Top Songs – 2009

I had skipped this compilation last year. But breaking traditions is not a good habit. Hence, nurse this year I started to do this in November itself, so that I could complete it before year-end. Though, honestly & admittedly, I am not confident whether I am a good person to do this any longer. My listening to new songs is limited & restricted. The joy in finding a good song is absent because today’s music hardly fascinates me. The song structure has changed, mukhdas have elongated, interludes vanished and melody is on back-seat. Not my ideal situation.

Strangely, the songs that managed to excite me turned out to be ones that their music composers seemed to have abandoned mid-way (Jashn hai jeet ka, Bin tere marjaavan main, Ring ringa, Rafa Dafa et al).

Still, I will give it a shot from the small ambit that I managed to explore. As always, this list is in no particular order. And, this is a purely personal compilation, ingrained with my biases and prejudices.

Daata sun le Maula sun le – Jail – Lata Mangeshkar’s second foray this year into the recording room (other than Hanuman Chalisa), post her knee operation, was good in parts. I enjoyed the so-called ‘remix’ version better. It had a lilting tabla beat, and overall more cohesiveness than the ‘main’ version. Lata Didi, as usual, uplifted Shamir Tandon’s composition, which to put it politely, was a pretty ordinary composition. If this were Madhur’s answer to Ae maalik tere bande hum (Do Aankhen Barah Haath), it was a very weak reply indeed. Still, it was manna from heaven for Lata Didi devotees.

Otherwise, Jail‘s music held little interest. Sharib-Toshi’s Saiyan Ve burnt the dance floors for a while, but it’s longevity is suspect (especially since the film has bombed badly at box-office).

Tan ganga mann prem ki dhara and Krishna krishna – Umariya Kailli Tohre Naam – I welcome any musical serendipity. This time, in the form of a Bhojpuri film. From a chance ‘google’ search, I learnt that Lata Didi (Lata Mangeshkar) has sung one Bhojpuri song this year, under Raamlaxman’s baton. It took awhile to find the cd. And boy! was I bowled. As the cd unravelled – there was not just one or two but full three songs by the Diva! Krishna Krishna (in two parts; one, a duet with Bhupendra Singh; and second, a solo) sounded to my ears a nineties recording that seemed to have dug its way into this film. It’s purely in Hindi. Wonder which film it was originally recorded for. Tan ganga man prem ki dhara sounded newer. It’s a soft song, with lovely sitar and flute riffs and an effective chorus line.

(Incidentally, the mp3 I bought had hoardes of other Bhojpuri songs, which kept my interest alive. Will write on them later).

Jai Ho and Khatiye pe mai padi thi (Ring ring ringa) – Slumdog Millionaire – Frankly, I’d puke if I hear Jai Ho (the song or the phrase) any more. At one point, it seemed to be gushing out from any form of media that one could lay one’s senses on. Having said that, the song (when it released) held my attention for awhile. But, admittedly, it wasn’t anything really path-breaking. On the contrary, it felt like a left-over from Subhash Ghai’s Yuvraaj (which could be a fact too, since Mr. Ghai’s ‘acknowledgement’ is credited on the jacket sleeve).

I enjoyed Ring Ringa – with its Choli-ke-peeche-kya-hai-beats and flavor. Sadly, it’s only one stanza long, and could have done with more. And I missed Madhuri Dixit’s dance, too.

The instrumental pieces were brilliant, and in the end, Rahman winning an Oscar is more to do with Indian pride, than the compositions per se, right?

You may be just a little bit deewani – Aladin – When it comes to love ballads, Vishal-Shekhar reign supreme in current era. They conjure very passionate love songs, with pithy but interesting interludes (in fact, they are the only music composers who seem to be working on this important aspect of a song). You May Be has some ravishing piano and santoor pieces. Other than this, I liked Bach ke o bachke and Giri giri re bijuria. One of the few albums I thoroughly enjoyed in its entirety.

Jashn hai jeet ka and Barso re – London Dreams – Two outstanding numbers from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy made the album worthwhile. Jashn hai jeet ka is brilliant. In its essentially aggressive tune, it hides an unexplainable tragic undertones, beneath a macho exterior; and as someone wrote, almost Shakespearean in its tenor. The moral fall of the hero, even though he ostensibly conquers the world. Abhijeet Ghoshal’s singing is superb. When he opens with ‘Sun le khuda, gaur se zara, aasman mera ab aasman mera’ there is arrogance and attitude, which is required. I wish it were longer. One stanza makes it stunted.

On the other hand, Barso re (Vishal Dadlani & Roop Kumar Rathod) is full of life and energy. Roop Kumar Rathod amazed me – I couldn’t believe that this otherwise staid ghazal singer could throw his voice to such a monumental pitch, enveloping the listener in sheer aural frenzy.

Sadly, the album’s balance songs cut no ice.

Aasman odh kar – 13B – Yet another half-finished song, which could have definitely done with another stanza. It’s a soothing love ballad, that seems to stretch to the horizon languidly.

Fiqrana hoke jeeye na kyun – Blue – Blue sank at the box office, but it’s music was buoyant. A R Rahman gets to do a full-fledged commercial score (again after Yuvraj – incidentally, one which I loved), and like the professional he is, he delivers. I loved Fiqraana the best, especially those guitar riffs, and more so once the song settles into its dominant rhythm. Curiously, there was a very nineties-ish number which no one noticed (or rather, ignored) Yaar mila tha saiyan ik din yaar mila tha (Udit Narayan, Madhushree), which had a very good tune – though I couldn’t make any head or tail of the lyrics. They meant to tell a story (about a coquettish girl meeting her lover’s friend) but somehow it couldn’t carry it forward well. I missed Anand Bakshi or Sameer in this one! The third good number is the part-seductive, part-mysterious Rahnuma (Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal)- it’s leitmotif has shades of James Bondish tenor, but in all its pretty listenable. Chiggy Wiggy should have had a shorter English portion (two minutes is way too long) but I reckon they wanted to utilize Kylie Mynogue to the hilt. It’s a pretty average number, and since all FM channels have drilled into listener’s heads, it’s likeable for the simple reason of familiarity. Blue Theme starts off well, but could have been better embellished in the second half.

Title song – Kaminey – Alongwith Aladin & Blue, the third album which I listened in its entirety wihout hitting the ‘next’ key on my CD player(s). I have reviewed it quite in detail here. It’s title song continues to haunt me. And now, I usually start off listening to this one, and then moving to the other songs.

Banda – Raaz the Mystery Continues – Slowly, Bhatt-clans (including all their sattelites) music has alienated me. They came up with some really thought-worthy lyrics and music all through nineties. But their latest stuff makes me shudder. I still love to hear the earlier Raaz‘s music (Nadeem Shravan), but this one is too ‘sound’ oriented than ‘melody’ based. I liked the thematic Banda re, (with those chants and heavy chorus) and to a small extent Sharib-Toshi’s Maahi maahi.

Masakkali – Delhi 6 – Coming close on heels of last year’s Yuvraaj, I had very high expectations. In fact, Masakkali ostensibly held that promise further when heard in the promos. Sadly, I found Delhi 6′s music very disappointing. Indeed Masakkali was thoroughly enjoyable, with loads of superb interludes and wonderful singing (Mohit Chauhan, surprisingly in a very different avatar). Rahna Tu warmed the heart; it’s slow cadences swirled into the soul like mature wine. And, Saas gaari deve (Genda Phool) kept the foot tapping (though I am not sure why anyone in Delhi would sing a Madhya Pradeshi folk song).

Beyond these three the album simply crashed into a jarring, meaningless & noisy concoction esp Kala Bandar. The title track broke my heart. No, this is not the number I expected representing my city (and French wordings? Hello, where did that come from!). I expected something more enduring and endearing; and more profound lyrics than a bland line like ‘bas ishq mohabbat pyaar’ which seemed to be forcefully written rhyme for the equally plain first sentence.

Sapno se bhare naina – Luck By Chance – As an album, quite a disappointment. However, I loved Sapnon se bhare naina – a tightly held track, just like tears threatening to fall from the eyes, but one holds back. However, the forced lyrics (Javed Akhtar) desperately let-down the composition, especially the second stanza made no sense (about sukh and chaina) – or was it too esoteric for my plain understanding? Anyways, I listen to the song for its wonderful tune, good music and Shankar’s effective singing.

Aalam guzarne ko and Marjawaan tere bin – Kal Kissne Dekha – I laughed when I first heard Aalam guzarne ko, and re-checked if I had put on the correct CD. From where in good heaven’s name, did Sajid-Wajid retrieve this track, which is absolutely a long-lost cousin of Sonu Nigam’s private albums Jaan (released sometime in nineties)? I liked this song.

But the piece that absolutely blew me away was Shreya Ghoshal’s two-minute just-mukhda Tere bin marjaawan main kithe kithe jaawan main, carried along with an absolutely smashing tabla base. Why didn’t they complete this song?

Zindagi mein nayi baat hone ko hai – Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye – Pandit brothers’ breakup is this decade’s biggest musical loss. Jatin-Lalit were a name that spelt quality music in the nineties. Their last joint collaboration – Fanaa– was very enjoyable. Post-breakup, Lalit Pandit is the only one prolific enough to have two-three releases. Tragically, none that stays with you for long. MKMJA had quite a lot of songs, but only three were listenable : Shreya’s Pahle to mere inn aankhon mein, Shaan’s Pathron ke bane in shaharon mein and Aishwarya’s Zindagi mein nayi baat hone ko hai.

In the last, one could faintly detect Jatin-Lalit of yore, especially in the beats. But hell! even this song is only one antara long!! Ouff!

Love mera hit hit – Billu , Sab rishte naate – De Dana Dan and Aaj din chadya tere rang varga/ We twist – Love Aaj Kal –I admit. I fail to fully appreciate or comprehend Pritam Chakraborty’s music – which I find gets pretty good (online) reviews, and mostly tops the charts. His usage of English words (often, inane – sample: ‘Shining like a setting sun like a pearl upon an ocean, feel me’) in lieu of interludes doesn’t cut ice with me.

Still, I can safely admit I enjoyed these four songs. Even though Love Aaj Kal fell short of Jab We Met’s expectations (musically as well as cinematically), still it was a pretty neat album. And, allow me to be candid enough to say, I liked De Dana Dan’s music, including the raunchy I am naughty hotty (which is superbly picturized on Neha Dhupia looking ooh-la-la). Yash Raj Films’ Dil Bole Hadippa carried a couple of good ones too – especially Yahan ishq hi hai rab aur khuda and the raunchy Innke ooche ooche dream

Piya jaise laadoo moti choor ke and Raffa daffa and Mann Ka Radio – Radio – I am adding the last song purely from point of view of how good marketing can make an idiotic song also play in one’s head all day long. Ok, I give some credit to the easy tune as well, which has tendency of sticking on. And it sticks big time. I must have hummed the mukhda for days. But the lyrics?! Give me a break! Full-too attitude and Band jo baje tera, khulke tu muskura – if this is meant to be philosophical in the current Age, God help our youngsters! Himesh’s ‘new’ voice is no better than his ‘original’ ones – though his nose does poke its nose back in, in the antaras.

Overall, Radio wasn’t that big a disaster as I had initially envisaged. Hearing it in a colleague’s car, with no other choice, I quite fell for some of the numbers, especially Rekha Bhardwaj’s Piya jaise laadoo (Wow!), Shaam ho chali (good one), Zindagi jaise ek radio (bad lyrics, good tune) and Himesh’s Rafa dafa. In Piya jaise laadoo, traces of Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaaye’s title song could be easily heard. Rafa dafa, is again, a half-finished song which needed more life. At less than three minutes, with just one antara, it sounds a half-finished composition.

Sufi tere pyaar mein – Jai Veeru – Atrocious film, awful music, but Sufi tere pyaar mein holds interest. It’s one of those songs you don’t mind in a compilation.

So that’s all from me for 2009. Looking forward to the new year, and perhaps, once again the return of melody.

Happy New Year to all Random Expressions readers.

Technorati : 2009, Himesh Reshammiya, Lata Mangeshkar, Pritam, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Top Songs

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