My entry in the blog today is about Rahman's music. Almost all of my friends know that I am a Rahman fan and so, many views in this post might be considered biased by a few people. All I know is that what I have expressed below is something I deeply believe in.
Tons and tons of praise have been showered on Rahman's talent as a music composer and will continue to happen till the end of time which is why I chose a different trait of his to talk about - experimentation. Talk to any fan of his music and eventually the conversation drifts to his evergreen hits like Roja, Alaipayuthey, Rangeela, Taal, Rang De Basanti, etc. But I have interacted with quite a few Rahman fans and not many of them bring up songs like "Ennuir Thozhi", "Varugirai", "Thazhuvudhu", "Ghoomparani", "I miss you da", "Spiderman" etc. I know that of the people who read this post, many won't recognize a few of the above songs despite being familiar with Tamil/Rahman's music. These songs are from movies which didn't make blockbuster status but even then people might recognize the following songs : "Mayilirage", "Azhagiya Cinderella", "Ah Aah" title song, "Taxi Taxi", "New" title song, etc even though surprisingly they are from the same movies as the previously mentioned list of songs!
The point I am coming to is - not many people appreciate Rahman's try at "experimental" songs. The reason why I chose the word is that most of these songs don't conform to the usual - intro stanza.. paragraph_1 .. paragraph_2 .. intro stanza repeat.. end of song format... In fact one such experiment became a run-away hit - "Style" from Sivaji.. That song in Rahman's own words "had no form". But his other attempts have not been so lucky maybe because they didn't have such good publicity as "Style". I feel his attempts along such lines are bold mainly because in such a time frame where people tend to choose genres such as rap (ala YSR) / kuthu beats (ala Vidyasagar) / rhyming lines and illegible utterings (ala Harris), Rahman boldly mixes unknown instruments and strange tunes into a musical treat for the senses. The first time I heard "Style" my reaction was "What the heck ??". But after repeated hearings, I found so many unfathomable depths to the song! But his other experiments are not so lucky...
Through this blog I hope to generate enough curiosity into the albums that such a quality composer gives so that eventually all the songs are listened to, rather than picking only the songs which are instantly catchy. Nobody stands to lose anything by giving the songs a chance or two but not listening to such songs (which I compare to "diamonds hidden in charred coal") is a crime! The reason why I chose to use such strong expressions is that when songs come from an immensely talented composer like Rahman, a one-listen dismissal is unjustified.
I read another blog where the author mentioned that a study shows that certain frequencies of sounds please the senses and he/she goes on to mention that Rahman is probably quite knowledgeable of these frequencies. I'm sure that if they are given a chance, all of Rahman's songs will resonate at the frequencies your senses are tuned to... all I know is that his songs resonate in my head day after day !!
Suresh Balasubramanian
September 24, 2008
4 comments:
Yes, he does experiment from time to time. I read abt "I miss you da" and tried listening to it a few times, the tune was kind of nice, but somehow, I didn't like the song. Was just listening to "Mein Vari Vari", interesting. "Style" too was like you said, but later caught on with us mainly due to the beats. I'm not very classically oriented, if at all, it's pure classical as opposed to techno-classical fusion. I also feel Bharadwaj is one very under-rated and very talented MD.
A blog like this was waiting to be published and I cant think off any reason as to why this was not published earlier, as I am sure that this wouldnt have taken much off u r time, to jus pen down u r thoughts that would have been flowing with the verocity of a Tsunami. It isnt biased, in my opinion, which is another surprise. Whatever be the reasoning that u have used, u must also realise that ARR is not GOD and that he is a human being jus like us and the other musicians that u have compared to , although a class apart.This is in retaliation to u r statement "one-listen dismissal is unjustified". Hence u cannot really expect him to generate music which caters to everyone's taste all the time and if ppl dont like it when they hear it once, then they are justified in moving on.U cant compel anyone or force u r tastes upon them.
Also judgin from u r blog, it seems like u would have been listening to these songs again and again to notice the special traits in the songs.I on the other hand, as most of the other music illeterate group, will not go deep into the song and dig for notes or traits that are different or special.For instance, I still dont have a clue as to what is spl abt the "Style" song.If we like it, we will listen or else we move on.I didnt like the song "I miss u da" even after listening to it more than twice on FM(So,dont send me to the gallows)since i felt that the song was an amateurish attempt, something unexpected from the class of Rehman.To be frank I thought that some new MD is making his debut and so I was rather shocked when u mentioned that the song is composed by Rehman. And I really dont think anyone is judging ARR by not listening to his songs,so I dont think any crime is being commited over there.
Disclaimer: I am not anti-ARR or pro Harris/Vidyasagar/YSR, jus a guy who enjoys music that I like , wherever it comes from.
interesting read. Yes i do agree that Rahman has enormous talent that his songs are not one-time listen worthy. I have certainly enjoyed a lot of off-beat songs. "edho madiri" from that kleptomaniac movie was also amazing. The general audience has less patience to explore and understand his experimentation causing a few of his good numbers to flop. A good point made and reached through......
I agree that Rahmans music kind of "grows on you". Also he doesnt limit himself strictly to genres(in tamil music) such as melody, tragedy etc. Hats off to his use of electronica & synthesizers (what u r refering to as unknown instruments) and fine pick of payback singers - vasundara in dating & asha bhonsle in september madam (wich is another brilliant song), though I will not agree that he is a musical genius like Illayaraja, I think he has the groove, & the "moves" - which makes him a huger success
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