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Why Ilayaraja's Music Does Not Appeal to the Younger Generation

Topic started by Gowri (@ 161.142.100.86) on Tue Mar 19 01:02:59 EST 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I have always wondered this.
If age factor is the issue, how is it that Deva who should be the in the same age group, is able to command quite a following?
Please do not insult the yonger generation by refering to deteriorating music taste.

Although there are some youngsters who prefer Ilayaraja, the number is very small.
Most youngsters prefer ARR, Deva, HJ, SAR, Vidhyasagar, etc.

Generally Ilayaraja's genre of music do not seem to hold the younger crowd. Why do you think this is?

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Responses:

• From: Gowri (@ 61.6.38.132) on: Tue Mar 19 01:05:13 EST 2002
  
  It is not that he has not tried to captivate the younger generation. Ilayaraja has indeed bent backwards with techno music and using current favourites such as Hariharan.
  In spite of these, his appeal to the youngsters is not as great as one supposes it should be.
  
  
• From: ARR FAN (@ 202.156.2.131) on: Tue Mar 19 01:13:48 EST 2002
  
  how do u accept us to appreciate the trash he comes up with these days? as a kid i loved his songs..and then i found out that the songs i loved were actually those he worked on together with MSV and ARR
  
  
• From: ARR FAN (@ 202.156.2.131) on: Tue Mar 19 01:14:07 EST 2002
  
  how do u accept us to appreciate the trash he comes up with these days? as a kid i loved his songs..and then i found out that the songs i loved were actually those he worked on together with MSV and ARR
  
  
• From: ARR FAN (@ 202.156.2.131) on: Tue Mar 19 01:14:46 EST 2002
  
  "how do u accept us"
  sorry..it shud be 'expect us'
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Tue Mar 19 01:30:17 EST 2002
  
  What age group do u define to be falling under the 'youngsters' category, Gowri?
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Tue Mar 19 01:36:00 EST 2002
  
  What I mean is, up to what age wud be still considered as young?
  
  
• From: Gowri (@ 61.6.38.132) on: Tue Mar 19 01:42:49 EST 2002
  
  ARR Fan
  Please avoid words such as Trash, which is bound to cause unnecessary friction.
  Let us try to be as objective as possible.
  
  WhyNot
  I won't describe those who feel young as youngsters. :)
  What I meant are the young people of say pre-teens, teens, and 20s.
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Tue Mar 19 01:50:47 EST 2002
  
  Which part of 20s Gowri? If u cud be more precise. Jus tat from wat i've observed, alot of people from 25 upwards seem to be more of IR Fans and those below 25 tend to be more of ARR Fans. Of course it all depends on the individual as well, but this is my observation.
  Jus out of curiousity (ur entitled not to answer me), are u in the youngsters category as well?
  :-)
  
  
• From: cosmician (@ 194.170.127.161) on: Tue Mar 19 02:37:44 EST 2002
  
  Gowri...
  
  The list of MDs you have given as what youngsters listen to..apart from ARR...I consider all the others as clones and copy-cats....okay let's be objective...it is not that IR does not appeal to youngsters..it is that he has not had a chance to do many youth-movies...if you see big-budget Directors of the industry have hitched onto the ARR bandwagon....similar to what happened to MSV when IR arrived on the scene.
  
  IR introduced many western orchestra instruments and patterns and structures modernising our TFM at that time...ARR is only repeating that now....
  But still there is always a place for MSV and IR for all true music lovers irrespective of their age bcos good music always lives forever.
  
  
• From: cosmician (@ 194.170.127.161) on: Tue Mar 19 02:44:23 EST 2002
  
  And the sad truth is, as you claim that youngsters prefer the other clones & copycats etc...then definitely their tastes have gone down. Is it bcos more the quantity, less the quality ?
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Tue Mar 19 02:59:13 EST 2002
  
  cosmician, I agree wit u tat the reason is probably the nature of the movies being undertaken by IR.
  I wudnt go as far as dismissing all other MDs in Gowri's category. ARR & HJ for instance belong to the younger generation and hence it is natural for their music to be appreciated by their own peers.
  With respect to Deva belonging to IR's generation, u jus need to compare the movies he MDs for wit the movies IR MDs for, in order to understand the difference.
  Also I didnt know tat Deva had a predominantly younger generation following.
  
  
• From: cosmician (@ 194.170.127.161) on: Tue Mar 19 03:17:39 EST 2002
  
  WhyNot
  
  My exclusion of HJ is bcos...he is ..ok..a 'quality' clone of ARR but not so balanced or deep as ARR...HJ is just going left, right, center with Tamizh kollai. I wouldnt include him yet on my list of 'must-listen' MDs...but i have to admit...I have bought all his albums upto date except Samurai (I like the Nithyashree number..her voice gives the song some magic) only because I can listen to Tamil Electronic music...
  
  Deva is only used a Music Factory for mass production of films by producers and directors who target their films at the highly populated/paying semi-urban / rural market.
  
  
• From: eden (@ 210.214.5.220) on: Tue Mar 19 03:52:46 EST 2002
  
  My observation:
  
  Youngsters generally grab what comes `branded'(& publicised / promoted / widely available) and they are the lot which is max influenced by peers...IR songs, are not that many of late, and most do not have brand promotion at all IMHO (often albums are not even available on cassette shops). This is one main reason for the lack of popularity among youth....still I read in AV that on one youth festival / competition, every troop played `ennai thAlAtta varuvALO'...
  
  ...When they are exposed to IR's kind of music (i.e. get chance to listen because their parents play IR music most of the time on car etc.), they definitely find it appealing...& keeps singing too...(My son is an example)...in programs like `sapthaswarangaL', I see most `young' people singing IR songs (though it's a select class of youth and may be a negligible percentage, still it's some reflection of the music's appeal)
  
  I won't blame it on either of them (i.e. youth or IR)...it's just a reflection of the market popularity & availability:-)
  
  
• From: Sambavam (@ 172.181.180.5) on: Tue Mar 19 04:02:05 EST 2002
  
  I actually must say that I am 17 years old and am an immense fan of IR still to this day.Sure he has faltered a little in recent times, but after being in the industry for so long, one cannot expect him to be number 1 forever. I don't find ARR's music as appealing as I ever have IR's but ARR has done a good job until recently.I don't consider HJ a valid participant in this thread because he isn't even a glimmer on IR. The only new upcoming MD that I have any regard for is YSR and that is solely for the fact that he doesn't reecycle any songs and he produces quality music that shows the effort he puts into them.
  I think IR will always be a great legend but maybe it is about time that he left the TFM industry whilst still a leading MD.People are beginning to forget the true gems that he composed and are degrading his music by comparing him to second rate MD's and sound technicians who don't have even a shadow of talent compared to the great IR. It would be rather sad to see IR get bashed till the day he leaves TFM.
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.132) on: Tue Mar 19 05:59:16 EST 2002
  
  cosmician, point taken. :-)
  
  
• From: pov (@ 61.1.163.94) on: Tue Mar 19 07:09:35 EST 2002
  
  why u r thinking that younger generation is not interested in ilayaraja's music ? they r still large no of people irrespective of age...infact he is the only one who brought a tremendous revolution especially in telugu film music. every tune from him is incredible..the melody of his tunes which sets according to situation,his expts in rhythm section,beautiful arrangement of chords,typical bass following,novel instrumentation,what not,everything in his music is incredible.pls dont compare the 2nd generation MD'S with such a eminent scholar of music..iam not saying that other MD'S are not good or great,they also having their own style but not as that of IR. one thing i should remember to u is ,if anyone asks me , " select the hits of ilayaraja" u know what i do,, i will simply write all the songs that he worked for all the films....there is no song of him that is not hit....
  
  
• From: ROTFL (@ 210.186.60.88) on: Tue Mar 19 07:45:06 EST 2002
  
  Hm. A thread worthy of discussion, in these days of mud slinging and vulgarity spilling.
  
  If I were to really speak my mind, a lot of HCIRFs are going to get agitated, so I will reserve my comments. :)
  
  Deva indeed does enjoy a good following, at least among the music "illiterates."
  Just look at the concerts he does and see the kind of ovulation he gets. He has the mood of youth in his hands. Kathal Kottai, Nerukku Ner, Chocolate all stand testimony.
  
  No exposure to IR is a lame excuse. After all there is no shortage of movies by IR even these days. It's just that his music sounds tired to the youth - something like a thing from the past. :)
  
  I know of babies as young as two, who dance to ARR's songs and teenagers "complaining" of adults playing old songs, when they play IR's. :)
  
  I see a certain amount of logic in Sambavam's posting. Unfortunately greats seldom retire easily. :)
  
  
• From: twilight_zone (@ 202.88.152.159) on: Tue Mar 19 09:10:30 EST 2002
  
  eden, so true about the "sapthaswarangal" example. So many young people sing more of IR's songs (especially in the third round, which is based on carnatic ragas) when compared to Deva, ARR. This is b'cos ARR's/Deva forte is definetly not "carnatic", though both have given quite a few carnatic goodies. And by a direct correlation, since the proportion of youth with "carnatic" basics/love for carnatic (or folk, WCM) is not really high, and since the proportion of MTV genre is higher, u naturally find higher proportion lining up behind ARR.
  
  
• From: ROTFL (@ 210.186.61.113) on: Tue Mar 19 09:29:28 EST 2002
  
  Reasonable explanation Vels.
  But are you saying that one needs carnatic background to enjoy IR's music? :)
  
  
• From: Ganesh (@ 170.140.253.63) on: Tue Mar 19 10:11:29 EST 2002
  
  ROTFL,
  "Just look at the concerts he does and see the kind of ovulation he gets. "
  
  Konjam vittA, Deva kku Prasavam, PMS ellAm pAthiduveenga pOla irukku?
  ;)
  
  
• From: magix (@ 203.199.231.168) on: Tue Mar 19 10:46:22 EST 2002
  
  s, every1 is correcting u...
  I am ROTFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)))))))))))))
  that 1 was deadly!
  
  
• From: suresh (@ 202.88.155.34) on: Tue Mar 19 12:04:50 EST 2002
  
  Gowri
  As is your wont, one more thread rooted in your impulsive disdain for IR (and logic)!
  
  Ok, let's get down to a simple deduction - the typical 'youth' audience is clued into the younger lot of heroes - Vijay, Ajith, Vikram, Prashanth, Madhavan, Shaam, etc. - than the Satyaraj's and Parthipan's of the world, right?
  
  Now, how many movies has IR done with them? In the last few years, he has done - "Kaathalukku Mariyadhai" and "Friends" with Vijay, "Sethu" and "Kaasi" with Vikram, "Kaathal Kavithai" with Prashanth. Of these, you can only categorise KM, Friends and KK as dealing with youth-oriented (urban) themes. 2 of these 3 were superhits, you know them. The movies for Vikram were heavy sentimental stuff that the urban youth would gladly forsake for a 'Chocklet'; despite being a superhit and a hit, let's discount them as they don't address the core audience you're speaking of.
  
  Isn't it simple logic that IR, by choice or compulsion, has worked with mature/aging actors or heavy/mature themes, and hence is not addressing this niche 'urban youth' segment? There are documented instances to show he's consciously turned down films with 'youth subjects' in favour of YSR or someone.
  
  All your talk of 'bending backwards with techno music' and 'most youngsters prefer ARR, Deva, HJ, SAR, Vidhyasagar, etc.'(what about YSR, surely he deserves a place in there when SAR can be there, can't he? oh, no, he belongs to 'THE' family, so he loses out on your own 'quota' system) are flights of fancy that are merely guided by your fan(atic) impulsions, playing to your 'cohorts' gallery...
  
  
• From: (@ 165.122.128.173) on: Tue Mar 19 13:03:07 EST 2002
  
  ayya suresh avargaLae,
  shabAsh. however, i fear sensible posts like urs (add to it ur understanding about the dfer:)) will not be looked at as being sensible:-)
  
  

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