Endless repeat (OCD kind) songs of all time & the reasons

This is different from the "last song heard" / "song of the day" kind of thread.

Neither is this an "IR top 10" or "IR top 100" kind of listing business.

The songs that one chooses to feature in this thread should meet the following criteria, though completely from the listener's point of view (and others may or may not share the sentiments) :

1. The song should have gone on repeat mode, like an "obsessive compulsive disorder" (I don't think I need to elaborate as all of us have done this with many IR songs at one point of time or other).

2. Such "endless repeat" business should not be an "one-time-phenomenon" for that song, like in a "point-of-time" thingy, but should have happened on different occasions - preferably during entirely different time periods (of the listener's lifetime or the song's "lifetime")

3. More important criteria : The listener should be able to EXPLAIN the reasons why he / she found it repeat-worthy. (Means, should be able to highlight some aspects of the song that made it worthy of such all-time-great honor & not simply "it touched me" business).

I have a few songs in mind & will post the details of one such in my next post. Meanwhile, please feel free to collect your thoughts on such "truly-evergreen-repeat-worthy" numbers

Thendral Vandhu Theendum - Avathaaram

This song is one that has been on repeat for the widest range of occasions.  For instance, to calm myself before an interview, to celebrate some milestones in life, to enjoy nature, to calm down, to pep up, sort of like an anthem for any occasion.

Now comes the hard part of your criteria explaining why:

1.  Complexity of chorus arrangments

Even the first 23 seconds of the song has a lot of complexity that keeps me guessing as to what is going on.  It was only in my approximately 20th year of listening to this song that I realized that there were probably 2 sets of female chorus singers!!  At about the 21st second mark you hear Uhhh Aaaa female chorus while the dham dham dhana dham dham......continues as well.  So to my simple mind the complexity of the chorus blows me away.

2.  Laid back singing

The singing by IR.  The delivery seems very laid back and yet the listener can never lose interest in how the song proceeds and continues to capture your attention.  

3.  Imagery evoked by lyrics

I am someone who generally blocks out the lyrics in favor of focussing on the music.  However this song has lyrics that evoke such beautiful imagery that it is hard to ignore the beauty they add to the song

4.  Finally, Nasser's explanation of how the song came about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qVePbtAPCw


Obviously this explanation came out after 2 decades of the birth of the song.  However, this 4th reason is the cherry on top that makes me smile everytime I listen to this song these days.  For a composer to have tossed this tune out as if it were nothing (as are all his time defying compositions)......

Excellent post, panniapurathar!

You've given a beautiful demo for what this thread is for!

A model post

BTW, while I definitely listen to "thenRal vandhu theeNdum pOdhu" every now and then and have heard it on repeat in the past, nowadays I cannot run it on repeat mode

Reason? It's too intense!

"How come you were able to hear on repeat in the past but cannot handle now?" - could be the next logical question. The answer could be that I'm getting "weaker"

Some songs that I was looping in the past are just too intense for me nowadays, to continue for more than a couple of times (thenRal vandhu theeNdum pOthu is one example. mudhal muRai pArththa gnAbagam is another.)

That way, songs about which I'll be posting on this thread could be viewed by others as "light-weight" songs but those are my OCD
(However, from a general TFM / IFM viewpoint those can hardly be called light - they're phenomenal stuff - just that they are less in emotional intensity, thus not draining me totally).

App sir, Nandri!!!
It is very interesting to note how you feel about Thendral Vandhu.  I can understand how our Rasa can at times overwhelm you with emotions and that makes it difficult to do a repeat of some song.

I have several other OCD repeats.  I will try and write down the reason over time.  Just a sneak preview:

1.  Adho andha nadhioram 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYEHiSCUsM0

BTW, cannot recommend MAHA 2014  channel on youtube enough to listen to the nuances of an IR composition (especially with a good headphone and amp)

2. Janani janani (after being in live concerts)

Watch Raaja sir's explanation (BTW, I am not really religious, but I just like how he talks about coincidences)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnUHU6cXpGs


3. Tholi Paruvam (Abbaitho Ammayi) - drove for over 200 miles with this on repeat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j28FEoScs

4.  Chandralekha (almost all songs in the album)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozMlujUjKkc&list=PLViUvV1AcMZDwZMN85F_-Gk_XHRHrWUyy


5.  Thannanth thaniyaa oru theevundu 

6.  climax theme from Thaarai Thappattai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSGKz5mLA1o

7.  Poovaram Sootti (from Baba Pugazh Maalai)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5h5eCI88ac

8.  Dafedar theme music (drove for about 120 miles with this on loop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnFp-2gnLZs

Let me do my current repeat song as the first entry in this thread

அடி! பூங்குயிலே பூங்குயிலே கேளு
நீ பாட்டெடுத்த காரணத்தக் கூறு
adippoonguyilE poonguyilE kELu

Movie: araNmaNaikkiLi
Album & Movie released in : 1992
OCD : From the year 2011 till current
Singers : Mano / Minmini
Lyricist : Vaali
Director : Raj Kiran

Ever since the song made into my van's HDD some seven years back, this had been often on repeat. Actually, each time that playlist runs and reaches this song, my hand automatically reaches for the repeat button and the song has a habit of occupying my commutes for a few days at least

Three years back when this was running on repeat, I've posted about the song in the "last song heard" thread a post in Thamizh :

https://ilayaraja.forumms.net/t238p100-manadhil-oru-paattu-song-of-the-moment-vol-2#19960

As our forum does not provide "hyperlinks" to those who are not logged in, let me quote the post here for quick ref :

பரவச நிலை அடைய சுளுவான வழி
-------------------------------------------

சாமியார்கள், யோகம், அது, இதுவென்று பல முறைகளை முயன்று பரவசம் அடைய நினைக்கும் மக்களுக்கு எளிய வழியில், குறைந்த செலவில் அதே நிலையை அடைய இங்கே சில படிகள் :

1. ஏதாவது ஒரு ஊர்தியில் உள்ளே அமருங்கள். (தனியாக இருந்தால் சிறப்பு, பார்க்கிங் இடமென்றால் மிகச்சிறப்பு, க்ரைஸ்லர் "பட்டணம் & பட்டிக்காடு" வண்டி என்றால் மிகமிகச்சிறப்பு)

2. எஞ்சின் ஆன் செய்யாத நிலையில் பாட்டுக்கருவி மட்டும் ஆன் செய்து காதுகளில் வலியில்லாமல் கேட்கத்தக்க உச்ச அளவு ஒலியும், தனிப்பட்ட விதத்தில் மிகவும் பிடித்த ஈக்வலைசர் தெரிவுகளும் செய்யுங்கள்!

3. சீட்டை சாய்த்து வைத்துக்கண்களை மூடிக்கொள்வது நல்லது / சிறப்பு.

4. கதவிலும் ஸ்பீக்கர் இருப்பதால், கைகளை அங்கே உள்ள "ஹேண்ட் ரெஸ்ட்" மீது வைப்பது அதிர்வலைகள் தரும், உடம்பை விட மனதுக்கு மிகச்சிறப்பு!

5. இது மிகவும் கவனமான ஒன்று : நான் சொல்லப்போகும் பாடலின் துவக்கத்தில், அதாவது இரண்டு வரிகளுக்கு, மிகவும் பொறுமை தேவை. ஒரு வேளை "சே, இந்தக்குரலா" என்றெல்லாம் தோன்றலாம், தயவு செய்து நிறுத்தவோ / ஸ்கிப் பண்ணவோ கூடாது.

6. 'அடி பூங்குயிலே பூங்குயிலே கேளு' பாட்டை இடவும். (அரமனக்கிலி)

7. பரவச நிலையை முழுதும் அனுபவிக்க, தலையை ஆட்டுவதோ, உடம்பைக்குலுக்குவதோ, மம்மூட்டி "காட்டுக்குயிலே" பாட்டுக்கு ஆடுவது போலக் கைகளை உட்கார்ந்து கொண்டே மேல் நோக்கி உதறுவதோ அவரவர் விருப்பம், உடல் நிலை மற்றும் ஆரோக்கியம் சார்ந்தது!

7.அ. என்றாலும், இவையெல்லாம் செய்தால் இன்பம் அதிகரிப்பது உறுதி!

8. மிச்சத்தேவைகள் எல்லாம் ராசாவின் பின்னணி இசையும் இடை இசைகளும் கவனித்துக் கொள்ளும்.

9. பாடல் வரிகள், பாடுவோர் குரல்கள் கவனிக்காவிடில் இரண்டு மடங்கு இன்பம் நிச்சயம்.

10. அவை உறுத்தினாலும், இடை இசை நேரத்தில் - அதிலும் இரண்டாவதில் - கண்களில் நீர் கசிவது உறுதி!

எனது இன்றைய ரிப்பீட் பாடல் மற்றும் பரவச அனுபவம்!

Interestingly, when the song came out in the early 90's, I was a "newly married" and wasn't actively following TFM and hence didn't even have this among my collections or played in our music system that much. My only listens were involuntary ones (such as radio / travel / functions etc.) Never even knew the movie / name of the female singer etc. at that time and definitely never paid close attention to details. (No need to say it was not on any kind of "repeats" - which is more of a CD / MP3 era phenomenon as this activity wasn't that easy with cassette players).

Before I detail out the special aspects of the song that make me keep playing it (possibly in the next post, as this is running too long), let me get the links where one can listen to this number, as well as the pAdal varigaL :

Audio link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f9T-oBzUnA

Video links:
The one with millions of views, but incomplete:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPSH2VcVW1o

Whole-song-video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L9KZZ-_VmA


pAdal varigaL:

அடி! பூங்குயிலே பூங்குயிலே கேளு
நீ பாட்டெடுத்த காரணத்தக் கூறு
யாரிடத்தில் உம்மனசு போச்சு
நூலப்போல உன்னுடம்பு ஆச்சு
வட்டம் இட்டுச் சுத்தும் கண்ணு வீச்சு
வாய விட்டுப் போனதென்ன பேச்சு

ஆத்தங்கர அந்தப்புரம் ஆக்கிக் கொள்ளவா?
அந்த அக்கரைக்கும் இக்கரைக்கும் கோட்டை கட்டவா?
மாமன் கையில் பூவைத்தந்து சூடிக்கொள்ளவா?
அடி ஆசை என்னும் ஊஞ்சல் கட்டி ஆடிக்கொள்ளவா?
சொல்லு சொல்லு திட்டமென்ன சொல்லுவது கஷ்டமா?
பொத்திப் பொத்தி வச்சதென்ன என்னென்னவோ இஷ்டமா?
கூவாமக்கூவுறியே குக்கூ குக்கூ பாட்டு
மாத்தாம மாத்திப்புட்ட சொக்குப்போடி போட்டு
யாரிடத்தில் உம்மனசு போச்சு
நூலப்போல உன்னுடம்பு ஆச்சு

ஊரை எல்லாம் சுத்தி வந்த ஒத்தக்கிளியே
இப்போ ஓரிடத்தில் நின்றதென்ன சொல்லு கிளியே
சொந்த பந்தம் யாருமின்றி வந்த கிளியே
ஒரு சொந்தம் இப்போ வந்ததென்ன வாசல் வழியே
வேரு விட்ட ஆலங்கன்னு வானந்தொடப் பாக்குது
வானந்தொடும் ஆசையில மெல்ல மெல்லப் பூக்குது
பூப்பூவாப் பூக்க வச்ச மாமனவன் யாரு
பாடுகிற பாட்டுலதான் நீயும் அதக்கூறு
யாரிடத்தில் உம்மனசு போச்சு
நூலப்போல உன்னுடம்பு ஆச்சு

Now, let me list the reasons why this makes to "repeat loop" for many years.

1. Appropriate melody for easy listening / repeat mode
It is a very sweet & easy to sing-along kind of themmAngu i.e. it is not too complicated to make the brain cells react too much, difficult to sing-along etc. as in a semi-classical song such as "iLanjOlai pooththadhA". Those toughies could practically drain my energy with more listens OTOH, it is not like a nursery rhyme (one such number made this female singer world famous BTW) that could sound childish and not excite me at all. That's why I call the melodic content "appropriate" for repeat - neither too strong not too weak - to keep the brain wanting to play it continuously.  

Perfect definition of "film / light-music-melody". For people from MSV-TKR-KVM era, who were used to such sweet light music melodies quite a lot (unnai onRu kEtpEn, yArukku mAppiLLai yArO, ninaikkaththerindha manamE etc.), this song should appeal straightaway (unless they block their minds with bias). Like I said, this song is no pushover either - listen to how both singers really work hard with that vibrato portion in the anu pallavi (போச்சு / ஆச்சு / வீச்சு / பேச்சு)!

2. IR's rhythm magic with #IR_Waltz / bass guitar / tablA & gata singAri
This is very important to me if I want to keep repeating a song. Interestingly, this is the weakest area of MSV-TKR-KVM songs which precludes them from getting played in repeat mode. (I have a huge collection on the HDD of such songs for my parents whenever they visit and we travel and I love every one of those songs, like some quoted above. However, I cannot play any of them more than once at a time as I don't get served "aRusuvai" but only inippu which gives me "thigattal" feel if played more than once).

I don't want to keep repeating whatever we've talked about in 100's of posts about IR's rhythm magic but want to single out just one thing in the saraNams w.r.t. gata singAri.

Notice how imaginative IR is when using this weapon - it gets played "dhoom-dhum" "dhoom-dhum" "dhoom-dhum" three times and the fourth time it shifts to "dhu-dhum-dhum" Proof that IR gets bored easily with repeat of same rhythm thingy. Also, this does not happen in the fourth series (i.e. the 16th time gata singAri does not play but only tablA does a twist and switches to a different pattern). This is just "ஒரு பானைச்சோற்றுக்கு ஒரு சோறு". This song is packed with such rhythm details that make it extraordinary!

3. Great soothing flute / santoor as lead and phenomenal strings in the interludes or saraNam accompaniments
I've showed in one of the posts sometime back how a portion of the second interlude of this song got ditto copied by Berny-Ignatius for the thEnmAvin kombaththu song 'karuththa peNNE'. Interestingly, during 90's I had that CD and used to play that song on repeat quite a lot (மறுபயன்பாட்டுக்கே அவ்வளவு மவுசு).  Just for quick ref. let me give a link to that portion here again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tEVK3bmWzE&t=105s

Now, while IR cannot be placed inside any envelope as to "he'll do this for this" kind of thingy but one should be ALWAYS prepared for surprises, on some specific things we can count on him to do the "same thing"

For example, if a song has references to Kannan, flute is a must. Likewise, whenever reference of river comes up, he brings in that soothing santoor sound (or an equivalent from keyboard). This song has "ஆத்தங்கர அந்தப்புரம் ஆக்கிக் கொள்ளவா?" and he had to have santoor go along with the setting / scene. And what a lovely way that plays thru out - as connector to the interlude or in the "call-response" mode in saraNams - thigattAdha sweetness that I want to keep enjoying non-stop!

And the second interlude should figure in all-time-great list without question! The flute magic as the pitch keeps going up and up and up - and then leaves the relay baton to strings to take over - WOW! I can keep repeating that forever!

4. Balanced emotional content
Like I mentioned in the case of "thenRal vandhu theeNdumpOthu" or "mudhal muRai pArththa gnAbagam", too strong songs nowadays cannot play on repeat for me. poonguyilE is a winner in that aspect, not too strong on emotions but not totally silly as in "pudikkala mAmu" or "vAdi en kappakkizhangE" kinds either. It's a sweet romantic number, with enjoyable emotions but not those that can drain one!  Though I was critical of the singers in my earlier posts, I should admit that they have not distorted this "requirement" of the song and kept it within the boundaries. So, pass mark there!

Those are some of the things that stand out, while getting a fantastic package of all minor elements that every great and successful hit song of IR boasts of!

I'm sure this will play on repeat even after many years...

App Kalakkitinga!  I have to really pay attention to this lovely no.  I have looped it at some point, but not as heavy as the others.  I have to take in the details from your posts and listen to it while reading this!  Nandri sir!  I wonder how many of us would get influenced by others posting here and then take one another's song on a long loop ride.  It will be interesting to compare notes in a few months and see what impact we have had from this thread!

The next song that has to be in this thread is currently running on repeat in the vaNdi (and this kind of repeating this is happening for the nth time, over the years)

இது ஒரு நிலாக்காலம்
இரவுகள் கனாக்காணும்
idhu oru nilAkkAlam

Movie : tik tik tik
Album & Movie released in: 1981
Singers : Janaki / T V Gopalakrishnan / chorus
Lyricist : Vairamuthu
Director : Bharathiraja

One can check-out the reasonably OK visuals on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXmoR-sZGIs


There is a sorry attempt to reproduce this song on stage, by none other than IR & his team for "enRenRum rAjA":

jaya tv concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqko1JYiREA

Here is someone who got into drumming lessons many years after IR left the commercial top spot but who has done ALMOST ALL of his top "how to play drums" youtubes with IR songs...check this out, especially the way he exactly plays the notes just prior to 'nadhir dhanA' in 1st interlude:

Sridhar's "how to play drums":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX8ug7aONG8

Top artists too love this number, as can be seen in this jamming session between a director, singer & guitarist:

Gautam / Karthik / Prasanna:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_cxMZM7sQw

This was also featured in a concert organized by Bhavatharini with IR's conductor Prabhakar conducting and someone has recorded and posted on youtube:

Prabhakar / Naveen / Bhavatharini (Nothing but wind):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opghWJ4iknI

Says 24 bit mastering but still not the quality I hear on my vaNdi with an MP3 CD bought roadside in India, but check this out:

Maha audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlNBYxUXI1k

My post on VM thread - one can go here for pAdal varigaL:
https://ilayaraja.forumms.net/t96p50-ilayaraja-vairamuthu-combo-checks-balances-last-entry-198-198#6715

Now, this song should not require any "reasons" for why it should be a compulsive repeat

However, as per the rules of the thread, I need to provide them. It will be a very long post - and I'll definitely do it tomorrow

Says 24 bit mastering but still not the quality I hear on my vaNdi with an MP3 CD bought roadside in India, but check this out:///

There was a release of Eera vizhi kaaviyangal , metti , aarathanai and few other movies from Universal music as a CD few years ago , which i had bought . This song was featured as a bonus song in one of the CDs and I had it ripped as a wav file from that, If you want to check out the quality in that version , I can send that song to you :-)

IONK song appreciation - part 1:

The minimum requirement for any song to be on repeat (that is, years after it got released), to me, is that it should not have ANY boring moment(s).

That means, most "situational" songs - that had sounds / moments that were made to fit into the milieu - are typically excluded from making into this club, however great they were when arrived. (For e.g. I cannot hear 'kaNmaNi anbOdu' song on repeat, because of all those film-specific needs, dialogs etc which are no longer repeat-worthy to me. Make no mistake, it's a great / evergreen song and can be heard from time to time - but I cannot play it on loop).

That way, both the songs that I've mentioned in this thread so far (adi poonguyilE & this one) fit the "not a single boring second" criteria, much like meeting the "not too strong emotions" criteria

So, IONK crosses those two basic requirements. Now what's more for me to justify a song heard 1000's of times once again to repeat?

Interestingly, on occasions when this song lists NEXT on the van audio screen, I thought of the many times people play it / recent irritation with BR or VM or Vijay TV or something like that & dump that on this song and think of skipping to the next one

However, the moment it starts playing - I can't stop it - and playing it one time and giving it an enjoyable, focused listen brings the OCD in me - to press the "repeat" button

So, right from the initial male-female chorus beginning, IR starts the fantastic ride! There's brilliance right there in making the male choir play one melody and female choir another. Both are singing what I call "counter-melodies" for at least 3 phrases but in the end, they "merge" (for the last lA-lA portion) and converge!

At this moment one is already sucked into the magic and would have started paying serious listen to the song, with a lot of attention! Great IR technique!  Then, suddenly, with a rapturous, deep, drum adi-dhadi knock down (டட்டாட்ட - டடட டம்) he shakes you up , makes you sit straight & listen further!

Well, the magic has just begun...

IONK song appreciation - Part 2 :

I've mentioned in one of the posts above that sweetness alone cannot make me repeat a song many times - that too, over the years. Well, this fantastic song is a complete "அறுசுவை விருந்து"

For now, let us focus on just one of those taste elements - the hot & spicy ingredient that this song can boast of - the superb drum work! Right from that டட்டாட்ட - டடட டம் beginning.

I'm not sure who  had worked with the composer for this incredible number - whether Noel whom IR had high regards for - or Puru who was trusted by IR for years - or some other drummer! No wonder the very talented Sridhar picked up this song as a "lesson" for his teaching videos on youtube (link in my first post of this song above).

One can simply focus on the various small details of the exquisite drum work in this song and keep repeating the song for days - and still won't get tired of it. Such spicy, hot work - that makes this song a very enjoyable treat.

Some of the elements / moments that I'll have to document as part of this appreciation are below:

- that grand beginning, டட்டாட்ட - டடட டம், of course tops!

- the way in which it "follows" the other lead instrument (or the humming) closely, almost in a melodic style, in the prelude and interludes ; check for example how the drum closely follows TVG when he does that nadhir dhanA nadhir dhanA...

- whenever there's a break in the singer's portion (the song has just too many of such, in a theatrical style), there's some work or other for the drummer!  Look at the pallavi, right after "idhu oru nilAkkAlam" - there's a break / pause after the singer's "call" & there's an instrumental response to her call. In that instrumental portion, there's some dramatic effect played by the drums - very spicy! There are any number of portions like this!

- The twists and turns the drums undergo thru out the song (compare that with "programmed loops" that monotonously play the same way for most portions of many popular western numbers or recent TFM numbers. This song has any number of variations thru out and calls for a phenomenal imagination from the composer and extraordinary talent from the artist in "executing"! One that has to be noticed is the way the drum work concludes by a "rolling" when the response gets played after idhu oru nilAkkAlam or iravugaL kanAkkANum. டுர்-ருடட்   என்று ஒரு உருட்டல்.  (There's a personal confession I need to make here - I didn't appreciate this part when the song came out Even complained why IR does not make drums sound like ABBA BoneyM. Nowadays, just the opposite - this is one of the top aspects that I appreciate in IR songs - this one, kaNNan vandhu pAdukinRAn and suchlike ones).

- Many of IR's earlier songs were characteristic of their superb deployment of the "dishes" at disposal for the drummer (I didn't know what are the different names such saucers are called by - for example one is called "high-hat" and I don't know about others). In their usage, this song is a class apart even among those earlier works of IR! As a sample, that delectable portion that plays in the background when TVG starts with his AhAram ஆஆஆ prior to நதிர்தனா - WOW! I'm really irritated that such an important detail got missed out by the drummer of Jaya TV concert Fortunately, the Sridhar lesson has this part included! One can look for many such sweet things happening thru out the song with "தொப்பி தட்டல்கள்"

-  IR himself must have been very happy about the drummer that he included (or allowed) a small portion of "thani Avarththanam" at the end of the second saraNam! That part is like extra miLakAi added to make kAram thookkal

Well, உரைப்பு / எரிவு / காரம் is just one of the many things that one's taste buds are treated with in this song.  

We'll pick another aspect in our next post!

IONK song appreciation - Part 3:

WARNING : 18+ stuff

Before continuing on more musical aspects, let me focus on the part that gives the song a tart / sour taste The pAdal varigaL of VM

Well, I have not elaborated much in that VM thread post - it didn't have a detailed dissection of the lines - was just content to post the lines themselves & make brief appreciative remarks, as I found fit at that point of time. Let me dwell a little bit more on them now!

It's no doubt that the phrase "இது ஒரு நிலாக்காலம்" has stayed strongly in the public memory, with similar things keep coming up in writing / conversations etc often. (There was even a BM movie "அது ஒரு கனாக்காலம்" - so much for the effect of this song on public psyche).

While the lines are quite impressive that way and also generally enhancing and not spoiling the pleasure of repeating the song (for a person like me), I'll have to assign the புளிப்பு (tart / sour) taste to this aspect, out of the Indian set of 6 tastes. Of course, that is an essential ingredient for a tasty meal but when taken alone, could make one's teeth sensitive and make him/her show faces

Such is the effect if one tries to focus on the pAdal varigaL here - i.e. keeping the music in the background while doing so (which many "lyrical types" tend to do & cause harm to themselves).

First of all, we'll have to keep our expectations aligned with that of the director - that he wanted to have a "sexy song" (for that time period, 1981. Well, the visuals almost caused riots / big columns on magazines writing about it etc). As such, the main theme was appreciation of female physical features / showcasing them / talking about their effect on other(s), even nature. That way, VM did a splendid / fantastic job without question. In that process, he had added (either knowingly or in the eyes of spoilt beholders like me who tend to pick double meaning) portions that are like tamarind

Right in the pallavi, there is 'பாரிஜாதம் ஈரமாகும்' - if one looks at this part innocently, as "pArijAdham flower getting moistened by dew on a moonlit night", it's a nice and simple poem on nature. However, seeing the context / other lines / singing style / visuals and putting all of these together...well, I'll leave it to the imagination of the reader to figure out what is 'பாரிஜாதம்' and what is "ஈரம்".  

Especially when combined with the previous line (ஆடை கூட பாரமாகும் - clothes are feeling too heavy on me).

Moving into the first saraNam, VM gets into more violent / wicked mood. On the surface, he simply punishes nature which is shocked by the beauty of the girls (பாவை கண்டாலே நிலவு நெளியாதோ, அழகைப்பார்த்தாலே அருவி நிமிராதோ - meaning, moon feels shy after seeing the beautiful girl / the stunned waterfall looks up instead of falling down, upon seeing the girl's beauty). Terrific poetry, without question - if you're a pure language freak. OTOH, if you try to fancy reading VM's mind, I find some mischief there Let me not elaborate it too much but encourage the reader to do google translate of the Thamizh word "நிமிர்" and identify what the "waterfalls" is metaphor for

Well, if you're more imaginative, you'll also detect more kuRumbu - in the fact that அருவி என்பது வெள்ளை நிறத்தில் கொட்டுவது.

BTW, all these interpretations are the result of listening to this song on repeat so many times I guess the above couple of samples are enough to identify how much "loaded with puLippu" this song is.

Without more dissection of remaining pAdal varigAl, let us put a check mark for that taste aspect...and move on to another suvai in the next post.

IONK song appreciation - Part 4:

Many non-IR mega hit songs (especially the ones that came in the new millennium) suffer from one major problem. That is, inconsistency in the level of interest in different parts of a song. Some of them start off brilliantly with a very catchy prelude / thogaiyaRA + pallavi and excellent anu pallavi too sometimes. However, by the time the first interlude starts, the momentum comes down greatly, becomes pedestrian (and the song practically dies in the saraNam - the quintessential example is snEgithanE snEgithanE of alai pAyudhE, which could have been a phenomenal ad jingle but became IMHO a sorry piece in the pallavi-interlude-saraNam format due to such inconsistency).

There's no question majority of IR hits maintain the interest thru out (many times interludes and saraNams even getting better than the pallavi).

And, this IONK song is much more than a simple "consistently keeping you awed" (which of course goes without saying). So, what's more? That's where we come to another sense of the taste buds - the "bitter taste" (கசப்பு - kasappu / kaippu)

"What, kasappu in IONK - are you mad - it's such a sweetie" could be the angry reaction of the lovers of this song. Well, hold on! It's not in a negative connotation but in a very positive way

As any taste specialist (or even better, doctor) can confirm, kasappu taste is perhaps the most healthy for our wholesomeness! Also, that base (or the set of ingredients that taste bitter) is necessary in helping us appreciate the food.  Can one imagine any Indian feast with nothing cooked in oil? (FYI, oil typically tastes bitter if someone tries to drink ) Also, what about such basic vegetables such as kaththirikkAy, suNdakkAy, pAvakkAy etc. that add a lot of taste (& health as another consequence) in our lives?

So, let us look at kasappu in a +ve way, for this discussion!

Now, the question is what can one brand as "kasappu" in this song? To get that, we got to define that taste as "not necessarily what hits your tongue" but "what ingredient had gone into it" - cause a wizard like IR can cook bitter gourd in such a way that even an infant chews it happily

While I'm not qualified as to identifying how IR had got the ICM part deployed in a mostly western jazzy song like this - in the lead melody aspect or singing aspect or rAgA etc, EVEN I can qualify that there is excellent ICM kasappu eNNey (or marundhu) by listening to the first interlude, because IR gave us something like 'vaththakkuzhambu' or 'suNdaikkAy vatRal' in that superb TVG portion!

Right from that 'AhAram' with which TVG starts, it's such a surprise and brilliance packed into this western styled song, yet completely integrated and not for a second feels like "thuruththifying" as an outsider! With his nadhir-dhanA part, bitter in basic ingredient, in the sense that strongly rooted in ICM,  but presented sweetly with fantastic instrumental accompaniments that play along, we are served some extraordinary dish there!

A personal confession here - when IR did a similar thing for 'andhi mazhai pozhigiRadhu' with TVG, I wasn't a big fan those days - simply because I haven't developed a taste for such. While not vocal about it in front of peers because of my fandom, I didn't personally enjoy it then. OTOH, it was instantly appealing to me in IONK song - right from the first listen! I used to even sing along, enjoying that portion (well, IR had since then used this weapon very effectively in some other songs too, the most famous one being 'ada machcham uLLa' of chinna veedu, that got featured even in the most recent Toronto concert).

Well, lot of others after IR had worked hard to "add" "insert" such elements so as to sustain interest in the whole song and sometimes succeed (ARR inserting some Malayalam folk lines in nenjinilE) but frequently fail, because of the thaNNeer-eNNey feel. OTOH, whenever and wherever IR deploys such kasappu marundhu, it not only enhances the taste but is also seamless and integrates into the song as basic ingredient!

app_engine wrote:jaya tv concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqko1JYiREA

Seriously gets pissed off when Raja's own orchestra (after presumably adequate prep at that) do these mediocre semi-amateur instrumentation on their own songs.  I pointed out the awful keyboard tones and use of crap electric guitar instead of acoustic in Kadhalin Deepam Ondru in the recent Connecticut concert. I accept it from the Bollywood greats because they don't/didn't know better anyway (yikes!  ).  But Raja revolutionised the way all these instruments were played in film music and brought it up to a world class standard at least to the extent he could within the constraints of his time.  How can they slack off like this when playing for a televised concert!

@thread:  I have done loop repeat of so many songs but esp Oru Poongavanam/Mandram Vandha/Seer Kondu Vaa come to mind.  Also Ithu Oru Nila.  It's almost impossible to select one song for this thread, man!  Will try to write in detail when I get the time, going out now.

Thena odum oda karaiyae.. IR version and Sujatha version. thani thaniyaga..
duet endru ondraga than kidaikiradhu.. idhu enaku
pidikavilai......

simple instrumentation......... Haunting compositiion.......... IR's touch..........

Sujatha version............ ivarin kural. oru appavithanam...... inimai.

instruments peyar ellam theriyadhu.. enaku therindhu.. Flute, Xylaphone, thalam............ synth aga irundhalum......
Ellam Ilaiyaraja......... avvalavudhan....

Flute........ enna oru Notes......... amanushayamum, inimaiyum nirambi vazhiyum.....

Raagamum dhan.Sudha Dhanyasi.. Lady Love... IR's composition is always Special ......

IR voice.

rendum orae interludes madhiiir thondrum. anal ilai..... IR' voice.. and the instrumentation. konjam serious moodai express seiyum....
slow beat......konjam sogam kalandha friendly Flute.......IRkaga konjam vidhyasamaga .... IRku adangi.. IRin ishtapadi... reflect
seiyavadhu pola enaku thondrum..........
keatu kondae irupen..... nirutha mudiyadhu.. podhum endru thondradhu....... ( en paiyan.. aiyo amma... ethanai time.. podhuma inniki..)

http://thiraitamilpaadal.com/index.php?action=album&id=3301&aname=Bharani

Nanna Jeeva Neenu from Shankar Nag's Kannada movie "Geetha" - the same movie which has a string of other hits including the ever-popular Jotheyali which the Kannadigas are crazy about, even this day.  This is the original tune on which the Tamil song "Devan thandha veenai" was based on. But somehow, Maestro manages to capture the nativity of the soil effortlessly and changes the emotions of the song albeit the same tune.  SPB & SJ pour in a torrent of emotions (nothing new for them!).  And Maestro brings in a haunting feeling and an undying soul (nothing new for him either!) no matter when you listen to it.  


I'm posting this song for 3 different topics because, to me, it is a "manadhai varudiya paadal", an "OCD" song and "Song for any moment"! 

oru pattam poochi from Sylvian.....

Excellent Audio.. videovil....... enjoy a lot......

The composition and the interludes............ enaku thonum ennam....

nijathil... pattampoochiyin asaivai parthavargaluku..  indha paatain amaipai unara mudiyum......

edho pattampoochi endra vaarthaikaga ipadi seiyavillai Raja.......

kadhal.. adhan unarvu... patampoochi siragadipadhai pola oru feelings endru Raja ninaithu... paatu muzhudhum indha Butterfly Movement pola
seidhu irupar..... muzhu paatukum.......


pattampoochiyin asaivu........  

1. pada pada endru irakaiyai adithu kondu parakum....

2. dhideer endru uyarathil... edhan melum ukkaramal. andharathil asaiyamal nikkum...

3. poovin mel asaiyamal utkarndhu irukum.. sila nimidam....

4. poovai vittu poovirku vegamaga poi utkarum.



indha ithanai asaivum.. indha paatil variku vari irukum...... Interludes.. idhilum theriyum.......

ipodhu indha paarvaiyil indha paatai parkavum....

starting humming KJY........ andharathil medhuvaga nagarum pattampoochi effect....(kadhal manadhirkum dhan.)

ipodhu pada pada endru parakum oru asaivai pola...aduthu aduthu varum varigal...

chorus... andharathil parakum pada pada endra styleil.......

ipodhu varum interludes......  poovirkum poovirkum suzhandu suzhandu parakam asaivu...

stanza...poovin mel nindru . piragu marubadiyum utkara varum style......

ipodhu varum interludes...
andharathil... asaiyamal nindru vittu nagarum style......

ipadi ovovoru variyum. interludes...  pattampoochiyin asaivai unarthum... apadi oru arumaiyana compositiion..


adhanal adikadi asaiyaga kaetkum paatu idhu.......



https://medium.com/sylvianism/projekt-ilaiyaraaja-season-iii-234-365-oru-pattampoochi-d1821b250e23


 

Muthumani chudare vaa from Anbulla Rajinikanth.  I could listen to this song in an infinite loop for days together and still cannot get bored.  This is also one of the bread-and-butter kind of songs for me.  Meena rendered her voice for this.  KJY's soothing vocals is business as usual.

The charanam is better than the pallavi and evokes tears every single time.  The song itself has the pace of a trotting fawn (especially the last part of charanam - Beautiful!).  The ONLY composer to take care of the entire song (rather than a catchy first 2 lines or "hit" pallavi).  Another reason why I adore IR more than anyone else.