Kun Faaya

Now this is the kind of AR Rahman stuff I was waiting for. Many of us can't expect it to be a part of a movie called 'Rockstar'. But these days, the name of the movie no more suggests the kind of music it has. So, let us call it the lightest of the cases.

Anyways, 'Kun Faaya' is a new sufi song from 'Rockstar', composed by AR Rahman, which has a new experiment associated with it. People, Mohit Chauhan is singing in the song (which, again, is a sufi piece)!

As a matter of fact, it doesn't really matter if Mohit Chauhan is a part of the new sufi song. Since Rahman and Javed Ali are already a part of it, its beauty does not get affected by who the third singer is. Same was the case with Arziyan (Delhi 6), in which Kailash Kher was present with his over-dry voice (read 'anti-feel'). But the song was as divine as any of the earlier Rahman sufi.

The history has been repeated, and believe me, you'll get lost in the way Mr. Rahman treated the song this time.

It starts (as expected) with un-instrumented (which means 'well-backed only by keys', in Rahman's case) vocal  by Rahman. And then, the instruments start getting added slowly. There's a very sweet harmonium riff, with which Javed Ali enters. The wetness and flexibility in his singing are as clear as anything. That his voice is miscible with such kinds of music, is pretty much evident.

Mohit Chauhan does some harm to the song's soul. But never mind, it doesn't make much of a difference. And no one should actually care as Chauhan's voice is, apparently, Ranbir Kapur's (in the movie).

What is to be paid attention to, is the sort of composer Rahman has (yet again) proved to be.
Let us just hope that this sabbatical makes him stronger at creation.

Signing off
Nishant Sharma
(listening to Cobain and Rahman)

Rahman, Vishal, Amit

Guy 1- Track Record--- Roja (National Award, Filmfare), Bombay (Filmfare, included in "1000 albums to listen to before you die"), Rangeela (Filmfare), Jeans (Filmfare), Dil Se (Filmfare), Taal (FIlmfare), Rhythm, Lagaan (National Award, Filmfare), Saathiya (Filmfare), The Legend of Bhagat Singh (Filmfare), Yuva, Swades (Filmfare), Rang De Basanti (Filmfare), Guru (Filmfare), Sivaji (Filmfare), Jodhaa Akbar (Filmfare, Background Score), JTYJN (Filmfare), Slumdog Millionaire (Academy, Golden Globe, Grammy, World Soundtrack), Delhi 6 (Filmfare), Ye Maya Chesave, Ghajini, Yuvvraj, 127 Hours.
Quality--- The tunes, the melody, insane chords, great presentation, choice of singers, number of genres his style covers.
Status--- On a sabbatical from Bollywood music.


Guy 2- Track Record--- Maachis, Godmother (National Award), Omkara, Kaminey, Ishqiya (last two nominated for National Award), 7 Khoon Maaf
Quality--- the soft compositions, the newly adapted rock style of composition, awesome style of foreign inspirations.
Status--- still composing for Bollywood, sticking to his original ways of composing


Guy 3- Track Record--- Aamir, Dev D (National Award, Filmfare), Wake Up Sid's Iktara (Global Indian Music Award), Udaan (Giffoni's Best Music, Filmfare for Background, Global Indian Award), Aisha, No One Killed Jessica
Quality--- the Coldplay inspiration, feel good compositions, insanity in chord selections, rhythm, melody.
Status--- in his best form, composing for Bollywood, might be a good replacement for Guy 1.


All the above mentioned composers have been amongst the most promising music directors of Indian history, and the point is they are still to create music for the Indian Music Industry. Without any of the above three, an incompleteness would be felt in the Bollywood music; Guy 3 being the fresh-most of the 3.
The crux of this post is the fact that these three can't be compared, and at each point of time, one proves to be the best.
But, Guy 1 will never be "replaced" totally. Going through his songs would make you believe that.
In the end, although it is all clear:
Guy 1- AR Rahman
Guy 2- Vishal Bharadwaj
Guy 3- Amit Trivedi


Music Rocks!
<lost in audio frequencies>
Nishant Sharma

aNu- the Malik

wIth the RD Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal era ending, Nadeem-Shravan and Jatin-Lalit co-existing, and AR Rahman still to make an impact on Bollywood, Anu Malik began making a mark in the Indian Music Industry. His first popular set of compositions was from Baazigar(1992), that got him the Filmfare award for music tracks.
bUt that he entered the industry was long back; around 15 years before he got the Filmfare.
tHe guy had not had an easy life for years at the place, which is bound to register tragic incidents in its notebook. Anu Malik, somehow, failed to register in the same; courtesy some unknown players of Bollywood.
iT was sure that he would be on heights once RD Burman said goodbye. Jatin-Lalit were never doing new stuff, and Mr. Malik was a lot interested in the same. One can say his music was influenced by Bappi Lahri's.
iN one more respect can he be compared to Bappi Da; and that is the one the mass knows- the "influenced" music.
Murder, Jaan-e-Mann, Baazi, etc are the famous influenced lot of his. Anybody, who loves any of the stated movies' songs, can abruptly begin to refuse the fact that he ever liked any of these; all you need to tell him is that he was listening to some stolen shit.
bUt his improvisation with the pre-recorded songs is actually good. You can't fail to admire the sweetness with which he acts a thief.
rEcently, he has done a remarkably crappy job. YPD, Toonpur...., Kambakht Ishq, etc have been appreciably held flop and unsuccessful by everyone who has lent his ears to them.
aNd yeah, one more thing- the guy is no more just a singer-composer, he's a lyricist as well (now, curse the divine). Tinku Jiya is his whole-sole creation (you can notice the female singer trying imitating him).
bUt keeping aside all the blame game, let us recall all good he has done to "the music".
Refugee, Umraao Jaan, Kalyug, Fiza, Paap, etc  are considered to be very fine of his compositions. His melodies are worth being considered treats to your ears. This was what made him the musician when there were not many creators of good bunch of songs. No wonder, Anu Malik still considers himself as the best amongst all the Indian composers (although a person called AR Rahman was simultaneously making his way from Tamil to Hindi music).

sIncerely hoping that Mr. Malik goes through self-realization after what all he has tried to do, and what all has happened,
sIgning off
<non-Malik>
nIshant sharma

7 khoon maaf..

vIshal Bharadwaj- one of the biggest names in Indian Entertainment Industry. The man is a director, a cinematographer, a producer, a dialog writer, a musician, a lyricist, a script-writer, etc.
In short, the guy is a genius. You don't see such people often wandering on the earth.
tHe main concern, here, is to discuss the music of the movie.
lEt us start it with the very famous and promotional video song "Darling".
tHe song id very much salsa beat-ed. It can remind you of song from Guru or the one from Aisha. Its beauty is the way the female singers' style of saying the title word 'Darling'. The stanza knows every way to please your ears. The chorus and harmonies are inexplicable. It can help you very much with trying feeling relaxed.
the second good shit is "O Mama". Let us all welcome KK with this one. No doubts he has been singing many songs these days, unlike Sonu Nigam. But, a very good hit has not been to his credit for a long time. O Mama might be a possibility in this case.
a minute! Did I mention Vishal Bharadwaj is a singer? No? My bad! The guy has sung one song in this film (and many in the history). "Bekaraan" is typically a Vishal thing to listen to. The song has 'Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi' beats. It sounds almost the same. But, the lyrics are so good that you might "lose" yourself, in case you're addicted to your girl. Gulzar is the man, people!
aNd enters the name again! Master Saleem, the singer of Tashan. The song is called Aawara and is, again, a very typo-Vishal stuff. The lyrics again! The music is wonders. And that it's tough to sing is worth mentioning. :)
sUraj Jagan is the emerging singer with "Dil Dil Hai" in the movie. This is for the rock lovers. Nice drumming is the song's soul.
nOw, the love of Vishal for Mr. Suresh Wadekar is clear. No more questioning and debating on the fact that Vishal respects Wadekar a lot. This song is the one that you have listened to quite a lot. O Sathi Re from "Omkara" had the same expressions.
aNd "Yeshu" is insane. And as usual, Vishal had to get a help from his wife Rekha for doing this. Wherever is the need of executing a difficult, he asks Madame Rekha for it.
iN short, the movie has songs that will entertain you as a set. The variety is highly worth appreciation.
lEt us hope, Vishal Bharadwaj keeps doing this, or who else remains?

sIgning off
<hIgh>
nIshant Sharma

sInger of the time

iT was in 1990 that the man recorded his first song for a movie that never was officially released. They still said he was merely a 'Rafi clone'.

nEver moved by this, he kept trying; and today, we know him as the biggest singer of present Bollywood.

Sonu Nigam is the man of feel in the country. The guy started with 'Achcha Sila Diya' and the song that he has last recorded is from the movie Angel (which, by the way, has torturing trailers).

tHe guy's voice can capture you within the walls of emotions that the song is supposed to build. He knows where and how much to stress a word, so that the expression remains as the word travels away.

Desh Ki Mitti is one of the best he has done with Rahman. For last 13 years, Sonu has constantly been a part of Rahman's pool of vocalists. The only clear reason is that the master of music has every idea as to who can carry his music the best. 'Satrangi', 'Saathiya', 'In Lamho Ke', 'Do Nishaniyan', and many more can be considered his best of works during all these years.

He claims to have changed his Rafi-imitating style to his original one, since he sang 'Ye Dil' from Pardes.
hIs album under the name "Classically Mild" is typically a feel-good album. The sound of every song soothes your senses with generosity. The way he has built the album is strangely awesome. And most importantly, the soul of song never vanishes while the intricacies exist, contradictory to the fact that most of the trained singers are the other way.

hIs is the voice that can be easily recognized from even the worst sources of music (Yeah, I'm talking about the Chinese cellphones).

tHe only problem that Indian listeners have to face in coming times might be that Sonu has cut down on singing new songs these days. Stage shows and concerts are his major targets these days. And the fact that he is trying hard to grow international is very close to creating danger for the admirers of music. There are very few soulful singers remaining; there count is damn very less than that of tigers in the nation!

sIgning off

<listening to the chord of seven notes>

nIshant Sharma


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tHe wInter mUsic

mAn, the music industry of the country has gone nuts. You get to home, all the way thinking about the good news your friend delivered you while seeing you off- “Bro, new Trivedi stuff has arrived. We got No One Killed Jessica on DC” and you find none of it, the very first week, in your hometown stores. All has gone awry.
 Well, the point is not that I couldn’t get a taste of the Jessica songs in the very beginning of vacations; the point is that I got none of good music on television and radio, except for the pre-existing good crap. In the times, when you say the tastes of Indian composers and listeners have changed, the only still-listen-worthy shit you get is some piece of Rahman’s or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s or Vishal Bharadwaj’s. Good lord, are these people musically dead now?
AR Rahman is serving Hollywood more now. Better don’t judge the patriotism of Mr. Composer of the meaningful songs of Swades (he is still not very sure about what they actually meant, you see). The man of Vande Mataram, we all know, is not aware of what had he created years back, long before he attained the pinnacle. But that he worked well in Jhootha Hi Sahi is worth mentioning.
The Shankar group (that is how the band is commonly acknowledged; pity Ehsaan and Loy) has disappeared after decently unsuccessful compositions of Tere Bin Laden, which is again tragedy, after the whole lot of melodies they have given the enthusiasts. Shankar Mahadevan, though, has no problem in collecting songs from other music directors, courtesy his excellent singing abilities.
Vishal Bharadwaj, ostensibly, is working on a Chetan Bhagat’s Two States. (May Mr. God help him maintain his class!) So, let us just sit and wait for his new creations.

The portents suck, people!

Let me add one more reason to the above statement- Anu Malik’s back, guys! J
He is the proud composer and writer of very beautiful (to the power -1) Tinku Jiya. The man’s got to chill! Why does somebody not go to him and wake him up? “Dude, come back. Your time is as ‘history’ as is Mahatma Gandhi”
I mean, who is he trying to gull, making any ungainly cow-crap and claiming to be the best? The guy is a prig too. We all have gone through this part of him while he worked at Indian Idol. Bad judgments and the clamor that he never goes wrong- who can even forget this frustrated creation of divine? And how could I forget- Toonpur Ka Superhero! Listen to the songs and you would muse- Were the Indians of 80’s deaf? They ‘listened’ to his music? The movie, let me add, seems to be bad enough to be not even given a thought to have a look at. The money goes dung again.

 Now that we have entered the discussion on Jhilaau music, let me also make sure you know about the following----

·         Bhaisaab Bhaisaab Meri Shaadi Toh Kara Do- a funny (but damn very seriously built) video by a new-comer, who is about to make an exit to the hell or heaven (whichever he deserves; you would love saying the latter after you see the video). And yeah, the covers of the DVDs have Madame Asha Bhonsle on them. God, believe me the woman deserves Paradise. Don’t judge her please!

·         TORI- the name of the singer; Nkhil, the composer seems to be a musical purist here. From lyrics to composition, everything in the album sounds to be earlier heard by you. And don’t dare watch the video. There are better things in the world to serve your with.

·         YPD- the music of the movie reminds you of the place where you could feel ultra-downbeat. The movie is (hopefully) the last shot the Deol lot is giving it. You can find them doing everything they (collectively) did in the last three decades, in the trailers. The best song is (in what sense, you know ;-D) Chadha De Rang. This is the most senseless, accept as true, that a musician can do.

·         Pritam seems to make good combination of notes but he is probably not able to present them in a healthy way (keeping in mind No Problem and Action Replay). But, Nikhil D’souza, in Crook, has done awesome. Pritam is, consequently, mixed. Let us, anyways, wait for his Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji.

·         And a lot of people, who have enough money to be depleted on their so-called TALENT. Thank God, the government is, in terms of art, blind.

In short, the above mentioned four points are contributing a lot to the fact that India is going through a dip in music; the “hoi polloi” has no idea they will have to pay for movies that have songs that are well spent on, and have no worth.
Let us still keep hoping that Vishal-Shekhar and Amit Trivedi keep up their good sense, and keep negating the adverse effects of the unable mass of musicians here.
And what the hell! Somebody bring Rahman back!

Signing off
Nishant Sharma
<totally a wastrel>

eThics...

nOw that I am a little amazed by a confusing show (another one, as some say) by the famous Indian music composing pair (Vishal Shekhar, that is), I sit down writing the following blah.
mOst of the people, who went through my last Facebook status message, couldn't get the feel behind it. And that is what the reason behind my posting this entry is.

tHis has nothing to do with the Department dealing with organizing this particular show during our college's cultural fest. Those people, probably, had no idea as to what would happen once the duo and their band was on stage.

bUt what delivers me a hard shock, is looking at people's responses, even after they realize that they are cheated by the trusted musicians. They throw facial expressions saying, "So what! We had a lot of fun! Is that not all that was wanted!"
I get you, people! But, are you, seriously, not moved by the fact that you were damn cheated?!

iF dancing and singing along was all that your soul needed, don't you think there were better options than paying a sum of Rs. 750 (I'm sorry, I couldn't find the new sign for our currency :P)? Don't you think that Sonic Stampede (the war of DJ's) was the same product for no price? In short, we all payed 15 Lacs for just having a go through Vishal-Shekhar's and their band members' real faces.

a lIttle light on what was happening---

1. There were pre-recorded tracks played (as some say, on an i-pod), and the duo was singing along with the recorded vocals. Not all the times was this the scenario (as in the Jhankar Beats song), but most of the times, it was. 
2. The moments they sang on their own, were the moments they screwed it up badly (not to forget the beautiful song of Dil Haara).
3. Warren Mendosa, the well-known Zero guitarist, was playing something that was not reaching the audience's ears.
4. The drummer proved to be a great actor, except for the fact that he played stuff that never existed in the then-played song.
5. Vishal's mic went off, just for a series of seconds, that Shekhar looked at him. It was just for one line that it happened. Vishal made a brilliant come-back, and nobody could notice the transition of sounds of voices of the on-stage singer and the off-stage one :P.
6. Shekhar played high Piano notes with his hands on the lower side of the keyboard. And when he realized that the difficult part was over, he resumed with playing the audible chords of the song.  

nOw that all is past---

yEah, we can do nothing about it now. But, the followings things are crystal clear---

• There is a difference between a composer and a stage performer. Not all, who compose well, can be equally good in front of dancing lots of people.
• Audience is easy to make a fool of. All depends on how ethical you want yourself to be. It is like you have the dagger in your hand; but the murder on your will.
• If people have a belief in you, don't let them down. They're hurt if you're caught. (And this reminds me of the time when I was extremely excited about Vishal-Shekhar coming to the village).

I admit that I, myself, am not a very great performer. But at least, my throat (or stomach :P) leaves the same sound that is amplified by the not-as-good-amplifiers-as-in-Prof Shows amplifiers, and that reaches the innocent people's senses.

I respect the bad but genuine performers after this, for they try.

hAve nice days... :)

<bad onstage>

nIshant Sharma 

jUst a soul, it requires...

"cAn a deaf, seriously, be a drummer?" this is the question I asked myself, as I went through an article on Shawn Dale Barnett, and was about to go through his biography.

tHe man, as stated by himself, has the ''natural rhythm''. He just goes by the feeling the drum vibrations in a way or another.

hE was born deaf, and his arms had a lot of tumors, that weakened them. Still, that could not prevent his playing with two drumsticks and a drum-kit. He, presently, runs school for teaching the deaf as to how can one understand and reproduce the vibrations and rhythms of music. In all, he is the biggest example for those who can't hear but sense.

nOw what goes on in my brain---

hEre stands the biggest question in my mind- "Do I actually need a pair of ears to 'receive' music?"

aNd my soul says, "No!" Now, you might be thinking as to how is it justified.

tHe justification is as follows---

There are two possibilities- 1. You are born with music; 2. You are not.

1. You are born musician-- In such a case, those who say you can't grasp music, are shit-speakers. If you go by what they say, you are wasting yourself. Because, music has nothing to do with the two all-cartilage organs on the two sides of your face. Close your eyes and there's it. You are into a music piece.
   Touch a vibrating drum skin, and you get what emotion it produces. Just sit and let somebody hit a drum bass; you get the 'bass'ic sense. Just follow it, and you are a musician. You don't have the power of listening to extremely small vibration waves. So what? You have got the inner ''thing'' that is all of a requirement for having an ''ear'' for it.
2. You are not a musician-- There is no possibility that you can listen to a piece. You can still close your eyes and get ''into'' that piece; but that you can't reproduce it, is inevitable. You can still cry, while virtually listening to a sad tone (only if you know that it exists). You have the same emotions as a deaf musician has, but you can't express it. You can still touch a drum skin and feel it; just that you can't tell, by beating a skin, whether you are happy or you are not.

bUt one thing is for sure- ''You have no ability of not-being-able to taste music. You are born with internal sensors. Use them well. Lie on your bed some day, and close your eyes, try minimizing the intensity of light in your room. You are not listening to the sweet flute; but it still rings. You were happy today; and happiness it shows. If you were down today; depression it carries. And feel the external organs on both the places. Have they not slept long before? :)"

tHis was also the case with Beethoven (the God of classical music).

sOmeone once said to him, "Your deafness has a lot supported the fact that you have been original. History says that biggest of the genius can't keep themselves from copying while listening to pre-existing good pieces of music. But, you can't possibly listen to them."

nOw, in response to this, Beethoven said something that is not known, and of which, most of the historians are not sure.

aNd that it is not known, helps my point get stronger. I sincerely hope he agreed to the point raised by the man  (who used to be his nephew). And I win then. :D

hAve nice days :)

<deaf>

nIshant Sharma 

sAch keh raha hai deewana...

gRand echo, the mesmerizing voice of Kay Kay, and a harmonizing vocalist; and begins the song from Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein. It is called (the title of the article).

After this ''harmonic'' start, it stops for seconds, and enters the percussion along with the Sitar piece. And with a roll on keys, appears Mr. Krishnakanth again (KK, that is). The first stanza is full with good vocals, soulful keys, terrific beats, claps, and a damn good bass. The man is describing his pain, as his beloved betrays him (but, my work, here, is not to have a say on the lyrics of a song).

As the first stanza ends, an overlapping flute piece takes over, in a Rahmani style. And I am serious when I say that it sounds very AR Rahman'istic. The notes' loops are in the same way. But, the song doesn't belong to Mr. Academy Award; it does so to an ex-partner of his. Harris Jayaraj, the composer of this elegant song, used to program scores and percussion, and play keyboard for Rahman. After assisting him, and many other Tamil composers, Jayaraj went on composing Tamil songs for himself. He has got National Awards for Tamil songs. But by now, he has just two Hindi movies' musics to his credit, of which, RHTDM's is the only one, with which most of us are familiar.

Getting back to the song-in-the-limelight, as the loops end, the Sitar re-enters, with a high flute-note fading out. The second stanza takes off with a sootheing keys' backing. The lyrics are, still, saying the same story.

As the second verse ends, there's that Opera style chorus of female singers. Abruptly halts this part, and a ticking sound gives way to the softer vocalists. A piano takes us to the stanza number 2. The same-way-backing exists, this time with an added piano (and as we all do know, Piano rocks!). As the stanza dies, vocal harmonists show their mettle (might be a wrong word, but still...my way, you see :)) by giving a totally new feel to the song. There is nothing very special about the climax of the song, except for the same keys' roll, as was in the beginning.

cOnclusion---

Harris Jayaraj has created a song that has everything that a hurt lover requires to depress himself; on both the lyrical and musical parts. So, if you have had a bad love life, don't go through this song, as you might waste a lot of your time after listening to this :P.

hAve nice days :)
(not hurt ;) )
nIshant Sharma

tHe piano theme...

a pLain start on piano, another one in a typically 'Rahmani' manner; and begins the small piece called Piano Theme (1947 The Earth).

tHe music has, to many, not a lot to say; but to the remaining lot, it speaks a hell lot more than a heavy bunch of instruments played. It merely consists of a flute and a piano; and both are exceptionally well 'used'. I, seriously, don't have words to describe the feeling you develop (mentally) while you are listening to it at 1:30 in the night; when you realize that the crickets are singing on the harmonic scale of the 'spotlight'ed song.
tHe piece has three things adding to its elegance-
 
1) As I mentioned in the very begining, a cold take-off with some notes played. Although the same piece is played for the rest of the instrumental, it does not bore the listener to any extent, courtesy the variations the song has.

2) The song comes to a halt (a really small one; 2 seconds, i guess), and enters the handsome instrument of flute. The flute, technically speaking, has added nothing on the musical notes' part; but it adds, to your heart, the intensive feeling that a change is required badly (though it might not be :P).

3) It ends with a set of notes that gives you a feel that the stuff is left incomplete, which actually is not the matter. It was created that way. It was, as I presume, ''built'' to ''musicify'' the emptiness of the atmosphere. It sort of started with the continuity (the three dots, you see) and ended with the same continuity.

sO, the Piano Theme is a link between the two consecutive times, when you are not blank. In case you have never gone through it, do listen to this Rahman workpiece. It might depress your depressing feelings when required...

tHe power of music, you see..
hAve nice days :)

nIshant Sharma