Friday, May 7, 2010

Where exactly is the devil?


Okay, so I have kept my views to myself for 3 weeks now, in the (unlikely) hope (yeah right!) that they will change, because, you know, Rahman's music is different, it grows on you with time...While I dont disagree with that, (I have had my share of music-grows-on-you factor with Jaane Tu..., Yuvvraaj and Blue), I hate to admit that this time ARR gets it wrong...That's okay...We all are mortals, and its too much to ask from a person, even if a genius, to deliver just awesomeness everytime...We have seen Sachin fail at times, we have seen Aamir Khan deliver turkeys, and we have seen Michael Schumacher end 10th behind less-gifted drivers...So, ARR delivering an uninspiring album should be no big deal...What stings me however, is the unequivocal raving that has accompanied the release of the soundtracks of Raavan...Its a case of worshipping someone just because we put him up on a pedestal so high up that now calling a spade a spade will mean demeaning the someone to such an extent that is unbecoming of his genius...Now THIS is what i call blasphemy!

Raavan may not be his weakest work till date, but it is definitely ARR's least deserving works in recent times...Least deserving of the accolades, the hype and the hoopla! Lets get this straight, ARR misfires more often than we like to believe, but when he scores, he scores Bull's eye and more, which indeed makes us forget the misfires - indeed the true mark of a genius. But that shudnt make us shy away from calling crap crap! When you have deplorably hideous songs like Kata Kata and the highly pretentious Ranjha Ranjha, there is no way you can convince me with tales of how he has broken away from the convention by delivering a beat on the 13th count instead of the expected 12th and thus, created a masterpiece...The song sounds not-good and that's the result on which the verdict should be based! I mean sample this analysis of Kata Kata:

"There is a madness, wildness and subtle darkness to this playful pre-wedding composition. The bugles at the beginning awaken everyone to an emergency, a crisis, something going amiss followed by drums. What turmoil has arrived, you ask?"

Seriously WTF! The songs sucks...plain sucks! why is there a problem saying tht loud and clear? Pretentious douchebags need to stop writing reviews! Rahman has given us much much better and calling this track a masterpiece and a master stroke is like Filmfare awarding Aamir Best Actor for "Raja Hindustani"! Its seriously WTF...

Coming back to the album, Beera is energetic and has so much energy that it carries you with it for the 4 minutes the song lasts and beyond. So much so that you are willing to forgive the random signature Rahman tribal words "Mehegumenjaaaaaaaaaaaaloooooooooooooo" (I have never understood Rahman's fascination for random, meaningless words in songs; it was "Bala bala, aa ora, o meego, tu bala pada hoysa....taboo, bala bala" in Jai Ho; "Hosa, keecha keecha" in Shano Shano; "Thoda thoda Zimbabwe"in Latoo and numerous more...I mean seriously why spoil a song just by randomness!! I can understand the French rap in Delhi6 but these "tribal" sounds r laughable, not to mention irritating, and just bcoz its ARR, ppl wont say a word...let Himesh or Pritam put somthng like tht in a song and u'll hear no end of it!)...Nevertheless, the song is really good and is the best of the lot because it is energetic and you cant get it out of your head! Behne De is another inspiring track and while it bears some resemblance to Satrangi, the credit goes to ARR for creating such a racy track! Khili Re is the last shred of sense in the album and while its cloyingly sweet and similar to most of the Jodhaa Akbar music, it is well sung and melody keeps it afloat.

Now to the major f*ck-ups! Thok De Killi is fast-food and it has zero impact. People comparing it with Yuva can go get their braincells checked. It is uninspiring and strictly below average. And btw, the lyrics are BAD! Kata Kata is deplorable to say the least, and comparisons with Rukmini are absolutely uncalled for! It is hideously penned and sung and I dont care how awesome the music arrangements are when that happens! Ranjha Ranjha is the most utterly over-rated track of the year - its the Singh is Kinng of music! People raving about its wonderful lyrics need to tell me if they even understand what is being said! Nothing exceptional about the song, nothing even bloody okay about it! The much-awaited Jaa Re Udd Jaa Re sung by the man himself, is not bad but is not worthy of the sky-high praise it has received! Again, its idol worship more than rationale which has prompted people to say tht!

I am aware I may have gone majorly overboard in criticizing Raavan here, but frankly it kills me to see people praising something just bcz it is supposed to be praised. We should stop being afraid of admitting we cant understand "genius" when we dont! Everyone makes mistakes and its stupid to cover up one mistake with another.

This is unconventional music which fails to touch or move...Lets be honest and gutsy enough to call it tht!

8 comments:

Harshvardhan Pande said...

seriously dude! i agree completely. i like Beera and that is it. I don't think the rest of the songs are good, some as u mention are utter trash!

sycophantic fans will praise this album to no end, and i am even certain that the movie is probably going to suck! but i'll wait for its release and then if it is the trash i expect it to be, i will unleash hell on my blog.

enuf with hailing a mediocre album!

Shantanu said...

Glad some1 agrees! I hate it when ppl go into technicality just so tht they can explain why something tht sounds bad sounds tht way and hw thrs genius in tht! Ths r precisely the ppl who give "intellectuals" a bad name! Someone thnks Mithya is brilliant, even if its a well-intentioned attempt gone wrong and then as a result, when I tell some1 hw brilliant DevD is, I am branded a pretentious intellectual who likes movies like Mithya and DevD, where is reality Mithya and DevD are as diverse as chalk and cheese - one a toungue-in-cheek okayish attempt, the othr pure story-telling genius!

Oh and btw, even though Delhi6 was one of Rehman's best albums till date, I still feel Amit Trivedi deserved all the awards last year...Just bcz Rehman won the Oscars in the same year, ppl cudnt make the "glaring mistake" of not acknowledging his genius! Blasphemy again!

Tia said...

Hey Shantanu,

I just had one question - what would you consider great music? I have constantly pushed my limits of what I consider music and have tried to appreciate the weirdest rhythm schemes in some of the songs in my indie collection.

Rahman's music appeals to me simply because it constantly defies definitions of what we accept to be music.

I am not saying Raavan's music is good at all. I just was curious about what you considered good music. :)

Let me know!

Nruthya

Shantanu said...

Hi Nruthya,

Thx for your comment :) Frankly, I dont have a simple or single definition of music. To put it plainly, it should be something I like to hear in at least one of many situations/moods.

There were times when I did not listen to Rock at all, but eventually I began to appreciate the form. Same with classical, Jazz and lots of other stuff which cannot even be genre-ized...I too, have been trying to "push my limits" as you very aptly put it, and am pleasantly surprised by what I consider enjoyable now as compared to before. Hope that answers your question, at least to some extent :) And please dont get me wrong, I am not one of those pretentious douches - I like a "Dil Se" as much as a "Tujha Dekha To Ye Jaana" as much as a "Ganpat"! Its all a matter of what emotions the song invokes!

And regards this post, the only thing that prompted me was the humongous appreciation this album is getting in media. It is a media-frenzy to elevate and dumb-down artists and art and this particular instance seemed too much like an effort to try and appreciate genius before even trying to make an attempt to understand it.

MsBlogger said...

Interesting review, this might be the first review with negative points for this album I've read...

And yes I was also confused by ARR's enjoyment of random words that make no sense... Thoda thoda Zimbabwe struck me the hardest.

I'm following you on my blogroll now for your honesty!

Tia said...

Hey Shantanu,

I listened to the entire album and here is what i have to say. If your post hadnt made me listen to the album, I may never have even looked at it. The song by rahman himself is unspectacular to say the least. I did like the edge some of the songs you listed, but the album is certainly not something I, someone who listens to the most obscure indie bands, would listen to.

I think Ghajini was also a rather weak job with only a couple of songs with any character to them. The other music composers today are churning out incredible music! I am constantly surprised by how good hindi music has got since the horrible slump during which himesh rose to infamous prominence(the guy should be shot).

That's my two cents. I still believe Rahman is a genius, but never have i ever considered him to be an absolutely consistent one. All I can say is this just proves the maestro is human. :)

And loved your review of iron man. Going to watch it asap!

Nruthya

Shantanu said...

Hi Nruthya,

Thanks for your comments. Kinda echoed my sentiments :) Totally agree abt ARR being a genius...only lets not forget the mortality factor :)

And thx for the Iron Man review...Dont go in with sky-high expectations and u'll surely enjoy it... :)

Shantanu said...

@MsBlogger : Honored! :)