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Sunday February 13, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 173 – FEB.13, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 173: On Spotify | On YouTube
11 songs, this week! All the songs are available on both YouTube and Spotify!

Beqaaboo – Gehraiyaan (OAFF and Savera) – Hindi: After Doobey, the title song
did not work for me. But Beqaaboo does, courtesy of the laidback sound and the
electronic elements. And trust Shalmali Kholgade to deliver a melody like this
-she’s fantastic, as usual. Savera Mehta’s singing, on the other hand, was the
odd one out, with the falsetto notes often hitting awkwardly instead of the
intended effect.

Megham – Hey Sinamika (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: Govind reuses Thaikkudam
Bridge’s famous Fish Rock to produce a riveting recreation that continues to
work wonders much like the original it is based upon. Madhan Karky’s Tamil lines
flow perfectly in sync with the frenetic pacing of the interesting constructed
melody. The musical additions, towards the end of the Tamil version, with the
folk drums joining the rock rhythm, makes for a thoroughly enjoyable song. At a
music video level too, the song is really interesting, with the leads dancing
all the way through (given the film’s director’s choreographer profession) song
for the various stages of their courtship makes for a fantastic watch!

Theera Nadhi – Nadhi (Dhibu Ninan Thomas) – Tamil: I was honestly starting to
lose interest as the song’s first 4 lines played out. But then Dhibu introduces
the ‘Jal Jal Golusoli’ line with the sparkling keys to back it up and that turns
the song’s tone beautifully! Then Ballesh’s Shehnai adds more beauty to the
first interlude! Excellent singing by Kapil Kapilan and Srinisha Jayaseelan.

Romeo Juliet – Ghani (Thaman S) – Telugu: The song’s video released for now (not
the actual music video from the film) makes it seem like the singer is the
film’s lead star! That’s understandable because the singer is director Shankar’s
daughter, Aditi (who is making her acting debut in Tamil soon). Thankfully,
Thaman gives Aditi (making her singing debut) a simple and catchy tune with a
neat reggae-style sound that doesn’t tax her much. Aditi does pretty well
overall!

Paathashalaloo – Ori Devuda (Leon James) – Telugu: Leon, after showing
reasonable promise in Tamil, was a disappointment in Telugu (Next Enti?). But
this song gives me some hope. It has his trademark ebullient sound and flows
mighty well. Armaan Malik and Sameera Bharadwaj handle the singing well. Leon’s
smaller nuances, like the layering of the flute for ‘Paatabadadu gaa’ towards
the end, make it enjoyable.

Kottha Kottha Gaa – Aa Ammayi Gurinchi Meeku Cheppali (Vivek Sagar) – Telugu:
What a gorgeous melody! Like the film’s title, the first line, by Chaitra
Ambadipudi, seems unusually long. When Abhay Jodhpurkar interjects with his part
and then leads to Chaitra’s ‘Kottha Kottha Gaa’ hook, the interplay is
beautifully played out. I was mildly disappointed with some of Vivek’s recent
work, but he is fantastic here!

Rode Rodaale Saam, Aaji, Roi Jaa Aakaax & Ghuri Suasunn – Jajabori (Papon) –
Indipop/Axomiya: Papon’s new 4-song album is sheer delight! I believe the
album’s name, ‘Jajabori’ means traveler/traveling (pardon my ignorance – Googled
to understand whatever I could find). The song that best accentuates that feel
is Rode Rodaale Saa which gains tremendously from his dreamy singing and a
sweepingly calm melody! Aaji too has fantastic singing by Papon, and the tune
remains soft and moody though the backgrounds offer a mildly more rhythmic sound
that is however still downtempo without hitting any highs. Roi Jaa Aakaax goes a
step ahead in terms of the rock sound it underlines particularly with the
brilliant guitar that’s layered in. Ghuri Suasunn is the catchiest song of the
album, with a lilting melody that is impossible not to sing along with!

Pasoori – Ali Sethi x Shae Gill (Coke Studio 14): Pasoori is perhaps the best of
Coke Studio 14 so far! Not only do the vocals of Ali Sethi and Shae Gill merge
so harmoniously as the song progresses, but the kind of musical influences
(composed by Ali Sethi and Xulfi) that lift the song are phenomenal – that
reggaeton-style beat and an incredibly soulful tune on top of it! The singing
and the production are great examples of why Coke Studio Pakistan remains such a
fantastic musical platform!

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Saturday February 5, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 172 – FEB.06, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 172: On Spotify | On YouTube
11+ (+, because of versions of the same song, from Badhaai Do) songs! All the
songs are available on both YouTube and Spotify!

Atak Gaya, Hum Thay Seedhe Saadhe & Bandi Tot – Badhaai Do (Amit Trivedi & Ankit
Tiwari) – Hindi: While it is surprising to see Amit Trivedi in a multi-composer
album (along with Tanishk Bagchi, Khamosh Shah, and Ankit Tiwari), he easily
gets the cream of the soundtrack with 2 of his songs getting 3 versions each!
Atak Gaya is effortlessly Amit Trivedi! The Arijit version is very easy to like,
but Amit’s own acoustic version is no pushover with its own sedate flavor that
comes from the composer’s own sober style of singing. The 3rd version featuring
Abhijeet Srivastava is a surprisingly good listen too, with a kind of innocence
that the other 2 versions lack. Hum Thay Seedhe Saadhe is lovely, with its
gorgeous melody laid on top of a beautifully meditative rhythm. Of the 3
versions, Shashaa Tirupati’s version is my favorite. While the title song
(Tanishk Bagchi) or Gol Gappa (Amit Trivedi) didn’t work for me, Ankit’s Bandi
Tot did! Simple and catchy, with excellent singing by Nikhita Gandhi.

Bae – Don (Anirudh) – Tamil: A strictly by-the-numbers melody from Anirudh that
gets elevated by the background sounding better than the melody. Aditya R K’s
singing sounds wonderfully fresh, while Vignesh Sivan’s lyrics offer a clever
play over the word ‘Bae’ being used in Tamil with so many words that end with
‘be’ so naturally.

Telusa – Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga (Devi Sri Prasad) – Telugu: Amidst the steady
supply of conventional songs DSP produces, he manages to occasionally (a bit too
consistently these days) produce the surprising zinger. This is one such song.
His trademark bouncy rhythm is missing but he layers the song with a lovely
strings backdrop that helps him mount Shankar Mahadevan’s stellar singing really
well. It’s only in the 2nd interlude that the DSP template manages to seep in!

Bytwo Bytwo – Bytwo Love (B. Ajaneesh Loknath) – Kannada: I started playing the
song without knowing the composer and as soon as the catchy background music
started, and that guitar… I knew this was someone I like. And of course, it was
Ajaneesh. But to be sure, this is far less interesting compared to his
considerably better songs. I didn’t like the first song from the film (I Hate
Love) and I see a pattern that is most probably the director’s music sense. But
Bytwo also has Mano’s voice to draw me in (nostalgic and good), and the
anupallavi actually gets better.

Yaava Swargadinda – One Cut Two Cut (Nakul Abhyankar) – Kannada: Nakul’s tune is
bouncy and almost like an extended advertising jingle. Benny Dayal is perfect
for the rock sound, and it was hilarious to hear the iconic ‘If you come today,
it’s too early… If you come tomorrow, it’s too late’ being sung to a different
tune 🙂

Raahein – Shadow and Light (Indipop/Hindi): I have been previously effusive in
praise for Shadow and Light’s (Pavithra Chari and Anindo Bose) music (besides
their Hindi albums, and that delightful Tamil single, Yaarum Illai). Raahein
does not disappoint at all! Pavithra’s singing is, as usual, terrific! The
melody builds beautifully towards the vocal humming hook that marks the end of
the mukhda.

Neray Neray Vas – Soch The Band x Butt Brothers (Coke Studio Season 14): Soch
The Band’s (Adnan Dhool and Rabi Ahmed) 2014 hit gets a zingy recreation in the
hands of Butt Brothers (Shamroz and Umair). The original’s relatively slower
tempo has been amped up into a lively Punjabi sound and this adds more life to
the song.

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Sunday January 30, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 171 – JAN.30, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 171: On Spotify | On YouTube
Another short playlist – just 9 songs! All the songs are available on both
YouTube and Spotify, thankfully!

Doobey – Gehraiyaan (OAFF, Savera) – Hindi: Oh wow, what a song! Lothika Jha’s
dreamy vocals, the mesmerizing melody, and backgrounds by the composers, Kabeer
Kathpalia aka OAFF, and Savera Mehta… and that absolutely addictive ‘Ha Doobey’
(with backing humming by Savera) hook that leads so seductively towards ‘Oof yeh
Gehraiyaan’. Brilliant music, and it is so good to see new composers (in the
highly cluttered, hierarchical cinema industry) acing it in their (film) debut.

Thozhi – Hey Sinamika (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: If you have been waiting for
the ’96’ Govind Vasantha (the template that he used for a few songs immediately
after 96), here it is, finally! The backgrounds are delightful and captivating
and as the music soars, Pradeep’s stupendously good singing in pure Tamil (much
of that credit should also go to lyricist Madan Karky) accentuates the song’s
experience significantly!

Polladha Ulagam – Maaran (G.V. Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: The first thought that
came to me while listening to this song was the famous ‘Kappa Kappa’ song from
the 2012 Malayalam film Bachelor Party! It’s probably the steadily thrumming
background rhythm. But GVP has a very different tune to go on top of it and
Dhanush’s singing elevates it to whatever extent possible. And there are small
touches like the change in the rhythm (a kuthu rhythm when you least expect it!)
that makes the song consistently interesting.

Ik Mili Mainu Apsraa – B Praak (Indipop/Punjabi): This is a unique attempt! The
original song ‘Apsraa’ was spoken poetry by the lyricist Jaani and was a massive
hit in October last year. Now, B Praak turns those lines into a catchy retro-pop
song! From that poetry to this song, this is a lovely idea and one that works so
well! Praak’s voice brings gravitas to the melody and Asees Kaur, who was also
featured in the original song, makes her presence felt here too albeit for a
very brief note.

Tu Ani Mi & Vinchu Chaavla – Zombivli (AV Prafullachandra) – Marathi: I heard
the most famous song from Zombibli last year when it released (Angaat Aalaya,
composed by Rohan Rohan), but beyond the incredibly catchy Maharashtrian rhythm,
the song didn’t work for me. So, it comes across as a pleasant surprise that the
other 2 songs in the film are by composer AV Prafullachandra who I rate very,
very highly. And he doesn’t disappoint at all! Tu Ani Mi is a spritely melody
with a lovely spring in the step and superb singing by Nakul Abhyankar and
Kasturi Wavare. That ‘Tu Maazaa Maanjha’ hook is a particularly lovely touch. In
Vinchu Chaavla, the composer lobs a fantastic spinner! The song’s rhythm keeps
changing and that adds to the insane charm! That shift in the first interlude,
in particular, is brilliant. The singers, AV Prafullachandra, Manish Rajgire,
Thomson Andrews, Pravin Kuwar, Vivek Naik, and Santosh Bote, all seem to be
having a ball singing this massively fun song!

Sajni – The Yellow Diary (Indipop): NGL, I’m in love with The Yellow Diary lead
singer Rajan Batra’s voice and singing style 🙂 I find it as unique as Sid
Sriram or Sanjith Hegde. Even though the music video’s narrative device is the
most interesting aspect of this song, the song itself is a lovely listen with
Govind Vasantha-style backgrounds!

Suffocation – Dhruv Visvanath (Indipop): Dhruv delivers yet again, and how! His
guitar riffs are, as usual, wonderful, but the way he lets the music meander
softly at the 1:30 mark for about 20 seconds is mesmerizing!

Sajan Das Na – Coke Studio, Season 14: Kana Yaari used a folk base in true Coke
Studio style and excelled. But this one is ultramod, throwing at us the best
production values of Coke Studio in an enchanting melody that is brilliantly
rendered by Momina Mustehsan and Atif Aslam, given how accomplished both singers
are. I could have easily assumed the tune’s opening (and the entire melody) to
be composed by our own Mithoon – his signature seemed written all over!

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Sunday January 23, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 170 – JAN.23, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 170: On Spotify | On YouTube
A rather short playlist this week – just 8 songs! The YouTube playlist has all
8, while the Spotify playlist is missing just one – Hamsika Iyer’s Muruga.

Pottu Thotta Pournami, Nagumo, Nagumo Revival & Puthiyoru Lokam – Hridhayam
(Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: As soon as I heard Pottu Thotta Pournami, my
mind reached out to Raja’s ‘Koyil Mani Osai’ from Kizhakke Pogum Rayil – the
Suddha Saveri raaga connection, I presume. Sachin Balu and Megha Josekutty’s
vocals are outstanding—particularly how their vocals are woven alternatively in
the anupallavi—as also a wonderful layer of sax by Nikhil Ram. Nagumo seems like
a specially planned recreation of Thyagaraja’s classic considering Mohanlal,
Priyadarshan and Sreenivasan are famously known for the song’s use in 1988
classic Chithram, and now their children, Pranav, Kalyani, and Vineeth are
making this film! Punya Srinivas’ Veena is a superb addition to this new version
while Arvind Venugopal’s vocals seem effortless but soulful. The song’s other
variant, Nagumo Revival, is a wonderful listen too, given the many new musical
shades added to it. Puthiyoru Lokam sounded very Shaan Rahman’ish to me. But the
mix – of Vimal Roy’s Western-style vocals and Bhadra Rajin’s Indian-style vocals
– is fantastic, and stamps Hesham’s unique signature.

Parudeesa – Bheeshma Parvam (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: Sushin is truly in a
zone these days! After Kurup, he strikes again in Amal Neerad’s new film, with
Sreenath Bassi delivering the song in style amidst a flourish of Maxwell’s
Trumpet.

Ae Deewane Dil – Deepak Jeswal (Indipop): This is an unabashed tribute to R D
Burman and it did take me back in time instantly! But, however much I loved that
nostalgic feel, it came across more as a tribute to Jatin-Lalit given how the
duo had internalized Pancham’s sound and produced their own original sound on
top so wonderfully. This is not a complaint, however – I love the duo’s work as
an extension of Pancham’s. Deepak’s music also seemed to carefully and
clinically deconstruct many of Pancham’s familiar phrases by changing the pitch
– this is too is not a complaint 🙂

Muruga – Ku.Sa.Krishnamurthy, Ft. Hamsika Iyer (Indipop): Set in the incredibly
haunting raaga Madhuvanti, the melody is nothing short of mesmerizing! Hamsika’s
vocal prowess is also on full display and she handles the already heady melody
brilliantly, with Rajhesh Vaidhya’s impeccable Veena backing.

Kana Yaari – Kaifi Khalil (Coke Studio Season 14): The second song in the new
season of Coke Studio hits jackpot! The Balochi track, composed by Kaifi Khalil,
also features folk singer Abdul Wahab Bugti and the hijabi rapper Eva B. Eva B’s
rap is a special highlight of the song even as Abdul’s Balochi flavor is the
song’s solid base. Kaifi’s tune is incredibly lilting, bringing it all together
beautifully.

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Saturday January 15, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 169 – JAN.16, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 169: On Spotify | On YouTube
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!

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Saturday January 8, 2022

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 168 – JAN.09, 2022

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 168: On Spotify | On YouTube
18 songs this week. YouTube playlist has all the songs, while Spotify is missing
just one – Vivek Sagar’s Madhuramey, from the Telugu film Neetho.

Baliye Re – Jersey (Sachet-Parampara) – Hindi: Jersey’s Telugu original had
outstanding music by Anirudh. I’d rate the Hindi remake’s music considerably
lesser. The song that stood out for me was Baliye Re. It tries its best to
transcend the conventional package the composing duo lavish on it, thanks mainly
to the singers – Sachet Tandon, Stebin Ben and Parampara Tandon. I’m assuming
this song is the Hindi version of Adhento Gaani Vunnapaatuga from Telugu.

Yennadi Seidhaai – 1945 (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: This film, and song, was a
pleasant surprise since I had no idea Yuvan was working on a period project like
this. The melody, led by Haricharan and Priya Mali, is gorgeous, with a soft
ghazal-like outlook that gets accentuated by excellent singing.

Kaanal Neeraai & Kaattuppalli – Writer (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: Govind
Vasantha had a tepid 2021 in my view (yes, Writer released in 2021 too, but
towards the fag end of December 2021). Writer’s soundtrack too is less
interesting compared to the stupendous work he has produced in the past. But 2
songs stood out for me immediately. Kaanal Neeraai is so very Govind, with a
serene and immersive melody that gains so much from Pradeep Kumar’s singing and
the incredibly affecting backgrounds. In Kaattuppalli, Govind fuses folk sounds
(led by the thavil) very well with his haunting arrangements as the
undercurrent. The chorus is fantastic too, consisting of Pravin, Arvind, Velu,
Sushmita, Bhuvana and Vaish.

Naan Pizhai – Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (Anirudh) – Tamil: Anirudh’s new song
from Don, released mid-December, didn’t work for me, but here’s the composer
again producing pure magic! This is Rahman’s territory all the way, with a
sweeping melody that is rendered magnificently by Ravi G and Shashaa Tirupati!

Kitta Varudhu, Whistler & Title Song – Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa (Sean
Roldan, Karthikeya Murthy & G V Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: Putham Pudhu Kaalai,
from early 2020, had a knock-out song by Govind Vasantha (Kanna Thoodhu Po Da).
This anthology that builds on that film has at least 3 interesting songs. Sean
Roldan’s Kitta Varudhu is a hilarious song about the virus and turns the
covid-appropriate-behavior into a catchy jingle-style melody! The title song is
a lovely, upbeat song led by GV Prakash Kumar himself confidently singing it
along with Yamini Ghantasala. But the surprise of the soundtrack is Karthikeya
Murthy’s Whistler, with a vibrantly unique tune and a chorus in Malayalam!

Tara – Shyam Singha Roy (Mickey J Meyer) – Telugu: This is vintage Mickey! He
had a spate of songs like this, if I recall right, in the earlier part of his
career and I used to love this sound, with an echoing/ethereal ambience to the
sound/production. With Karthik’s pitch-perfect singing, this uptempo song is a
great listen!

Madhuramey – Neetho (Vivek Sagar) – Telugu: If I had not known that Vivek is the
composer I’d have guessed either Mickey J Meyer or Sandeep Chowta (particularly
since the tune veers closer ‘Short and Sweet’ from Kedi!). But that’s not a
complaint at all since the song works very well for me 🙂

Tillu Anna DJ Pedithe – DJ Tillu (Ram Miriyala) – Telugu: The song sounds like
something that was composed in Punjabi originally and Telugu lyrics added to it!
Ram does a great job of singing the incredibly lively and catchy song with the
necessary high-pitched verve!

Raa Thaarame – Bhoothakaalam (Shane Nigam) – Malayalam: Whoa! I had no idea
actor Shane Nigam was interested in music, but here he is, writing, singing, and
composing a song! And it is a very competent effort in every way! His singing
seems digitally managed, to be sure, but he has the basics right even as the
listenable tune itself is the real surprise along with the tasteful arrangements
by Prakash Alex.

Aaromal – Minnal Murali (Shaan Rahman) – Malayalam: There’s so much of Santhosh
Narayanan in the constantly accompanying strings in the background that I had to
look up the composer’s name again to confirm 🙂 The melody is all Shaan Rahman,
though, and the line, ‘Ponnurukki Minnorukki Ninne Naale Njan Thaalamelamode
Naadarinju Swanthamaakkidum… Athuvare’ is testimony to that! The singing too is
excellent, by Nithya Mammen and Sooraj Santhosh.

Aanandakolayil – Kolambi (Ramesh Narayan) – Malayalam: 3 songs from Kolambi were
released way back in 2019, though the film was released only in the last week of
December 2021! In sync with the film’s release, there’s a new 5-song soundtrack
now and that includes a lovely, ebullient riff on an earlier song I had written
about in 2019 – Aarodum Parayuka Vaiyya. The new song, Aanandakolayil, sung
beautifully by Shweta Mohan, offers a wonderful contrast to the contemplative
tone of the earlier song but uses similar cues from the tune!

Shaaru Shaaru – Super Sharanya (Justin Varghese) – Malayalam: Justin pulls off
something akin to an Amit Trivedi style song but it is so beautifully soaked in
Malayalam/Kerala twang. The lyrics mix Hindi and Malayalam in a hilariously
quirky way and the singing by Meera Johny, Justin Varghese, and Hafsath
Abdussalam K P gets the tone of the song brilliantly!

Annapoorne – Meow (Justin Varghese) – Malayalam: Muthuswami Dikshithar’s
Saama-raaga composition, Annapoorne, is a personal favorite of mine. One of my
favorite renditions of the song is on Mandolin, by U.Rajesh, from his 2005 album
Into The Light.

So, to see this composition being attempted again by Justin Varghese seems like
a wonderful idea of India in its true sense! Justin doesn’t tamper with the
melody at all, but helps the singer, Shivahari Varma, present it in all its
authentic beauty!

Thathaka Theithare – Hridayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: Hesham ropes in
actor Prithviraj to sing a college anthem and the result, with a scintillating
horns section, is absolutely superb, with a really addictive ‘Thathaka
Theithare’ hook!

O’Ga – 777 Charlie (Nobin Paul) – Konkani: A Konkani song from a Kannada film!
The predominant sound of the song is very Latino-style and that itself makes it
a fantastic, breezy listen. But add to that Dhiti S Lotlikar’s singing and the
way the language sounds so fresh and different from what is commercially
mainstream… very good listen!

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Tuesday December 21, 2021

MILLIBLOG ANNUAL MUSIC ROUND-UP 2021

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This is the 14th year of my annual music round-ups.
Here are the previous editions:
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014
2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008

The makers and the audio label of the upcoming Malayalam film Hridayam recently
announced that they would also be releasing the film’s music via audio cassette
and CDs (music to be released in January 2022), besides the usual methods –
online streaming. As someone who doesn’t even have a CD drive in any of the
laptops at home, and obviously does not have a cassette player anymore, this
news sounded at once quaint and nostalgic.

I read this news with amusement as I signed up for YouTube Music paid version
for the first time after using the platform for free for many years. The one
feature that clinched the deal for me? The ability to lock my phone while I
stream music from YouTube 🙂

Unlike books where printed books still outsell ebooks or audiobooks by a huge
mile, the way we think of music has completely changed.

The American Enterprise Institute has a brilliant animated chart that traces the
sales of recorded music from 1973 to 2021 (this should be US data, obviously;
but this should also be representative of music sales around the world too,
largely). The fascinating chart starts with vinyl dominating the format,
cassettes ruling the roost in the 80s, CDs completely ruling in the 2000s,
digital download and streaming gradually starting in the mid-2000s, digital
download dominating in the late-2000s and early-2010s, and streaming totally
taking over the way we think of music by late-2010s. The resurgence of vinyl is
also an interesting story in the chart, of course.

Barring the vinyl story, music is largely free of physical artefacts now. Both
the way we play music and the music itself is literally in the air now.

Access to music is mostly free now, thanks to YouTube and most of the
ad-supported streaming plans. And that explains why success in music is now
judged mainly by ‘plays’ (on streaming platforms) and ‘views’ (on YouTube). It’s
very easy to stumble on music that is doing the rounds (aka popular) these days
unlike the days of CDs and cassettes where the entry price meant that we
depended on sources like radio play and media write-ups to know what was buzzing
in music. Now, we could land on songs with ‘1 million views’ as something that
is buzzing, though that could well be a factor of the song’s picturization too
given that YouTube is a visual platform.

But a legitimate mode in which songs are now also released on YouTube is
‘Lyrical’ videos. And these lyrical videos hitting million+ ‘views’ says more
about the pure musical pull than music videos hitting similar numbers.

However, given so many songs hitting the basic threshold of 1000000 views or
more, it is easy to be swayed by the sentiment of numbers and assume that these
are the best songs around because so many people have bestowed their views upon
them. What that misses is the simple fact that there is no cost to access these
‘music’ titles anymore (including rock-bottom mobile data prices)!

So, there is a screaming need for many, many trusted/trustable and independent
voices that curate music to make sense of what is worth listening to beyond the
many ‘millions’ being the deciding factor. I started Milliblog back in 2005,
much before the streaming era, precisely for this reason – to be one of the many
voices curating the profusion of music around us, particularly film music that
usually gets the short end of the stick when it comes to ‘quality’, an unfair
tag attached to it because it is more popular.

But as I explain more in the Tamil round-up, even Tamil cinema seems to be
gradually tiring of the songs-in-movies shtick. I won’t be surprised if most of
the popular film industries in India (across languages) go completely song-free
in-film in the next 10-15 years and use ‘songs’ exclusively to promote the
films.

I do not generally care for how many people read Milliblog or gain from the
weekly playlists I share. I continue doing it only because I want a curated list
for myself among the many, many new releases week after week. I’m Milliblog’s
first consumer. Even if I’m the only one, I’d still be making these lists week
after week as long as I can because I keep asking the question, ‘What should I
listen to now?’ every week.

For someone like me who has no formal training in any form of music, to be at
this unpaid task for 15+ years seems like a hobby taken too far 🙂

PS 1: Unlike last year where I found YouTube missing a lot of songs in my annual
lists and simply gave up and resorted only to Spotify playlists, this year has
been very good – all the songs are available completely on both YouTube and
Spotify.

PS 2: The lists below are based on the individual songs’ release year (2021),
and not the films’ release date/year, with the second week of December 2020 as
the starting point and late-December 2021 as a cut-off period (since I posted
the 2020 annual round-up in the second week of December last year). I hate
treating songs as mere appendages of movies and removing any value they have on
their own given the tremendous effort behind each song. Of course, they were
paid for and driven entirely by the existence of the films they are present in,
but they are our Indian equivalent of Western pop songs and to treat them as
mere extensions of our films seems wrong to me. So I give them independent
legitimacy and treat their release date to decide which annual list they should
belong to. So, if you don’t see a Vaathi Coming in the 2021 Tamil list, you know
why.

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Hindi

2021 Hindi film music truly belonged to debutant composers! Though ‘debutants’
would be an odd fit to both those debutants – I’m referring to Arijit Singh and
Justin Prabhakaran. Arijit, already in the middle of a stellar singing career,
produced a knockout film composing debut with Pagglait. His music was nuanced,
hugely enjoyable, and demonstrated the proficiency of much more experienced
composers, probably owing to the kind of influence he has picked up from
composers like Pritam and A R Rahman.

As for Justin, he’s hardly a debutant, but in Hindi, he is. His Hindi debut, in
Meenakshi Sundareshwar, walked the tightrope of managing pan-Indian/Hindi
sensibilities without making it too Tamil (the film’s setting) or reducing the
importance of Tamil sounds.

Ironically, or characteristically for 2021, both these films were released
directly on OTT – on Netflix.

Beyond these 2 composers and their 2 soundtracks, the rest of the film music in
Hindi was largely very lackluster in 2021. Last year’s composer(s) of the year,
Shankar Ehsaan Loy had a tepid year with passable music in Toofan, but were less
interesting in Bunty Aur Babli 2. Pritam showcased minimal spark towards the end
of the year with Tadap. A R Rahman was in considerably better form, with both
Mimi and Atrangi Re offering consistently good overall soundtracks. Sachin and
Jigar were probably the busiest composers of the year but had only occasional
song-specific goodness.

Composer of the year: Justin Prabhakaran and Arijit Singh

1. Mann Kesar Kesar – Meenakshi Sundareshwar (Justin Prabhakaran)
2. Param Sundari – Mimi (A R Rahman)
3. Rait Zara Si – Atrangi Re (A R Rahman)
4. Pagglait – Pagglait (Arijit Singh)
5. Barbaadiyan – Shiddat (Sachin-Jigar)
6. Purvaiya – Toofaan (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
7. Tere Siva Jag Mein – Tadap (Pritam)
8. Ishq Fitoori – Bhavai (Shabbir Ahmed)
9. Ranjha – Shershaah (Jasleen Royal)
10. Vaada Machaney – Meenakshi Sundareshwar (Justin Prabhakaran)

11. Tere Rang – Atrangi Re (A R Rahman)
12. Thode Kam Ajnabi – Pagglait (Arijit Singh)
13. Tu Yahin Hai – Meenakshi Sundareshwar (Justin Prabhakaran)
14. Chori Chori – Grahan (Amit Trivedi)
15. Phuljhadiyon – Mimi (A R Rahman)
16. Tum Pe Hum Toh – Bole Chudiyan (Raghav Sachar)
17. Marjaawaan – BellBottom (Composed by Gurnazar Singh, Music by Gaurav Dev &
Kartik Dev)
18. Chaka Chak – Atrangi Re (A R Rahman)
19. Ishq Namazaa – The Big Bull (Gourov Dasgupta)
20. Kiston – Roohi (Sachin-Jigar)

21. Hum Dono Yun Mile – 14 Phere (Raajeev V Bhalla)
22. Kahe Muskaye Re – Bhavai (Shabbir Ahmed)
23. Kheench Te Nach – Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (Sachin-Jigar)
24. Ananya – Toofaan (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
25. Luv Ju – Bunty Aur Babli 2 (Shankar Ehsaan Loy)
26. Rammo Rammo – Bhuj: The Pride Of India (Tanishk Bagchi)
27. Bansuri – Bhavai (Shabbir Ahmed)
28. Tumse Bhi Zyada – Tadap (Pritam)
29. O Jogiya – Grahan (Amit Trivedi)
30. Milaa Yun – Haseen Dilruba (Amit Trivedi)

Milliblog Hindi Top 30 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Tamil

Kaithi was one of the most successful films of 2019. Directed by Lokesh
Kanagaraj, it had one of the leading stars of Tamil cinema (Karthi) and yet had
no songs. Lokesh’s 2021 release, Master, had the mandatory 6 songs, though. One
of 2021’s successful films, Maanaadu, had one song (for context, no other film
starring Silambarasan in the lead had only one song)! Another successful film,
Doctor, had just 3 songs – the least number of songs among all movies that
starred Sivakarthikeyan in the lead; and he produced this movie too,
incidentally! That both these films had popular heroes who are known for their
songs did not stop the directors from not having the standard quota of 4-6
songs.

We may be witnessing a very early trend in Tamil cinema where songs aren’t
entirely necessary in the larger scheme of things. There used to be a template
for Tamil films earlier – ‘4 fights and 6 songs’, but songs may join other
potentially defunct features like fights, foreign locations, duets where the
leads lip-sync, and so on.

That doesn’t sound promising for an annual music round-up, of course, but Tamil
cinema may simply be seeking inspiration from Malayalam cinema that is ahead of
the curve in terms of treating songs as a distraction in story-telling. We
should have realized it when Mani Ratnam, a director known for his hugely
imaginative song picturizations, chose to use the many songs of the soundtrack
largely as background sounds in his last film, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. Even the
busy Santhanam who had 3 releases in 2021, seemed to have lost interest in songs
by his 3rd film in 2021 (Sabapathy, which had just 2 songs, compared to Parris
Jeyaraj, with 5 songs, and Dikkiloona with 4 songs).

The rise of OTT viewing may possibly accelerate this trend given that viewers
could do better than to head out of the theater for a quick smoke/samosa during
a song – they could simply fast-forward the song! Ironically though, anthologies
like Paava Kadhaigal and Navarasa had proper soundtracks with quite a few songs!

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2021 was also unusual in the sense that many films that were half in the grave,
came back from the dead and got minor replays for the music that was released
long ago! This list included films like Nenjam Marappathillai, Pon Manickavel,
and even top-grossers like Doctor and Master that were meant for early 2020
release but got pushed around due to elections and the pandemic. The result was
that songs like Chellamma (Doctor) and Vaathi Coming and Kutty Story (Master)
that had been released in 2020 and had already featured in most 2020 annual
music round-ups had a fresh lease of success in 2021 too.

In terms of sheer consistency and success, Anirudh easily tops 2021 (rather,
2020/2021 for the reason outlined in the previous paragraph). Master and Doctor
(with just 3 songs) were easily the best soundtracks of the year. He added to
that with good songs from the upcoming Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal. Anirudh
remains one of those few composers who produce soundtracks/albums where every
song is listenable.

D.Imman, despite being busy (Annaatthe, Laabam, Bhoomi, Teddy, Udanpirappe, Pon
Manickavel) had a middling year. Santhosh Narayanan had a considerably better
year, delivering excellent music in Karnan, Jagame Thandhiram, and Sarpatta
Parambarai, and forgettable music in Parris Jeyaraj and Vellai Yaanai. Yuvan had
a similar record – impressive in Maanaadu and Nenjam Marappathillai, but
functional in Kalathil Santhippom, Chakra, and Dikkiloona.

Other composers with more than one notable song included Sean Roldan (Jai Bhim),
Singer Karthik (Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru, Kutty Story), Vivek-Mervin (Enna Solla
Pogirai), Ajesh (Sarbath), Pradeep Kumar (Vaazhl), Ghibran (Maara), Girishh
Gopalakrishnan (Netrikann), Vishal Chandrashekhar (Oh Manapenne!), and the lone
woman composer of the year in Tamil cinema – Revaa (Mugizh).

As for lesser-heard, but very-listenable songs that deserve more, here goes:
Pattu Rosa (Theethum Nandrum, C.Sathya), Usuraiye Ulukkuthey (Thaen, Sanath
Bharadwaj), Kaalam Azhagai (Ward 126, Varun Sunil), Kaalai Adhikaalai (Naduvan,
Dharan Kumar), Enil Paaindhidum (Sinam, Shabir), Seevanuke (Aelay, Kaber
Vasuki), Sokkuren Sokkuren (Chidambaram Railwaygate, Karthik Raja), Murukku
Meesakaran (Vettai Naai, Ganesh Chandrasekaran), Muruga (Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum
Kelir, Nivas K Prasanna), Thattiputta and Ye Rasa (MaaManithan, Ilaiyaraja and
Yuvan Shankar Raja), Kaami Kaami (Tughlaq Durbar, Govind Vasantha), Jeeraga
Biriyani (Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam, Guna Balasubramanian), Enakkenna Aachu
(Kasada Tabara, Yuvan Shankar Raja), Adiye (Bachelor, Dhibu Ninan Thomas),
Uchanthala Regaiyile (Pisasu 2, Karthik Raja), Yarathu – (Maddy Engira Madhavan,
Hesham Abdul Wahab) and Knockout Song (Arasiyalla Idhellam Saadharnamappa,
Madley Blues).

Composer of the year: Anirudh

1. So Baby – Doctor (Anirudh)
2. Tum Tum – Enemy (Thaman S)
3. Thooriga – Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru/Navarasa (Karthik)
4. Theeranadi – Maara (Ghibran)
5. Nagarodi – Jail (G.V. Prakash Kumar)
6. Polladha Ulagathiley – Jai Bhim (Sean Roldan)
7. Aasai – Enna Solla Pogirai (Vivek – Mervin)
8. Kandaa Vara Sollunga – Karnan (Santhosh Narayanan)
9. Thangamey – Paava Kadhaigal (Justin Prabhakaran)
10. Oh Manapenne – Oh Manapenne (Vishal Chandrashekhar)

11. Meherezylaa – Maanaadu (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
12. Kaathirundhen – Maara (Ghibran)
13. Slum Anthem – Kodiyil Oruvan (Nivas.K.Prasanna)
14. Pattu Rosa – Theethum Nandrum (C.Sathya)
15. Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum – Netrikann (Girishh Gopalakrishnan)
16. Naanum – Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru (Karthik)
17. Unnale Unarndhene – Sarbath (Ajesh)
18. Maayakkara – Mughizh (Revaa)
19. Nethu – Jagame Thandhiram (Santhosh Narayanan)
20. Maayangal – Kutty Story (Karthik)

21. Kavi Solla – Sarbath (Ajesh)
22. Harla Farla – Chakra (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
23. Thattiputta – Maamanithan (Ilaiyaraja and Yuvan Shankar Raja)
24. Usuraiye Ulukkuthey – Thaen (Sanath Bharadwaj)
25. Yaazha Yaazha – Laabam (D.Imman)
26. Kalyanam Senju – Madurai Manikkuravan (Ilayaraja)
27. Bodhai Kaname – Oh Manapenne (Vishal Chandrashekhar)
28. Anale Anale – Jango (Ghibran)
29. Jeeraga Biriyani – Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam (Guna Balasubramanian)
30. Enakkenna Aachu – Kasada Tabara (Yuvan Shankar Raja)

Milliblog Tamil Top 30 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Telugu

Among all the leading film producing languages, I believe that only the Telugu
film industry still revels in the song-dance tradition in films. The overall
output of songs for Telugu still continues to be better both in terms of
quantity and quality, even though the quality factor is slightly questionable
given the musical world Telugu creates in itself.

The best part is that there’s a wide variety of composers who compete mighty
well, even beyond A-listers like Devi Sri Prasad and Thaman who are clearly, and
consistently, the picks for A-list stars. A Pawan Ch could come from nowhere and
blow our mind with Lovestory, while veterans like Keeravani demonstrate superb
form with films like Pelli SandaD and Kondapolam.

The odd situation that I had mentioned in my Tamil round-up—of the
pandemic-infused delay in the release of the film after the release of the music
in 2020—is applicable to Telugu too. Case in point: much of the songs of Rang
De, Uppena, and Lovestory were out in 2020, and I had featured some of them in
my 2020 annual round-up too! These films were released only in 2021.

As for the other composers, I was glad to see Shravan Bharadwaj get much better
visibility with the one film he did this year – Natyam. The film though, bombed,
but I do hope he gets more work to prove his mettle given his hugely impressive
but largely-unheard body of work so far. Chaitan Bharadwaj too continues to
impress and his Maha Samudram had great music. Mickey J Meyer had a good run in
Sreekaram and a bit less impressive, though listenable run in Shyam Singha Roy.

Song-level highlights—if we look past soundtrack-level—included Chitti (Jathi
Ratnalu, Radhan), Kolu Kolu (Virata Parvam, Suresh Bobbili), Ayyayyayyo (Aakasa
Veedhullo, Judah Sandhy), Devi Kalyana Vaibogame (Vivaha Bhojanambu, AniVee),
Entha Baavundo (Gunde Katha Vintara, Masala Coffee), Kannaye Kallu (Ee Kathalo
Paathralu Kalpitam, Karthik Kodakandla), Ala Ila (Stand Up Rahul, Sweekar
Agasthi), Bandeena Bandeena (Raja Raja Chora, Vivek Sagar), So So Ga (Manchi
Rojulochaie, Anup Rubens), Idhi Nijamaa (Bathuku Busstand, Mahavir) and Ra Ra
Linga (Skylab, Prashanth R Vihari).

Composer of the year: Devi Sri Prasad

1. Leharaayi – Most Eligible Bachelor (Gopi Sundar)
2. Evo Evo Kalale – Lovestory (Pawan Ch)
3. Rangule – Rang De (Devi Sri Prasad)
4. La La Bheemla – Bheemla Nayak (Thaman S)
5. Ekkesinde – Manchi Rojulochaie (Anup Rubens)
6. Hey Rambha Rambha – Maha Samudram (Chaitan Bharadwaj)
7. Madhura Nagarilo – Pelli SandaD (M.M.Keeravani)
8. Chettekki – Kondapolam (M.M.Keeravani)
9. Hey Abbayi – Sreekaram (Mickey J Meyer)
10. MBA MCA – Chalo Premiddam (Bheems Ceciroleo)

11. Hey Manasendukila – Ichata Vahanamulu Niluparadu (Pravin Lakkaraju)
12. Jala Jala Jalapaatham – Uppena (Devi Sri Prasad)
13. Entha Entha Choosinaa – Gamanam (Ilayaraja)
14. Thoorpu Padamara – Natyam (Shravan Bharadwaj)
15. Ninnu Chudagane – Atithi Devo Bhava (Shekar Chandra)
16. Korameesam Polisoda – Krack (Thaman S)
17. Ishtam – Khiladi (Devi Sri Prasad)
18. Nailu Nadi – WWW (Simon K King)
19. Srivalli – Pushpa (Devi Sri Prasad)
20. Manasulone Nilichipoke – Varudu Kaavalenu (Vishal Chandrashekhar)

21. Venuvulo – Natyam (Shravan Bharadwaj)
22. Digu Digu Digu Naaga – Varudu Kaavalenu (Thaman S)
23. Premante Enti – Pelli SandaD (M. M. Keeravani)
24. Okey Oka Lokam – Sashi (Arun Chiluveru)
25. Title song – Bheemla Nayak (Thaman S)
26. Sandalle Sandalle – Sreekaram (Mickey J Meyer)
27. Ningina Jarina – Swa (Karanam Sri Raghavendra)
28. Idhi Chala Baagundhile – Sehari (Prashanth R Vihari)
29. Rendu Kannultho – Dil Se (Srikar Velamuri)
30. Neevevvaro – Boyfriend For Hire (Gopi Sundar)

Milliblog Telugu Top 30 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Malayalam

Probably owing to the pandemic-related constraints and delays, I’d put the
Malayalam film music output in 2021 as largely middling. There were good songs
all through the year, but compared to the previous years or looking at the
quality of music overall, I found it lacking in both range and quality. I missed
the kind of outstanding soundtracks from composers like Shaan Rahman or a
Prashant Pillai that they are known for. Perhaps next year when the effects of
the pandemic are on the wane… hopefully.

In terms of highlights that could have more impact next year, I look forward to
what more Pradeep Kumar does in Veyil (his Malayalam debut), and Prashant does
in Moonwalk, considering we have just one song so far from both films. So far,
given the few songs released, it looks like Hesham Abdul Wahab has a very
well-put-together album in Hridayam and I look forward to the other songs in the
soundtrack, beyond the 2 in this list below.

Composer of the year: None.

1. Darshana – Hridayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab)
2. Innale Mellane – Nizhal (Sooraj S Kurup)
3. The Hey Song – Veyil (Pradeep Kumar)
4. Madhuradhari – Karlmarx Bakthanayirunnu (Manikandan Ayyappa)
5. Paathira Kaalam – Kurup (Sushin Shyam)
6. Kanvaathil – Roy (Munna PM)
7. Ollulleru – Ajagajantharam (Justin Varghese)
8. Kantharipenne – Marathon (Bibin Ashok)
9. Thee Minnal – Minnal Murali (Sushin Shyam)
10. Varavayi Nee – Sara’s (Shaan Rahman)

11. Theerame – Malik (Sushin Shyam)
12. Maaran – Kudukku 2025 (Bhoomee)
13. Oh Kinakaalam – Moonwalk (Prashant Pillai)
14. Hijabi – Meow (Justin Varghese)
15. Enthinanente Chenthamare – Karnan Napoleon Bhagat Singh (Ranjin Raj)
16. Kannil Minnum – Meppadiyan (Rahul Subrahmanian)
17. Munthiripoovo – Bhramam (Jakes Bejoy)
18. Pakaliravukal – Kurup (Sushin Shyam)
19. Pinnenthe – Ellam Sheriyakum (Ouseppachan)
20. Eeran Nila – Meri Awas Suno (M.Jayachandran)

21. Vetta Mrigam – Kuruthi (Jakes Bejoy)
22. Ilaveyil – Marakkar (Ronnie Raphael)
23. Kinavil – Sumesh & Ramesh (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha S Nair)
24. Ozhukidum Nithaantha – Black Coffee (Bijibal)
25. Mele Vinpadavukal – Sara’s (Shaan Rahman)
26. Alare – Member Rameshan 9aam Ward (Kailas Menon)
27. Kanakam Kalaham – Kanakam Kamini Kalaham (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha S
Nair)
28. Mathilkakathu – Karlmarx Bakthanayirunnu (Manikandan Ayyappa)
29. Uyire – Minnal Murali (Shaan Rahman)
30. Arike Ninna – Hridayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab)

Milliblog Malayalam Top 30 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Kannada

As always, I find the overall quality of Kannada film music to be abysmal. Even
the so-called masala/commercial music lacks the finesse and imagination of
Telugu commercial film music that seem to be mounted far, far better.

That said, I do expect a lot from talented composers like Ajaneesh Loknath,
Charan Raj, and Judah Sandhy who have been largely consistent in delivering good
music that aims to truly compete with the rest of the country’s best. I was a
big fan of Arjun Janya’s music when he was a fresh talent, but he seems to have
settled into a mind-numbing sameness of late. Hope he finds adequate inspiration
and better scripts to get his creative mojo back.

Composer of the year: B Ajaneesh Loknath

1. Nenapina Hudugiye – Hero (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
2. Tininga Miniga Tishaa – Salaga (Charan Raj)
3. Nee Parichaya – Ninna Sanihake (Raghu Dixit)
4. Premakke Kannilla – Sakath (Judah Sandhy)
5. Gicchi Gili Gili – Rathnan Prapancha (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
6. Khali Khali – Puksatte Lifu (Vasu Dixit)
7. Bareve Bareve – H34 Pallavi Talkies (B Ajaneesh Loknath)
8. Endo Bareda – Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (Midhun Mukundan)
9. Yaare Yaare – Ek Love Ya (Arjun Janya)
10. Shuruvaagide – Sakath (Judah Sandhy)

Milliblog Kannada Top 10 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Non-film music:

Non-film music – Hindi

1. Roz Roz – The Yellow Diary ft. Shilpa Rao
2. Charkhe – Nyasa
3. Tohfa – Vayu
4. Churaya – Amit Trivedi
5. Baaton Baaton Mein – Ishq-Songs of Love (Hariharan, Bickram Ghosh)
6. Piya More Piya – Santanu Ghatak feat. Sharmistha Chatterjee
7. Rusvaaiyaan – Amit Trivedi
8. Angana Morey – Soumyadeep Ghoshal Ft. Shreya Ghoshal
9. Dhoom – Maati Baani
10. KTMBK – Genesis 1:1 (Zaeden)

Milliblog Hindi – Non-film Top 10 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Non-film music – Tamil

1. Enjoy Enjaami – Dhee ft. Arivu (Santhosh Narayanan)
2. Idhu Varai – Staccato
3. Maya – Three Songs For The Night (Sean Roldan)
4. Thunai – Keerthana Vaidyanathan & Prashanth Techno
5. Yaathi Yaathi – Abhishek CS
6. So Soku – V2 Vijay Vicky
7. Mannavanaanalum – Ghibran
8. Kanaa – Nucleya, 2jaym & Sublahshini
9. Kooda Vaa – Ghibran
10. Kan Munnale – Varun Sunil (Ft. Shweta Mohan)

Milliblog Tamil – Non-film Top 10 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Non-film music – Malayalam

1. Chiri Paatu – Varkey
2. Pilleranu – Rithu (Sithara’s Project Malabaricus)
3. Malhaar – Arun Kamath
4. Pularikal – Pina Colada Blues
5. Mukile Mukile (Kanmoodi Parthaal) – Sam Simon George, ft. KS Harisankar
6. Kanmani Kanmani – Shaan Rahman
7. Naale – Everafter
8. Arutharuthu – Sithara’s Project Malabaricus
9. Thonnal – Govind Vasantha
10. Oblivion – Ashwin Renju

Milliblog Malayalam – Non-film Top 10 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Non-film music – Instrumental

1. So… Now Hear This – Abhay Nayampally (Abhay Nayampally)
2. The Khamaj Connection – Mahesh Raghvan and Nandini Shankar
3. The Road Not Taken – The Immersive Experience (Sandeep Chowta, feat. Abhay
Nayampally & Seb Read)
4. Hues – Abhay Nayampally (Abhay Nayampally)
5. Ballad of Krishna – Abhay Nayampally (Abhay Nayampally)
6. Shanmukhapriya – – Unbounded (Abaad) – Purbayan Chatterjee
7. Kaleidoscope – Fusion Fission (Sandeep Chowta)
8. Ex-Animo – Abhay Nayampally (Abhay Nayampally)
9. The Dune Tune – Fusion Fission (Sandeep Chowta)
10. Ragamaya – Intuition (Apoorva Krishna)

Milliblog Instrumental – Non-film Top 10 2021 playlist on Spotify | YouTube

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Happy listening 🙂

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Saturday December 11, 2021

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 167 – DEC.12, 2021

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 167: On Spotify | On YouTube
12 songs this week. Both Spotify and YouTube playlists have all the songs.

Garda, Chaka Chak, Tere Rang & Little Little, Rait Zara Si – Atrangi Re (A R
Rahman) – Hindi: Garda, with its celebratory sound, is a wonderfully joyous
song. The ‘Dale dora re, Baaga gora gora re’ hook stays, along with the
very-Bihari expression, ‘Sala garda uda diye’, uttered by none other than the
film’s writer and co-producer, Himanshu Sharma! Chaka Chak took me back to
Rahman’s late-90s output given how ebullient and lively the whole package was.
Shreya Ghoshal is, as always, phenomenally good. Tere Rang is an absolute beauty
that screams Rahman’s style in every single way! This is the kind of song that
would be sung by choice in singing competition shows on TV! Even within the
semi-classical melody of the tune, the interludes offer a grand orchestral
flourish. The song is a superb showcase of Shreya and Haricharan’s singing, and
Rahman juxtaposes their voices so beautifully.

Little Little has an easy-going tune to suit Dhanush’s singing range and the
lyrics too support it with simple, rhyming words like Dear, Near, Fear, Cheer 🙂
The backgrounds are a lovely hat-doff to Indira’s Odakkaara Maarimuthu! Rait
Zara Si, though, is the soundtrack’s best! This is the kind of melody where the
mukhda and antara extend vibrantly and merge into pure music. And then that
Tamil phrase in between (Vaasam Veesuthadi), besides the thavil-based rhythm!
Arijit Singh and Shashaa Tirupati are superb here!

Uruttu, It’s Raining Love & Aasai Reprise – Enna Solla Pogirai (Vivek-Mervin) –
Tamil: Uruttu is good fun, using famous/familiar phrases (like Sweet Edu
Kondaadu) and a catchy Middle eastern vibe. It’s Raining Love is perfectly in
Vivek-Mervin zone – uptempo and very catchy, almost like an early-Harris Jayaraj
melody. Aasai is already a mesmerizing melody, but Vivek-Mervin up the ante by
getting Bombay Jayashri for a Reprise! And she does a smashingly good job in
offering her own perspective on the tune’s beauty.

Arike Ninna – Hridayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: Hesham builds the tempo
of the melody slowly and it gets accentuated beautifully because of the choice
of the singer – Job Kurian!

Kugramame – Minnal Murali (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: Sushin extends his
incredibly cool 80s synth sound—that he so wonderfully delivered in Thee
Minnal—in a shorter song, here.

Malebille – Drishya 2 (Ajaneesh B Loknath) – Kannada: A pleasant surprise from
Ajaneesh for a film that’s not particularly known for its music (in any
language) as much as it’s lauded for its script! I thought the raaga was Pilu
and that probably explains why the tune worked for me almost immediately.

Rang – Shekhar Ravjiani (Indipop): Vishal-Shekhar’s Shekhar has been less
proficient recently on his own, and given his fantastic singing, it’s great to
see him try his solo act again with Rang. It’s a simple, but very engaging tune.
With that accordion in the backdrop, the song has a beautiful European vibe even
as the lyrics make it seem so very Indian at heart.

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Saturday November 27, 2021

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 166 – NOV.28, 2021

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 166: On Spotify | On YouTube
11 songs this week. Both Spotify and YouTube playlists have all the songs.

Kheench Te Nach – Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (Sachin-Jigar) – Hindi/Punjabi: After
exhausting the quota of true-blue Punjabi songs, the composing duo finally get
down to business and produce a genuinely interesting song for the film. The tune
is mighty unusual and the singers—Vishal Dadlani, Shalmali Kholgade and Brijesh
Shandilya—sometimes seem to break off whatever the tune is, but all that only
adds to the charm!

Shukar Manavaan – Velle (Yug Bhusal) – Hindi: There are a lot of songs in Velle,
and the only one that stood out for me is Shukar Manavaan. Composer Yug (he had
produced outstanding music in the Marathi film Chitrafit 3.0) doesn’t do
anything dramatically new, to be honest, and the melody fits in the current
Bollywood scheme adequately. But the short song has an engaging melody that
Armaan Malik handles very well.

Voice of Unity – Maanaadu (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: Yuvan delivers a
frenetically paced song that sears with superb lines by Arivu! Silambarasan’s
usually poor singing has been used cleverly by Yuvan (since he himself is a
singer on the same lines!) in a tune that doesn’t require staying on the tune as
much as delivering the short staccato lines with a punch. Arivu joins too with
his part and does a smashingly good job!

Cute Ponnu – Enna Solla Pogirai (Vivek-Mervin) – Tamil: I thought the song was
actually a Punjabi song that I stumbled upon on T-series’ YouTube channel 🙂 The
hook seemed very Punjabi-style, but Vivek and Mervin add their own stamp and the
song has an undeniable charm thanks to Anirudh’s vocals. Also, Arivu’s lyrics
upend the usual trait of the Tamil (or Indian?) cinema hero of following ‘cute
girls’ and instead simply has him asking the said cute girl to follow him! Seems
like a tiny step for the male kind in Tamil cinema in acknowledging that women
have agency too 🙂

Magizhini – Govind Vasantha (Tamil/Indipop): What a brilliant song! Even if the
song was conjured around the theme (billed as ‘First Tamil LGBTQ Song’), the
music stands on its own. Of course, together—the theme, music, and the lyrics by
Madhan Karky—the experience is accentuated at a different level. Starting with
Keba’s fantastic guitar work and a distinctly Latin-style background, Govind
traverses different musical contours and finally lands in two extended outros of
almost a minute each—one with vocals and one without, led by Nikhil’s flute—that
breaks free from the earlier melody that he so exquisitely created. All through
the song, Keerthana Vaidyanathan confidently handles every twist the tune offers
her.

Ra Ra Linga – Skylab (Prashanth R Vihari) – Telugu: An actor from Kerala (Nithya
Menen) co-produces a Telugu film called Skylab (after the first space station
launched by NASA) and the composer ropes in another Tamil composer, Sean Roldan,
to sing it! Says a lot about how seamlessly things come together in the Southern
film industries! After what I had mentioned about Sean’s vocals last week, with
this song, it almost seems like Prashanth R Vihari makes adept use of the same
voice to great effect in mining mirth out of it by accepting what it is, instead
of making him sing a genuinely melodious tune to evoke a different mood 🙂 The
chorus deserves a special mention too – Pavani and Lakshmi Meghana.

Edo Edo – Shyam Singha Roy (Mickey J Meyer) – Telugu: A quintessential Mickey
song! That trademark soaring vocals—Chaitra Ambadipudi is fantastic!—and ambient
sounds in a perfect mix. Mickey throws in unusual lines like the one in the
anupallavi – Ee Chali Chelitho Ila Ee Thondaraloh…! And oddly, despite seeming
like an eclectic addition, even the English lyrics fit quite well!

Uyire – Minnal Murali (Shaan Rahman) – Malayalam: Looks like the very-Hindi
trend of multiple composers is rapidly catching up with multiple film industries
in India. So after Sushin’s first song, here’s Shaan’s second song from the
film! This is a rather unusual song for Shaan who doesn’t seem to have done
something that sounds more like Pradeep Kumar-style melody! The voices too make
it unique – Narayani Gopan and Mithun Jayaraj.

Ilaveyil – Marakkar (Ronnie Raphael) – Malayalam: What starts off almost as a
mirror image of Chinna KaNNan Azhaikkiraan, thanks to the Reetigowlai raaga
usage, morphs into something more imaginative given the world music influences
that Ronnie infuses, most probably owing to the film’s theme bringing in
outside-Indian collaborators of Marakkar. It’s so good to hear M.G. Sreekumar in
this song, while Shreya Ghoshal is her usual self – exceptional!

Sojugada Soojumallige – Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (Midhun Mukundan) –
Kannada: Midhun picks the popular Janapada Geethe on Lord Shiva and adds a
haunting musical layer over it that comes alive with that incredible percussion
mix. Chaithra J Achar handles the soaring vocals beautifully and makes her mark
on a song that so many others have sung already.

Shuruvaagide – Sakath (Judah Sandhy) – Kannada: Judah has a gorgeous melody here
that is confident being slow and very relaxed in the way it flows. He has many
words in the lyrics that drawl (including Shuruvaaa-aaaa-gide!) and that becomes
the main hook of the song too – not just that word but many such words drawled.
Sid Sriram is a great choice for this tune and he really sells the lazy drawl!
And Judah keeps the background sounds so minimal that the vocals shine even
better!

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Saturday November 20, 2021

MILLIBLOG WEEKLIES, WEEK 165 – NOV.21, 2021

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Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 165: On Spotify | On YouTube
A bumper musical fortnight! 24 songs this week. All 24 are, thankfully,
available on both Spotify and YouTube playlists 🙂

Tere Siva Jag Mein – Tadap (Pritam) – Hindi: The song took some time to get used
to. Pritam layers a very soft melody (that took me back to Deewana’s ‘Miloge
humein tum jaanam, kahin na kahin…’) on backgrounds that decidedly sounds like
dance-floor material and the contrast works mainly because of the singers, the
always-fantastic Shilpa Rao, and Darshan Raval (Shashwat Singh and Charan are
also credited!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB08FBUqw3Q

Polladha Ulagathiley – Jai Bhim (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: When I hear Sean singing,
I feel so very tempted to gently offer him, “Are you feeling ok, why don’t you
take a break and sit down and drink some water?”. It’s just that he seems to be
genuinely laboring on the higher notes, even though he is completely in tune and
sync, unlike a Yuvan who simply goes off-key in similar situations. But much
like Yuvan, Sean too makes up spectacularly with his sense of melody. That
‘Vaadi vadhungum ezhaiyai, neeyum vadhaithaal aaguma’, for instance, is an
enchanting line in terms of both the tune and lyrics (Yugabharathi)!

Nagarodi – Jail (G.V. Prakash Kumar) – Tamil: G.V. Prakash Kumar brings his
A-game, probably because of director Vasanthabalan’s influence (who got
monumental music out of him in Veyil). The tune is immediately affecting, the
backgrounds are thoughtful and brilliant… and the singing is outstanding,
featuring GV himself along with Arivu and Ananya Bhatt, both contributing
superbly!

Meenaatchi Meenaatchi – ŠKODA Sonic Roots (Amit Trivedi) – Tamil: A Tamil pop
song by Amit Trivedi!! Even though the start of the song seems like a hat-doff
to Meenakshi Sundareshwar level Tamil/Tamil Nadu appropriation, things get
significantly better when Anthony Daasan enters, and in Madhan Karky’s
trustworthy lines. As a whole, this is a great combination of Amit’s catchy
kuthu-laced tune and the rootedness brought in by Anthony and Madhan.

Thaalatum Mounam – Kuruthi Aattam (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: This is one of
those tantalizingly slow melodies, with minimal, but imaginative, background
sound, that Yuvan generously conjures from time to time, and thankfully avoid
the temptation to sing it himself and reduce the song’s pull as a result. I hope
this doesn’t have a male version that he sings – the perspective in the lyrics,
by Karthik Netha, seems gender-neutral, so you never know 🙂 Swetha Mohan is, as
always, fantastic!

La La Bheemla – Bheemla Nayak (Thaman S) – Telugu: While the song’s promo video
clearly seems to take cues from Karnan’s Kanda Vara Sollunga, the song Thaman
conjures is tonally different. This one’s ebullient and heady, with a
stupendously mounted rhythm section. Arun Kaundinya’s singing is top class, but
Thaman seems to have added some digital effects to his voice too to make it
sound more than what it actually is.

MBA MCA – Chalo Premiddam (Bheems Ceciroleo) – Telugu: I had a lot of hopes from
Bheems early in his career, but somehow he didn’t sustain the initial promise
where I thought he could take the place left open by Manisharma. After quite
some time, Bheems gets back to his earlier form in this college song that has a
brilliantly spiked rhythm that remains consistently unpredictable, and Bheems
sings it himself with a captivating folk edge!

Naatu Naatu – RRR (M M Keeravaani) – Telugu: Keeravaani brings his rich
experience with an incredibly foot-tapping song that is mounted around the
‘Naatu Naatu’ hook unabashedly. The song has an almost hypnotic sound and you
cannot help not be swayed by the manic rhythm!

Thee Minnal – Minnal Murali (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: Sushin’s first single
from the Malayalam superhero film shines with its retro-synth pop sound. Even
within the short song, after the first minute (sung by Marthyan and Sushin
Shyam), the rest is a punchy instrumental phase led by a superb brass section!

Paathira Kaalam – Kurup (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: After the first single from
the movie, the full soundtrack launched too rather soon possibly owing to the
film’s release. But while the other songs did not work for me, this one,
featuring the Kottayam-born, Nigeria-bred singer Anna Katharina Valayil aka
Tribemama Marykali, is a complete stand-out! Sushin’s deeply resonant and
haunting melody seems perfect for her stupendous vocals!

Promo Song – Kanakam Kamini Kalaham (Yakzan Gary Pereira & Neha S Nair) –
Malayalam: This may be the wackiest song composed by the duo yet – it’s a hoot!
🙂 Using a sound that was in vogue back in the 50s/60s in films, the duo layer
Jassie Gift’s vocals on a truly pulsating melody! That ending with an extended
‘Siddique’ reference, in particular, is hilarious!

Hijabi – Meow (Justin Varghese) – Malayalam: What a lovely melody!! Justin’s
tune just flows so beautifully, and in Adheef Muhamed’s measured vocals, it
attains a new high. The anupallavi is even better than the pallavi,
incidentally!

Endo Bareda – Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (Midhun Mukundan) – Kannada:
Midhun’s tune is mellow and pleasant, and Vasuki Vaibhav handles it mostly well,
barring the start of the anupallavi where something seems mildly off. But the
short anupallavi’s melody makes up for that.

FataFaati – ŠKODA Sonic Roots (Amit Trivedi) – Bangla: Amit’s cross-country
musical trip makes a stop in West Bengal too and the lyrics seem almost like a
sweeping introduction to the state to an outsider! The tune is gently lilting
infused with baul folk sound and the collaborators, Rana Mazumder and Goutam Das
Baul, add much to the composition.

Rushing Water, If It’s Love, The Book of Numbers, Harmony Road, The Bells of St.
Thomas, Captain Bateman’s Basement & For Her Love – The Bridge (Sting) – English
Pop: Rushing Water is very Police… and also Sting! I could easily stop at some
point and go, ‘If I ever lose my faith in you…’! The upbeat If It’s Love,
despite the brass section throwing me off the scent, takes me back to ‘If you
love somebody…’! The Book of Numbers starts slow, but that hook is a fantastic
leap! Harmony Road has powerful lyrics that Sting beautifully aces those long
sentences along with Dominic Miller’s superb guitar. The Bells of St. Thomas too
features Miller’s guitar and is decidedly jazzier (as also the instrumental
Captain Bateman’s Basement) and reminded me of George Michael’s Cowboy and
Angels, from Listen Without Prejudice, tonally. The background chorus that
arrives mid-way in For Her Love brings a warm new layer to an otherwise pensive,
soulful melody that Sting handles wonderfully. Sting’s pushing 70 now and
doesn’t seem to have run out of steam at all given how thoroughly engaging his
new album is and how it only alludes to his earlier work without either
repeating or aping them.

Leave The Door Open, Fly As Me & Skate – An Evening With Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars,
Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic): Considering both Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak
are in their mid-30s, their idea of dipping into 1970s soul is vastly
interesting since they do not have lived-in nostalgia of that period. But they
do a more than competent job of recreating that period’s music. The duo
alternates their vocals in Leave The Door Open where the lines are beautifully
stretched out to groovy effect. Anderson brings his James Brown-style swag for
the rapping in Fly As Me and the vocal interplay is even better here, with
Anderson playing the perfect vocal counterpoint to Mars’. And Skate is perhaps
the album’s best, perfectly reimagining a Motown roller-disco vibe!

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