Listen Up!

Calling the child in you!

Taare zameen par marks the directorial debut of Aamir Khan. The film is an outstanding one that is not merely original in desi cinema but is also a sensitive story about an exceptional child. While I have to say that the film is a must-watch, the music score is a real surprise.
  Composed by the creative trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, the soundtrack is refreshingly simple and does not take anything away from the film's theme and meaning. While item songs and catchy tracks are often the norm in most typical masala potboilers, I was absolutely delighted to hear a soundtrack that stayed true to the film's central idea. Whether it's the painful Maa or the exuberant Bum bum bole, the songs are appealing and fun. With lyrics from ad guru Prasoon Joshi, the music adds to the feel of the film.
  I walked into the film thinking it would be a serious film about a child, but I walked out with renewed respect for the music directors who have tackled a children's issue with utmost dedication. For those who enjoy a decent amount of rock and guitars, the songs showcase some elegant strumming and the bass lines are catchy. Don't expect melodramatic promises of love and life ever after and you won't be disappointed! The songs are purely expressions of the myriad moods and feelings of the lead character who after all is just a child. So discover the child in you, watch this film and LISTEN UP to this original soundtrack!

The Sound of Music

Don't be fooled by the name of this post. It certainly isn't about the Julie Andrews classic. It's about music and technology. As I listened to my mp3 player with its uber-cool noise reduction headphones, I have to say I am thankful technology has come such a long way. From vinyl records to nifty mp3 players to gigantic headphones to miniature earplugs - there's been a sea of change to the sound of music, quite literally.

When you ask musicians of yore about their recordings, many of them recount tales of having to get the recording right all at one go. Artists like Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar, Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar all weaved their magic working within the constraints of their time. Every member of the live orchestra had to get their part right or it meant scrapping the entire afternoon's work if one note was out of sync. This is a far stretch from today where you can record bits and sections of a song and put them together. Sometimes duets are sung separately and put together by techno whizzes who work in nifty little studios.

Some senior artists have suggested that because of the pressure to get things right the first time, skill and talent came into play. This however has been disputed and the way I see it, you cannot really draw comparisons across different situations and different factors at play. Something that Sunidhi Chauhan once pointed out in an interview came to mind when she suggested that today, there are days where artists record songs back to back, sometimes amounting to even 10 or 12 songs a day! So the circumstances are vastly different to yesteryears where an artist would have the luxury to learn a song for days and then go into a studio and record it. Even then, you have to admit that it is an admirable task that some of the best music ever emerged during those years where technology was still being developed.

Today old 45s are collector's items selling at high prices and you barely see the old gramophone unless you're displaying it in your house as an antique piece. Cassettes are almost redundant and God knows, I've had to let go (with lots of mourning and feelings of loss) so many tapes for the simple reason that I no longer own a cassette player! Compact Discs were the rage some decades ago and then once again technology caught up and said "Here's something better!" The MP3 made an appearance. Thereafter there's been no looking back. Music playing devices have been getting smaller and smaller and you can now walk around with over a 1000 songs if you choose to. It certainly beats lugging around heavy packs of cassettes and rewinding and forwarding (do we even remember that anymore?) to your favourite track.

Reality check

Like 'em or hate 'em, reality shows are here to stay. The genres are all out there - dating, geeks and beauty queens, adventure, survival and music. The last in particular gives me food for thought especially with relation to desi music. And our only representation beyond the desi stage was Sanjay Mayekar from American Idol whose hair styling excited me more than his vocal prowess but that topic deserves a whole other post.

Going back to reality shows, they are dime a dozen on every possible TV station. There are times where you have to hear insufferable people working their way through the preliminary rounds with no talent whatsoever. Then there are times where the sheer talent astounds you. The age group varies tremendously and it's always interesting to hear kids as young as five or six singing songs that were created decades before they were born. That to me is the most inspiring part of the whole reality show hoopla.

I'm not afraid to admit that I absolutely enjoy the oldies as much as I enjoy the new. But to hear such golden songs from old movies sung by children who probably have no recollection of the movie itself is something else. And there is no dearth of talent there. There is a renewed interest in older, classical based songs that show off a vocalist's range and skill. So many participants pick out songs created by legendary composers, sung by immortal artists and bring it forward to our times.

While skeptics might argue that the intentions may not always be the most noble, I beg to differ. Nothing comes without a price. There was a time where oldies were only recognised when they were remixed, rehashed and regurgitated over and over. For a change, we can actually listen to the original sound of a song and perhaps even go dig up the original soundtrack from somewhere.

Though I admit that my young cousin of six won't know that Lata Mangeshkar sang Tum Pukar Lo, she certainly will remember the song simply because of her favourite contestants on a show sang it. From there, curiousity is piqued and she has discovered there is more music to be heard. And that to me is a great sign.