Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

[kiru]

Too much of Rangan bashing here. Not good. We are becoming very touchy.

Exactly my feelings. He did talk about a song he heard. Why are we not speculating about that instead ? I am more of a "orchestral" kind of guy than a "new beat" kind of guy. So I am excited about the 108 piece orchestra. I also think IR probably did not take GVM's suggestion of silence/guitar coming in at this point etc literally, but probably had that as a model and delivered with the right amount of silence/musical flourish at the right times.
Very good possibility, this is going to be a good album. The key to getting the most out of IR is picking the right tune. Looks like IR did give him a mix with drums and guitar as well to get an idea which probably is a departure for IR from the past. So I am hoping GVM got good tunes. If the tunes are good, IR will write super orchestration as well. The lyricists also seem to be indirectly influenced to do a better job. Overall I continue to be positive, even though the waiting is killing

[baroque]

in some thread, here I think, there is an instrumental teaser.

it is AWESOME!

[app_engine]

Exactly my feelings. He did talk about a song he heard. Why are we not speculating about that instead ?

'konjam vayiththerichchal'nu vachchukkangaLEn

Here's a guy who declares "I'm no longer standing in this church" and gets to hear the latest latest of rAsA ahead of all, personally played to him by the director.

OTOH, nALellAm koLkai muzhakkam paNravanga are damned to hear only Yuvan teaser

[V_S]

It is not just about BR, to me it is mainly about the mentality about people who criticize on Raja's work post 90s. For the past twenty years how many times did we hear against Raja's sincere works. Sound seriyilla, recording seriyilla, outdated, sharp'a irrukku, Raja is not like 80s, 'tabla' Raja, template stuff, avar paadakoodathu, he should retire, synth sariya use panna theriyila, he should go back to his forte of live instruments, comparing him with each and every music directors (who were born today) at their will, composes in same raagams, direct dismissals and what not. Thousands of criticism like this. Has any composer got these many credentials for doing original work? Really I am tired of all this.

Has any composer done better than him at all continuously for these 35 years? Even mediocre composers/music directors escape with no bruises even after shamelessly lifting tunes for their songs and BGM. Not even that, they are highly praised today even after stealing stuff from west. For a man who knows nothing but music and who does music in original and pure form, is this all he deserves?. They highly distort the facts about him. He has given us millions of unforgettable moments. Why should we not speak for him?

[Sureshs65]

Aravind,

On on the other hand I think lot of people are getting touchy about people bashing BR If someone like Raja can be bashed by all and sundry (just check Venkiram's recent funny post) why can't BR be bashed. After Raja is 'Raja' of music. You can't claim that BR is 'Raja' of criticism. So some bashing is fair enough. And I feel what V_S says is right. We can hear lot of Raja bashing from his 80s fans etc but when an 'Award Winning' critic also talks like an ordinary fan, then people who have views in contrast to his, will obviously say what they feel.

So all I say to you people, BR is not that great that you have to go out of limb to defend him. For what he wrote, he got what he deserved here. So I say the same thing to you. Don't be touchy about BR

[Plum]

AM - don't think much BR bashing here. People are just expressing their opinion against his opinion. I find this funny - Raja fan and co. Will come and throw unfounded allegations and call celebrities names here - and when they are given the same medicine, cry about Raja fans ganging up to bash them. idhu enna hypcrisy?

[Gregorysab]

I dont know if its bashing or criticism or whatever! But at a broad level, if everyone here feels that BR does not have any hidden agenda to put down IR, then it all boils down to 'personal taste' right. Fans can probably bash him up if he has any personal agenda to insult IR. On the contrary, I feel, he does respect IR. And with that, if he likes some songs and if he doesnt like some songs, it is matter of personal taste. And that MSV comparison, though misplaced, does not seem intentional. He probably meant to illustrate an example where a director went for someone up in the hierarchy after working with someone perceived to be 'trendy in the current times'. I feel he did not mean that a director has gone to someone who has run out of steam.

I dont mean to defend BR because he doesnt pay me for that But just that I did not find the interview that offensive as it did to some of the fans here. I liked the fact that he got a director speak the things which fans (only) here know - the process. A large part of the world are aliens to the process of making music, irrespective of who the composer is. All they are bothered about is - "Is the song good (catchy)?" or "Is this song a hit?". In that sense, BR's article atleast acts like a PR, not just for NEPV but for Raaja. Some of my friends, who are composer-agnostic in their liking of music, read the article and felt it was very interesting. Again, I know that BR did not do it for charity or something. Just that this interview was better than all the interviews that Prakash Raj did for Dhoni or any interview by any director, who does not talk so much about the process usually and ends up saying general statements such as "He used live instruments, it was awesome feel".

Anyway, I guess we can now look forward to the album.

PS: I am sure BR will review that album. Waiting for more fireworks here, after that review is out

[kiru]

ok. ok .. you guys are mad. I have no choice but to attack venkiram now
Seriously, I think, many of us are treating IR like a standard human being. I think HE is not. No, he is not God or Evil. He is an example of the extreme power of human mind, of what it can achieve when focussed on a subject intently and that it works so furiously and fast even the owner of the mind does not know how it happens !!!
I think it happens to many of us too but not that often or regularly .. Have you ever went to sleep with a problem at work or home and when you wakeup suddenly the solution dawns on you. Exactly the same thing happens when you know the seven swaras and you are constantly making permutations and combinations of it all the time. In the case of IR, it happens when he is awake and happens every day..Imagine 5000 main tunes and so many bits and pieces everyday.. The mind is totally focussed on the notes the linear sequencing of them and many times, the parallel sequencing of them .. (counterpoints, harmony, chords). When the mind is doing such intense and fruitful activity.. do you think the mundane aspects of daily, the niceties , politeness and understatements/overstatements or sophistry any important ? When the fire is small we can control and make it do what we want.. when it is big like the Sun.. just worship .. ok you dont have to worship ..just dont go near .. you will get burnt. Just enjoy the sunlight from far away.
This is reality folks.. we are all human beings .. we should respect each other well.. but some people are special.. Certain standards do not apply to them.. As simple as that. To be specific, just listen to the music.. enjoy it or complain about it.. but it is difficult for you or me to understand the mind that creates such an ocean of it..
(venkiram.. you know this is not targeted at you .. just my thoughts .. no offence meant )

[Sureshs65]

kiru,

A digression but a relevant one. I have heard this story about a Sarangi player (was it Bundu Khan?). Musicians those times were so immersed in their music and this is an example which demonstrated it.

This great Sarangi player was working in Lucknow AIR during late 1940s/50s. Sarangi artists used to accompany the singers. Babu Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was to visit AIR Lucknow, and the whole AIR station was in a flux with people running helter skelter making all the arrangements. This Sarangi player asked one guy, "Why all this commotion?" "Babu Rajendra Prasad is coming". Immediately the Sarangi player went to the station director and said, "I heard someone called Babu Rajendra Prasad is coming tomorrow. I want to accompany him on the sarangi" !!!

Not only did he not know who our President was but he was also sure that such commotion can only happen for a top class musicians. Why would anyone worry about anyone else?

As you say, Raja is so focused on music that everything else doesn't matter to him. If he feels lyrics are no importance, that is because he has shown time and again that he can get the intended emotion through music and make you 'feel' it even with substandard lyrics. Unfortunately for people like Vairamuthu, if he doesn't have Raja or a Rahman, he was unable to shine. (Kannadasan ofcourse is a different matter. Even for Veda he has given some unforgettable lyrics.)

[San_K]

நீங்கள் சொல்கிற எதிலும் சாரமில்லை அவர் இசை ராஜா என்றால் ராஜா தான். என்ன பேசினாலும், பேசாவிட்டாலும். உங்களுக்கு எப்போதுமே ராஜாவை தூக்கி சிகரத்தில் வைத்து.. ’ஆனால்..’ என்று ஓரிண்டு குறை சொல்லி கொஞ்சம் கீழிறக்கா விட்டால் உங்களுக்கு தூக்கம் வராது. நீங்கள் அவரை அவரின் இசையை தவிர வேறெதை வைத்து விமர்சித்தாலும் நானும் பாதியில் படிப்பதை நிறுத்த வேண்டியிருக்கிறது.

nachu

Venki, neenga solradhu olympic 100m race-la first vanthavara jattiya thiruppu pottathukkaga disqualify panna maathiri irukku