Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 169: On Spotify | On
15 songs this week. The Spotify playlist has all the songs, while YouTube is missing 3 songs because they are inside YouTube jukeboxes (have embedded the full jukebox below).
Yelamma Yela – Yaanai (GV Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: The song’s pallavi is really sweet, layering Arya Dhayal’s wonderful lines with the ‘Yelamma Yela’ chorus. But I thought the song overdid the call-and-response phrase of Arya’s lines and Yelamma Yela, or at least used it to relatively less impactful effect in the anupallavi/charanam. A special mention for Arya’s Tamil diction – her stress in the sounds is so very well done.
Thitthikiradhe – Veerame Vaagai Soodum (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: The song joins my long list of songs composed by Yuvan that deserved a singer other than Yuvan. The tune is vintage Yuvan, however… that vintage that still remains easily likeable with a catchy hook.
Achamillai – Hey Sinamika (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: As long as the song stays in and around the Achamillai hook, it works for me. The parts of the song that stray away from the hook and its horns-laced sound, into the freeform singing with generous English words, the song seems disjoint and forced.
Arkali – Kombu Vatcha Singamda (Dhibu Ninan Thomas) – Tamil: Dhibu chooses to open the song with a very soft melody ending with the ‘Poongaatrae Poongaatrae’ refrain. When he adds the background rhythm, it comes across as a mild jolt but it adds to the song’s charm. Sathya Prakash and Ala B Bala are very good choices as singers.
Vaane Vaane – Carbon (Sam CS) – Tamil: Sam has been out of sorts in the last few years after the Vikram Vedha high. This song harks back to his earlier melody-making style and perhaps a better pitch among his newer songs. Much of that credit should also go to Haricharan for holding the song together brilliantly.
Vesaane O Nichhena – Rowdy Boys (Devi Sri Prasad) – Telugu: The Tamil prelude (used as interlude too) is a pleasant surprise! But DSP has more in store – that unusual rhythm is a big pillar for the song, besides the singing by Kapil Kapilan and Sameera Bharadwaj. The way the rhythm plays with the melody is lovely! It’s a pity that this is such a short song.
Thana Chinni Navve – Super Machi (Thaman S) – Telugu: The song has that instantly identifiable and catchy rhythm that I had recently written about in Shekar Chandra’s Ninnu Chudagane (Atithi Devo Bhava). The other strength of the song is the singer – Kalyani Malik (aka Kalyan Koduri, M M Keeravani’s brother). I’m adequately surprised he doesn’t sing more often!
Gaaname, Rum Pum Pum, Aadam Paadam & Parimitha Neram – Madhuram (Hesham Abdul Wahab, Govind Vasantha) – Malayalam: Hesham seems to be in a great zone these days, with Hridhayam and now, this! He composes 4 of the 5 songs in Madhuram and at least 3 of those were very, very good! In Gaaname, he has the predictably excellent singing by Sooraj Santhosh and Nithya Mammen, accentuating his already beautiful melody that shines also because of the sweeping strings in the background. The 2nd interlude is also a lovely, lilting surprise, pleasantly out of sync with the overall song’s feel. Rum Pum Pum is a fantastic contrast to Gaaname! Arya Dhayal’s confident singing traverses the modern (in the beginning) and the classical (as the song progresses) all the while as Hesham keeps the song’s sound and rhythm so lively. Aadam Paadam seemed a bit predictable and in Shaan Rahman zone (probably because of Vineeth’s singing, I presume), but it is a lovely listen as well. The only song by Govind Vasantha, Parimitha Neram, is sung by Pradeep Kumar and Aavani Malhar, with a fantastic flute layer by Nikhil Ram, is a typical Govind melody with the ‘Parimitha Neram’ screaming his body of work instantly.
Manasse Manasse & Minnalkkodi – Hridhayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: I have already written about quite a few songs from the soundtrack and now the A-side of the soundtrack has just been released! This ‘A-side’ is such a charmingly, old-world phrase that only the cassette-era music lovers would understand. And it points to the fact that there is a B-side with 8 more songs!
Manasse is Vineeth’s show (he’s also the film’s writer and director) given how wonderfully he handles Hesham’s beautifully sweeping melody. Minnalkodi’s superbly thumping rhythm sets it apart as soon as it starts. And while Mohammad Maqbool Mansoor’s lead singing is mighty impactful, when K.S. Chithra enters with her tiny portion in the middle with just humming part, the song gets a wonderful jolt that is reminiscent of Rahman’s 90s style (probably because it reminds me of song other older Rahman song where Chitra sounded very similar).
Naan Olleyavne – Gajanana And Gang (Praddyottan) – Kannada: It really, really hurts to hear Puneeth’s familiar voice and to think he is no more 🙁 He doesn’t have the conventional singer’s voice, but it was a unique texture and he brought more from his singing style than singing prowess. This is that kind of song that gains immensely from his singing style and the composer Praddyottan keeps the song’s mood consistently fluffy and fun!
Je Suis la Pomme Rouge – Parekh & Singh (English): Oddly, the song’s first 4 lines took me back to Sting’s iconic Englishman In New York. But it also takes off in almost a surreal way immediately thereafter with the French hook. The already dreamy tune gets another stunning turn at 3:25!
