Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya

A.R Rahman has done it again. I just don't know how he does it. But he has done it again. I've been listening to the song 'Aaramole' from his latest album 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya'(Will you cross the skies and come to me).Over and over and over...

I heard the album when it was released around first week of Feb 2010 and some how I missed listening to this particular song. The other songs were moderately decent. But more on those later.

So imagine my surprise when this song came out when watching the movie. It literally grabbed me from my seat. Ofcourse that was weeks ago.

But today listening to it on repeat it just kept getting better after every listen. And that really has been Rahman's power. The power of his music to draw you in and mesmerize you completely.

The song starts off like an ode to Pink Floyd, with strains of 'Wish you were here' but then this literally unknown singer Alphons Joseph, comes on and takes the song to a different level. Rahman introduces the mantra like chant/chorus in the background (Shusti Shusti..), verses in Malayalam and Sanskrit, merging together, and violins and drums, carnatic classical and hard rock, mixing and mingling like long lost lovers. And all the while Joseph pours his heart out and hits the high notes with his gifted voice taking us all on a sublime journey. Phew!

Hosana - Another good song from the same album. A more melodic number, which has become a staple of Rahman. But nonetheless a good listen.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya - Theme song. Reminded of Coldplay solo song. But an interesting counterpoint to the other songs in the album. Minimal arrangements with the singer vocal modulations being the focal point.

Omana Penne - Nobody brings together Carnatic and pop music together like Rahman. That was what drew me to his music from the beginning. And he does it well here again although the results are more on the melodic side. But the saxophone bits are splendid.

But Aaromale is the crowning glory. And now with the risk of listening ad nauseum, I must with great reluctance, turn off the repeat function for this glorious piece of music. Or maybe after the next one..

Here is the youtube version of the Aaromale song. The others can be found on the side bar.



I truly wonder if music is an universal language and if all people could appreciate this song like I could.

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A.R.R on background cues

Found this simple, yet amazing video on backgroundscore.blogspot.com. And I wish to thank him for that.

Radio Widget

Being a blog about music and all, I thought it would be neat to add a radio widget (which you'll be able to find at the bottom of this page). Type in the artist and see if it plays your favorite song.

I'll post more tomorrow.

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The Music in Our Lives

I come from a musical family. A long line of classical musicians dating back beyond my great grandfather. Even as a young kid I could never remember a time when Carnatic music or Classical music was not being played at home. All our home videos show ample proof of that.

Our annual month long visit to Bombay to see our grandparents would never be complete without a few bhajan or Harikatha sessions. My grandfather is a wonderful singer. So are his brothers and they would, with their respective sons, all come to our modest sized Bombay flat/Apartment some long summer evening and would sing for hours together into the night. There are home videos showing me sitting next to my grandfather, listening in rapt attention.

I am told when I was really young (below the age of 6) that I wouldn't fall asleep till I heard the music of some obscure British musician who played the guitar and composed many instrumental piece tunes. My younger brother, I've heard, would fall blissfully asleep to Pithukuli Murugadas's soulful rendering of Swagatham Krishna.

Music is our blood. As we grow older, entering different phases of our life, our musical interests and appreciation also mature with us.
When I was a child, I used to love listening to Elton John and remember crooning to his Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and swaying to Crocodile Rock. I still do sometimes. As I entered my teens, I can imagine myself listening and tapping my foot to the beats of Michael Jackson, George Michael and Bruce Springsteen. A little older, just entering my 20's, a little more angst, I turned to Metallica and Guns N Roses. As my circle of friends grew more varied so did my music. Especially in college I was thrown into the world of Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Eminem, Coolio, Jay-Z and the pulsating world of hip-hop amongst others.

To be honest, I began to appreciate groups like Pink Floyd, Santana and Dire Straits etc much later in my life. Especially Pink Floyd's albums like Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were way ahead of their times and pioneering work in terms of the Psychedelic rock movement. They remain among the top played songs on my I-Pod.

There are too many artistes and musical influences to list out here. Hopefully over the course of time I'll be able to talk about them on this blog. My musical tastes are all over the graph and in the past few years I've been experimenting with Jazz and Western Classical Music also.

But the one constant throughout my musical journey/evolution has been A.R Rahman and Indian Classical Music. Being the son of a Classical musician, I suppose I've always subconsciously absorbed Carnatic music. And over time developed a feel for Hindustani music. But these past few months, I've begun to feel a strong affiliation with Indian Classical Music, be it Carnatic or Hindustani, primarily due to its strong element of Bhakti or devotion. In a way it reflects my transition to my next phase of life.

Again, I hope to use this space to discuss the various musical influences in my life and also my thoughts and opinions on latest or previously released musical albums, movie music, Indian Classical music et al.

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