Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 98: On | On
Another week with a short playlist of just 9 songs! YouTube has all the 9 songs while JioSaavn is missing 2 songs – Pathivo Maarum from Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha and the song from Darbar (since it is a Gaana exclusive).
Thaalelo, Thalattu Naal & Thambi Theme – Thambi (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: Govind Vasantha scores pretty darn well in the rest of Thambi soundtrack too. Chinmayi’s Thaalelo is a lovely, lush melody that is slightly pulled down by the current-Rahman’ish familiar and regurgitated background rhythm. But Govind has enough surprises up his sleeve, when it comes to the interludes. Thalattu Naal is a joyous song where you can feel the celebratory mood in Crishna’s lively singing and the generous mix of nadaswaram and violin. The Thambi Theme sounds quite ominous, portending some great sorrow, but in Govind’s soaring violin, is a great listen too, as he builds the sound to a fantastic high.
Ponjaadhiye – Sathya Narayanan (Tamil/Indipop): The first question I had after listening to this song was, ‘Wow, who is this Sathya Narayanan?’. The musical phrases are unusually long – the pallavi lingers longer than usual and I wondered if there’d be a break at all. And then it arrives. Very nicely composed structure, and extremely well sung too! I’d definitely expect his guy to either compose or at least sing for movies soon, if he hasn’t already.
Sevvanthiye – Seeru (D.Imman) – Tamil: I believe this song is based on Simhendramadhyamam raaga, that Raja has employed to magnificent effect in songs like Gopura Vaasaliley’s Thaalattum Poongaatru and Panneer Pushpangal’s Aanandha Raagam. The raaga’s innate beauty (though supposed to a grim raaga) shines and helps this song too, easily.
Tharam Maara Single – Darbar (Anirudh) – Tamil: After Chumma Kizhi I had really hoped for a better soundtrack from Anirudh for Rajini, compared to Petta. But Darbar is largely similar, and equally disappointing. The one song that stood out for me was Tharam Maara Single, thanks mainly to Anirudh rehashing cleverly his own fantastic Telugu song Gaali Vaaluga from Agnyaathavaasi. Even though that song is far better, the Tamil song’s lyrics, by Vivek, stand out with its corny and interesting Tamil-English mix, set to a lively background by Anirudh.
Pathivo Maarum – Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha (William Francis) – Malayalam: The first single (Enna Undra) from the film didn’t work for me. But composer William Francis is on more assured ground in the second song. Sandeep Mohan’s guitars work as a constant backdrop, to let Niranj Suresh own the sobering melody. Excellent hook/chorus too!
Vainko – Brodha V ft. Jordindian: I’m not a huge fan of rap music, but occasionally, I do find some both relatable and enjoyable. This is one such song! Bengaluru-based Brodha ‘Vighnesh Shivanand’ V cites A.R.Rahman’s Petta Rap (Kaadhalan) as the first ever rap he’d come across!! The diverse Indian influence shows in his rap’s musical backdrop, right from Gowndamani’s iconic ‘Start Meesik’ to the liberally peppered Tamil and Hindi in the rap. He even takes a dig at Gully Boy arguing that he was ‘Boht Hard’ long before catchphrase!
Church – Coldplay (Everyday Life): Coldplay’s new double-disc album is an experiment that barely worked for me. There’s a lot of political posturing that’s buried in the often cringe-worthy lyrics. The sound alternates between their trademark arena/stadium sound to a more newer, less engaging sound. The latter does make its mark in a song like Arabesque, but not elsewhere. As far as the trademark sound goes, besides Orphans, Church is the only other song that makes the cut.
