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A call from ARR enthusiast JR around the time I see ARR's latest release Kangalal Kaidhu Sei (which apparently means "enslaved by your eyes" -- but note, ich kann Tamil nicht!). Providence, I say. I agree about the really interesting part about Anaarkalii lying in the opening percussive riff and jaa jaa re apane ma.ndiravaa (in Bhiimapalaas: thanks, Sujeet). The rest of it is laid back lounge (barring some nice brass). Why ARR why? At least, to be fair, it's not a rocking aural assault (see also: Tehzeeb). I hear English on azhagiya cindrella, and I think Shankar, yuck and wait till the song gets over. Once again, the soundscape conquers (and I still think of Jeans and perhaps even Boys). Nice sax though. Not too involved. And I wonder if it is indeed the sax -- there's something strange about the sound. A waste of Hariharan. The little percussive pepper and some nice delicious bass turnarounds ... damn it! soundscape again ... are the things I take away from Ennuyir Thozhiyea. Unfortunately, the male scatting that opens theekuruvil didn't endear. Of The lilt continues in the rest of the song, but there's the ARR soundscape rearing its ugly head. But the scatting and the fast electronic runs probably ensure this song's place in Rahman history (although the Malayalam supertalk in jiyaa jale takes qualitative and temporal precedence). Aaha Thamizhamma has the appealing catchy floor hook rhythm and soundscape and features Mathangi (heard on Tehzeeb) and the despicable Blaaze, who provides a dyslexic interpretation of linguistic syllables and domesticated noises). {Rahmanonline page}

Chameli has Sandesh Sandesh Shandilya contribution to Anant Balani's unfinished flick now helmed by Sudhir Mishra. Sunidhi Chauhan's bhaage re man has a suspiciously Hollywoodian opening followed by a ARR-esque tune that reeks even more of a lift. Could be my imagination. Nice interplay of flutes in the first interlude. Sunidhi strikes her second vocal avataar in sajaNaa ve sajaNaa -- the Northy hook means I wait till the end of the song. jaane (where Udit joins Sunidhi) has a lot of sax, motown-esque moments and more of the "have I heard this elsewhere" vibe, in addition to being a pleasant listen. Sunidhi's back alone (in case you haven't already figured out, this is an all-Sunidhi album) with ye la.mbaa. Some nice female vocal overlays and the infectious urgency seen also in Jhankaar Beats. bhiigii hu_ii ko_ii shaam echoes a lot of something already heard but there's the sax and some electric guitar punctuating another gentle song, where Javed Ali joins Sunidhi. SajaNaa ve sajaNaa reappears (remix?). And we're back to Sunidhi with jaane kyo.n (which is essentially bhiigii hu_ii). Wonder if Raaga.com screwed up. And I hope the film doesn't dig this piece in to death. There's that nice Motown hook last heard on an old MJ record. And more sax. Rounding up the list is soul of chameli, performed on sax by Tala (who?).

Police Force: Anand Milind are back (were they ever gone? even briefly?). Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik do the tired street dhin-chak with raftaa raftaa. Abhijeet replaces Sonu in dil churaayaa, which sports the emerging-voice sample made famous in Gupt. And then we have pitchbend keyboard on a tinny rhythm track -- Govinda-esque sangeet (if you can even call it that!). This is essentially aa aa ii revisited. The vibe continues with Shreya Ghoshal doing aahii re maa_ii complete with aahs, invocations of the saiyaa.N, kalaa_ii, rajaa_ii, and u.ngalii, but redeemed with some funk feedback and phased guitar. Another Govinda-staple beat reappears on chehare me.n. So New Knee Gum joins Sadhana Sargam. The dhin-chak rears up in full blast with Vinod Rathod and Poornima's nainaa ku.Nwaarii, complete with quoting bholii suurat dil ke khoTe. Guess these guys thought they had a good thing going, because there's a short reprise almost immediately (referencing the "parrot of the heart"). Richa Sharma rounds things off with chuu.Diyaa.N. The song starts off with some strange male scatting overlaying a standard electro-slap rhythm. Would it be rocket science to figure out that Sameer was responsible for the elements that pass off as lyrics in these offerings?


If someone from Raaga.com is reading: Those ads for Sulekha Classifieds you sneak into my playlist are not amusing -- getting some southie expats doing Englishie ads is quite amusing, BUT NOT WHEN I'M LISTENING TO MUSIC. I understand the economic reasons, but could you at least warn us or something.