Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 24:
On Apple Music | On Saavn | On YouTube
An incredibly packed musical week – 32 songs in the playlist! 4 of them are only on YouTube – Neela Neela Mizhikalo from Ente Mezhuthiri Athazhangal, Sanah Moidutty’s cover of Shyama Meghame and the 2 songs by Sparsh Quartet, while the YouTube playlist misses one song – Paravayai, from Thobama – the makers haven’t uploaded it on YouTube, but it is available on Saavn and Apple Music. Do check the list below and try listening to all the songs, across playlists 🙂
A note on the songs in the playlist.
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The Way I Am, Attention, How Long & BOY (Voicenotes, Charlie Puth): Puth’s sophomore album took me back to the days of George Michael and Wham! The production is fantastic and the tunes are easy-on-the-ears, with some of them going the extra mile and sounding wonderfully catchy.
Sangria Wine (Pharrell Williams, Camila Cabello): Sangria, wine, salsa, reggae, Spanish, English, Pharrell and Camila. Perfect summer hit!
Oohalu Oorege Gaalanthaa (Sammohanam, Telugu): Vivek Sagar is back dipping into his favorite soft jazz style he used in songs like Chitramaaga (Sheesh Mahal) and Adedo Maayalley (Yuddham Sharanam). Lovely song, with superb vocals by Haricharan and Keerthana!
Chala Chala (Ammammagarillu, Telugu): M.M.Keeravani’s vastly under-rated and name-changing brother, Kalyana Ramana aka Kalyani Malik aka Kalyan Malik aka Kalyan Koduri is back too! He sings along with Geetha Madhuri, and the song’s lively lilt is addictive.
O Sari Try Chei & Bijili (Nela Ticket, Telugu): Shakthikanth Karthick, who was very promising in Fida seems to have gone in another direction to fit Ravi Teja’s image. The result is mixed, with at least these 2 songs making the cut with aptly corny funk.
Madhilo Unna Prema (Jamba Lakidi Pamba, Telugu): Gopi Sundar has 2 upcoming Telugu soundtracks. While Rajugadu’s 2 singles seem middling, this one, though sounding a LOT like Majnu’s Kallu Moosi, is far better. Raghu Ram’s vocals add a lot, incidentally.
Rangeride (Vaasu Naan Pakka Commercial, Kannada): The song by Ajaneesh has a distinct Thaman-sensibility. But, not to take anything away from Ajaneesh, very catchy song that has really good singing by Puneeth Rajkumar and C.R.Bobby.
Inayae (Thadam, Tamil): Composer Arun Raj’s tune is a breezy ballad that has wonderful vocals by Sid Sriram (though that makes it a bit too familiar). Adithya’s flute that almost acts as a parallel layer all through the song and Madhan Karky’s lyrics prop the song well.
Kalyaana Vayasu (Kolamaavu Kokila, Tamil): Anirudh’s tune and singing is his usual self—incredibly catchy. Sivakarthikeyan’s lyrics seem very influenced by Simbu, particularly that ‘Wait pannava’ twist in tune! Yogi Babu, channeling his inner Senthil, adds to the fun in the video 🙂
Engum Pugazh Thuvanga (Pariyerum Perumal, Tamil): Santhosh’s 1st song from the film (Karuppi) was incredible. This one, with its authentic folk sound and lyrics, brings forward a lively village fest! Anthony Daasan and Mariappan singing, and Dayanandham’s urumi stand out!
Mazhai Pozhindhidum (Oru Kuppai Kathai, Tamil): Had covered the 1st song (Vilagaadhe Enadhuyirae) from the film in Milliblog Weeklies’ February 18th playlist. This song is typical Joshua – sedate, likeable melody, with an enchanting mandolin-based interlude by Prakash and lovely singing by Madhu Iyer, though Joshua’s singing has annoying issues with his diction. But that ‘Yaeno ennulle yedho aanadhadaa’ is directly similar to Joshua’s own Paranthu Sella Vaa song ‘Manmeedhu’ line, ‘Pennai thozhi pol nee eNNu nanbane’.
Dil Beparwah (Phamous, Hindi): Composers Sundeep Gosswami & Surya Vishwakarma weave a delightful melody, while Jubin Nautiyal & Jonita Gandhi breathe life into it effortlessly. Interestingly, the 1st single from the film was by Krsna, and this one sounds like his repertoire too!
De De Jagah & Shubh Din (Parmanu, Hindi): Parmanu’s soundtrack is a mixed, background’ish bag, barring these 2 songs. De De Jagah perhaps needed an Arijit, though Yasser Desai is very competent. Shubh Din’s ebullient outburst of a line by Jyotica Tangri is a joy to listen to!
Title song (Bioscopewala, Hindi): Gulzar’s lyrics are, as always, amazing the way they tell a story. Sandesh Shandilya’s music props the lyrics really well, and K.Mohan’s singing accentuates it to a new high, coupled with Chintu Singh’s Rabab!
Thug Ranjha (Akasa, Punjabi): Composer Vayu has a breezy and incredibly catchy in the offing in Thug Ranjha. Singer Akasa’s vocals are confident, and that addictive shehnai hook stands out easily!
Tu Pari (Bucket List, Marathi): Composers Rohan Pradhan and Rohan Gokhale have a winner in Tu Pari. The song, reminiscent of early A R Rahman music, is an easily likeable duet featuring the voices of Rohan Pradhan and Shreya Ghoshal, set to some beautiful backgrounds.
Alle Alle & Madhuvilum Madhuramai (Premasoothram, Malayalam): Close on the heels of Kamuki, Gopi has excellent music in Premasoothram as well. Ramsi Ahamad’s Alle alle, with its serene and softly rhythmic nativity, and Madhuvilum, with a very-Gopi melody are easy winners.
Paravayai (Thobama, Malayalam): After The Trip Song, Rajesh Murugesan follows up with Paravayai in Thobama. The song has an enticingly slow and Raja’ish outlook and the choice of singers, Kalyani Nair and Pradeep Kumar, takes the song to a new plane.
Neela Neela Mizhikalo (Ente Mezhuthiri Athazhangal): Composer M.Jayachandran lets Vijay Yesudas’s involved singing do the magic for his beautiful melody. It works very, very well. But East Coast audios should seriously look at working with Apple Music and Saavn urgently.
Shyama Meghame (Sanah Moidutty, Malayalam): The original composed by Shyam for the 1989 Mohanlal starrer Adhipan is a classic. But Sanah’s cover (produced by Prasanna Suresh & Rahul Prabhakaran) builds on the original superbly, with a steadily tantalizing rhythmic lilt.
Paluke & Varamu Logic (Sparsh Quartet): Sparsh Quartet is Praveen Kumar (Percussion), Ananth Krrishnan (Violin), Ravi Shankar (Keyboard) and Sumesh Narayanan (Mridangam). The band’s approach to carnatic music with a twist is hugely refreshing! Paluke’s Anandhabhairavi raaga melody sounds fabulous in Ananth Krrishnan’s violin, while Ravi’s keyboard leads the incredibly stylish approach to Papanasam Sivan’s Thunai Purintharul, set to Varamu Raaga (also known as Shuddha Hindolam or Hindola Gamini). Good music; I look forward to an album from the band.
Wasted On Each Other, Wild Love, Just For Tonight, In My Head (James Bay): His debut album Chaos and the Calm was all acoustic ballads and bluesy folk. He reinvents himself confidently in his sophomore album and opens it with Wasted, with its blues-inspired guitar swagger and his own swinging falsetto. Wild Love’s sensuous Prince-like sound, Just For Tonight’s easy Springsteen’ish rock’n’roll and the soulful, gospel-style choruses of In My Head make for excellent listening! Electric Light is a great album, quite different from Bay’s debut, and a good step ahead.
