AR Rahman fans thread

[vivek]

Guys,



Last year 'Guruji' ( as i would address him!) remained low profile. This year, we would get to listen to his best. There is ' Warriros of the heaven and earth' a made in China film on a Hollywood scale, the sound track is strictly for fans. Then we have 'Lakeer' a re-cycled music of Rhytm (tamil) with Daler and Viva. And then comes the best of the season - Meenaxi. This M.F.Hussain film is going to have music that would really have a long shelf life.



BTW i have some of guru's rare and unreleased compositions. I am willing to share, but only to ardent fans. Watch out for Mani Ratnam's Yuva.



Also watch out for the stage version of Lord of the Rings with music by him and a signature tune for the UN council.



Keep this tread running and i will tell you more.

[vivek]

I am going to use this thread as a mode to let people know whats going on with ARRs music albums.



Now you can find Lakeer, which is part recycled music of the Tamil music hit Rhythm and part original. This album has some new compositions rendered by the untrained girl band - VIVA. The song is rubbish. Rahman tried to make some Mandy Moore or Abba Teens kinda sound which ended landed nose down. The songs which are recycled in this movie have been spoilt very well. This album is only for fans.



But the other album now in stores is Meenaxi. This is a sure chartbuster. Absolute masterpiece. The music reminds one of days when Rahman did Bombay and Dil Se. He is back and he back bigger. There are couple of intrumental tracks which are textbook Indian. The sounds are very real and earthy, the kind that can be played live in concert. No synthetic sound, just rhythm. This is must for every true music lover.



Find the CDs in an oasis amongts the cheap remixes that are staked in the shelves.



Time to get more deeper into pure philharmic type sounds. Find Warriors of Heaven and Earth, thats a typical OST, but listen to the Hindi number by Sadhana Sargam for a few times and you would find yourself humming the tune everytime. Recomended only for Die Hard A-grade ARR fans and lovers of OST background scores.

[azazel]

i think Dil Se was his best-ever work..

[Mona Lisa Smiles]

Well vivek, you seem like a big fan of ARR and why not. Over the last few years he did give us some real good music. I used to wonder how he could come out with so many good tunes time after time.. Roja , Bombay, Rangeela, Takshak, Daud and even Sakhi.



But IMO the tunes being churned out these days lack the magic. Some of the recent movies had me wondering if it was ARR who actually composed the music. I guess its true with all artists ... they have this phase and after a while the magic wanes out. The last really popular tune of his that I can remember seems to be the Airtel ringtone...



Again IMHO Roja is his best ....

[vivek]

Yup i am a fan. I say he is best is yet to come. That will take the music community by storm. Roja and Bombay are now old. He sound in Dil Se was the best he has achieved till date. However the latest Meenaxi is something to watchout for.

[Ramya]

Couldn't have agreed more with you vivek,Meenaxi is terrific.I like that song by Sonu Nigam the most(just not able to recollect the lines ),but it's just amazing.By the way Iam also a huge fan of Sonu,any others here?

I do think that Dil Se is one hell of a job,but I still believe that the best of Rahman is yet to come

[vivek]

You bet. I guess Mani Ratnam's Yuva would be the next chapter in Indian Film music. Meanwhile, Meenaxi is awsome. The song 'Yeh Rishta' was composed in a Kitchen and Rahman retained the raw voice of the new singer. The Sonu Nigam number is good, but the song that will be long remembered will be 'Duan Duan' by Asha - Awsome rhythm. Listen to this will high on Bass. Rahman excells in recording.

[Ramya]

Iam afraid I don't know anything about Yuva yet,hope it turns out to be great.

Somehow I don't think that Rahman should be judged based only on the popular Hindi film music he has done.I mean there are some albums which just didnot get famous-like there is Indu(tamil),Kandukondein Kandukondein,there's Rhythm(u said that).And however bad an album of his might be I believe it has one 'super good' no,almost every album has atleast one.

[Ramya]

Iam afraid I don't know anything about Yuva yet,hope it turns out to be great.

Somehow I don't think that Rahman should be judged based only on the popular Hindi film music he has done.I mean there are some albums which just didnot get famous-like there is Indu(tamil),Kandukondein Kandukondein,there's Rhythm(u said that).And however bad an album of his might be I believe it has one 'super good' number,almost every album has atleast one.

[JustaLittleUnwell]

Frankly I dont understand all this raving. Uses great technology, great sound, fine..... but creativity? I'm not too sure.



It is a known fact that most people prefer listening to older songs (50 / 60 / 70 era) which we technically very modest n bland, but were rich in their musical content and melody. We had very talented singers (now there are hardly any) and music directors who came up with innovative tunes that are a treat to listen to. Even in their re-mixed / remastered versions, it's the original tune that shines, not all that technological noises that are added to the 'remixes'.



In the west, the artistes take anywhere between a year to a few years to come up with a new album. Whereas people like Rahman produce 4 - 5 movie soundtracks in a year (and other producers are worse) Obviously the lack of quality shows. Every tune sounds the same and you have to listen to it several times, so that you become programmed to start liking it (people hv this need to go with the crowd, u know. I wish someone will play spoilsport once a while :) )

[CtrlAltDel]

no doubt AR Rehman is a talented musician and became famous coz of the truely "different" music he created. he still stands apart from others, but to me it looks like he's nearing saturation point.



most of his music now sounds like a re-hash of his own older output (or also a new english hit song). in many of his albums these days, only one or two songs show his versatility and the rest sound familiar or just plain mediocre.



i agree with JLU that we are now programmed to love and appreciate what ever he produces.



i wish he takes a couple of years break and recharge his creativity.

[Monster]

Personally, I think there are not many albums in the history of any musician (or band) that has all the songs as being brilliant. If they do, then, that album becomes a masterpiece. And masterpieces don't happen very often is a musician's career.



Anyways, Rahman has had numerous masterpieces that way (Roja, Thiruda Thiruda, Bombay, Dil Se, Rangeela, Taal, Sakhi and a few others). So i think it isn't really a crime to make movies that have only a couple of brilliant songs rather than all of them being of that level. And there isn't a sigle musiccian who's done that, ever.



Everybody has their own style. For instance, you listen to an Abba song, you'd recognise it. You listen to a U2 song, you'd recognise it. You listen to a Korn song, you'd recognise it. You listen to a Pink Floyd song, you'd recognise it. That's who they are. That's their flavor of music. Eventhough others complain about the similarity in their songs.



Then, there was some doubt mentioned about his creativity, and comparison with the musicians of yester years. I think that's a li'l unfair. With all the tech available now, it would only be safe to assume that those musicians would also use it in their song-making. So, if using tech makes him less creative, well then, even they were not creative. Nothing is creative these days.



He's just the best in the business. By far!



PS: My favorite Rahman album is Thiruda Thiruda (Donga Donga). The best ever!

[vivek]

You bet. I am sure he is not here to add pages in the text book of music. He is a person who knows the right 'sound' that would appeal to many. He is here to stay and stay as No.1.

[JustaLittleUnwell]

Monster, I never said being techy is a deficiency. I can give examples of creative use of technology to produce good music (albums like "A Giant Leap" or Nitin Sawhney's "Prophecy" come to my mind - not sure if you would appreciate that kind of music though)

Anyways, Rahman has had numerous masterpieces that way (Roja, Thiruda Thiruda, Bombay, Dil Se, Rangeela, Taal, Sakhi and a few others).

But for instant gratification, do these 'masterpieces' even stand the test of a few years? Does anybody play and listen to these songs these days? I'm not very much into old Hindi songs - but when a song like 'Kabhi kabhi' comes on air, it gives me much happiness and peace of mind, than most of the 'masterpieces' listed above :) Why isn't anyone (including 'guruji' Rahman ;) ) coming up with such mesmerising tunes anymore?



Reg. similarity of songs - am very much a fan of U2 and Pink Floyd and I can tell you that each of their songs was uniquely beautiful and gripping. The 'recognition' was because of the instrumentation used, vocal style etc. A Rahman tune invariably invokes memories of another song (often, one of his earlier songs) :)

[Ramya]

I've often heard people telling me that Rahman only copies Ilayaraja,now people think that he copies himself! Seriously,how can one see any similarity between albums like Lagaan(absolutely Indian to the core) and others like Bombay Dreams,Dil Se,Saathiya etc which have a combo of different tunes. I feel that Rahman has improved over the years.I think Roja was one of the most 'unRahmanish' kind of works,so was 'premikudu' and 'prema desam'.Compare these albums with the ones coming out now-you'll see a marked improvement.

[Imran]

Hey !!!

im a die-hard Fan of Rahman , hez Brilliant in wht ever he does , he pulls every thing to perfection and hez tunes are very pleasant 2 hear in whtever mood u r ....



well the Bottom line is Rahman is the Muscian No # 1 therez no Match Presently !!!

[Imran]

Hey !!!

im a die-hard Fan of Rahman , hez Brilliant in wht ever he does , he pulls every thing to perfection and hez tunes are very pleasant 2 hear in whtever mood u r ....



well the Bottom line is Rahman is the Muscian No # 1 therez no Match Presently !!!

[Monster]

Just... Of course! All the albums that i mentioned stand the test of time, and any other endurance test they can be put through. That is why they're masterpieces. And i'm sure there are millions like me who keep listening to these albums even today.



Kabhi Kabhie is a song that even i love. I also love this song called 'Matham Matham' (from a movie called Thakshak), that gives me piece of mind. So, mesmerising tunes have got nothing to do with time.



About the same sound, as you claim that each of U2s and Pink Floyds songs are unique, so can i about Rahmans. But, just because i don't like Pink Floyd, i will not say that i'm not too sure about their creativity. Because, millions would not be crazy about them, if they were not creative.



And your skepticism about my liking those bands that you mentioned (that use tech) is considered fair. How can i appreciate something that i haven't even heard of?

[Monster]

"Peace" of mind! Hehehehe!

[JustaLittleUnwell]

Just... Of course! All the albums that i mentioned stand the test of time, and any other endurance test they can be put through. That is why they're masterpieces.

I'll suggest an endurance test. Take the best 'masterpiece' among what you have listed, listen to the entire album once (if it is required i.e.). Then take one of these: 'Audioslave' self-titled album or 'Never Mind' by Nirvana or Joshua tree / Achtung Baby by U2 and listen to the entire thing. I'm not even saying these are masterpieces, coz there are better ones that qualify for the term. I suggested these because they used advanced technology / sound (the Audioslave CD sleeve says, "all sounds produced by guitar, bass, drums and vocal :)), since technology has become a factor. Just subject your 'masterpieces' to this endurance test once, and let me know your thoughts :)



About the uniqueness of Rahman's tunes, i'll suggest another endurance test. Just take the 'Thiruda Thiruda' soundtrack (your favorite), listen to 'Konjam Nilavu' (the westernized Anupama number), and after that, listen to 'Who is it?' by Michael Jackson (from the 'Dangerous' album) and let me know what are your observations :)



I dunno why I am getting so worked up on this one. But you gotta do what u gotta do ;)

[Monster]

[quote="JustaLittleUnwell"]I'll suggest an endurance test. Take the best 'masterpiece' among what you have listed, listen to the entire album once (if it is required i.e.). Then take one of these: 'Audioslave' self-titled album or 'Never Mind' by Nirvana or Joshua tree / Achtung Baby by U2 and listen to the entire thing. I'm not even saying these are masterpieces[/quote]



Well, I did not really listen to entire albums from all these bands, but I did go through a few songs. Here are my observations:

Audioslave's Cochise, sounds similar to Pantera's I'm Broken.

U2's Where The Streets Have No Names, sounds similar to Strings' Anjaane and

Niravan's Smells Like Teen Spirit, sounds similar to their own You Know You're Right.



But since you yourself said that these are no masterpieces, i s'ppose these were only meant to show good sound quality, modern tech etc. They do.



The other comparison, between Who Is It - MJ and Koncham Nilavu - Thiruda Thiruda, is probably as bad as my comparisons above (except Audioslave-Pantera), if not worse. One either needs a very vivid imagination or has a desperate point to prove to say that they're similar.



And even after the imagination, all one would find is that the rythm of the songs might be similar. Then, it would be like saying that all the songs in Adi-taalam are similar. At molecular level of construction, perhaps, they are technically similar. But the output is completely unique.



As you said, why are we so worked up? Guess music is definitely a passion, after all!

[JustaLittleUnwell]

Monster anna / thambi,

At molecular level of construction, perhaps, they are technically similar. But the output is completely unique.

Now I'm really wondering who's desperate to prove a point :) Molecular level? Adi thalam? You see my point, but choose to look the other way..... fine. You might want to munch on this one too. You know the "Kalluri Salai" number (College Style-ey in Telugu?) in Kaadhal Desam (Prema Desam) - you can hear traces of Boney M's "Ra Ra Rasputin" in that number. I hope you'll refrain from giving the 'molecular' funda this time around :)



Reg. your suggestion that U2 copied the Paki band Strings' tune, I just want to bring to your notice a minor detail. The U2 song was released in the 80s. If I'm not wrong, Strings has been popular in this millineum only i.e. the last few years. I hope you are not suggesting that U2 folks swallowed some time capsules and came to this millineum, lifted the tune of Anjaane, went back to the 80s and released the song as their own.



Anyway, I'm not going to convert you :) You listen to your masterpieces :)

[Mayavi Morpheus]

Listen to AR's Mustafa Mustafa from Kadalan desham carefully and you can hear well disguised Michael Jackons tunes (Dont remember which song it is). I am not saying that Rehman lifted MJ's music, but he mixed it well.

[azazel]

Reg. your suggestion that U2 copied the Paki band Strings' tune, I just want to bring to your notice a minor detail. The U2 song was released in the 80s. If I'm not wrong, Strings has been popular in this millineum only i.e. the last few years. I hope you are not suggesting that U2 folks swallowed some time capsules and came to this millineum, lifted the tune of Anjaane, went back to the 80s and released the song as their own.

what a brilliant suggestion...U2 copying from Strings!!!

Audioslave n Pantera?? hyok hyok hyok...

who cares abt Niravana...for me vrythin sounds the same...

thats music for the wannabe-stage..

but really Monster dude..U2 copying from Strings???????

haaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha........

[Monster]

Whoa! Whoa! I never said U2 copied from Strings!



All i said was that they sound similar, and more importantly, a point that many missed, i said that the comparison between Who Is It and Koncham Nilavu, is as bad as my comparisons. I repeat, as bad as my comparisons. I made all those comparisons to show how incongruous the AR-MJ comparison was.



Coming to the being desperate issue, and looking away issue, I might say, that you're the one who's doing all that since you are not in a set frame of mind to believe Rehman is good etc, but i won't. Because, just as you've discovered, I have too, that i cannot convert you.



So you go back to listening to what suits you the best.



And Aza, man, i still think that Cochise and I'm Broken have similar riffs.