mastan’s commercial touch to bring that out. Even the voices he opts for the soundtrack have worked very well for him, particularly Siddharth Basrur on the catchy chorus of Jis jagah per, Ritu Pathak in Jhoom jhoom and my favorite, the completely corny, but immensely enjoyable Ho gayi tun, sung by Yashita Yashpal. Groovy, masala soundtrack!

Gijigadu & Lachuvamma – Rajanna (Telugu – M M Keeravani)
I can’t think of another composer for a project like Rajanna. The earthy local flavor that Keeravani brings to the sound is wonderful and Gijigadu is testimony to that fact. Lachuvamma, on the other hand, is folk’ish catchiness done aptly for the period of the film.

Un kangal, Nee naan & Kaadhal kadalaai – Kamban Kazhagam (Tamil – Shyam, Prasan, Praveen)
One of the better debuts in recent times in Tamil, that too, by a trio – are they the 2nd trio (in Tamil) after Agosh (Anand, Gopal Rao and Shalin)? Nee naan is a particular favorite!

This means war, Bottoms up, When we stand together – Nickelback (Album: Here And Now)
When I say Nickelback, most not-so-aware music fans remember the song ‘Rockstar’ – must be that song’s lyrics, I believe! Their new album is mighty good – a cool mix of catchy, hummable and gung-ho numbers. The three songs here are my favorites and for some reason increase my bravado pointlessly while driving.

Aathaadi manasudhaan – Kazhugu (Tamil – Yuvan Shankar Raja)
The only song that stayed with me in this otherwise disappointing soundtrack, but what a song this is! The choice of getting Priya and Karthikraja to sing the two versions works wonderfully well. The tune seems like a superb combination of Raja’s flavor and Yuvan’s more modern sensibilities.

Ela ela – Panjaa (Telugu – Yuvan Shankar Raja)
The other Yuvan earworm! Haricharan completely aces the song and makes it his own even as the nuances Yuvan brings to the tune and backgrounds makes it irresistible!

Pudhu punal & Yennaidhu – Mouna Guru (Tamil – Thaman S)
Yes, I’ve heard enough people noting that a part of Pudhu punal seems very similar to Kasedhaan Kadavulada’s Jambulingame Jadadhada. But the similarity seems more obvious and intended than like a blatant lift – in any case, the base tune of Pudhu Punal is massively different and flows beautifully! Yennaidhu is the other addictive song from the soundtrack and Thaman shows that he’s here for the long run!

Choosthunna – Mogudu (Telugu – Babu Shankar)
The film may have come and gone, but this song stays with me solely because it reminds me so much of Raja’s classic from Ninaivellaam Nithya – ‘Pani vizhum malarvanam’. I believe both the songs are based on Chalanaattai raagam and the flavor Babu adds to the Telugu song are highly appealing. Getting Karthik to croon this is a masterstroke, anyway.

Ooh la la – The Dirty Picture (Hindi – Vishal Shekhar)
This, to me, is the signature tune of the film, not the Nakka mukka track that has been retro-fitted in the film’s narrative. Bappi’s vocals add special verve to the song that is brimming with 80s style filmy sensuality.

Alakalailunarumoreenamayi – Alakalil (Malayalam – Stinish Ignow & Sandeep)
This is a song that I stumbled quite by chance – there’s nothing earth shattering here, but Najim Arshad’s voice and the soft, engaging music by Stinish Ignow and Sandeep just held my attention immediately! We need more non-film efforts like this, regardless of the language.

Vellaram kunnileri – Swapna Sanchari (Malayalam – M.Jayachandran)
I wasn’t expecting anything interesting from this soundtrack but this song stopped me in my tracks – is it based on Simmendra Madhyamam? It reminds me of Panneer Pushpangal’s Aanandha Raagam, but I may be wrong too. It does have some shades of Dharmavathi, if I were to trust my limited knowledge – in any case, both are my favorite raagas, particularly the former. So, I like this song too!

Why this kolaveri di? – 3 (Tamil – Anirudh)
The current national (international too?) addiction! Simple and absurdly catchy. Looking forward to the rest of the soundtrack to see what debutant composer Anirudh has in store for us more than Kolaveri!

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