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Is TFM in a vicious cycle of degeneration?

Topic started by rajaG (@ 208.24.179.211) on Tue Sep 26 15:43:14 EDT 2000.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I have checked the archives and for some reason a topic with a similar heading is gone!
So here's is some food for thought.

1. Actors like Ajith, Vijay, etc commanding MDs to copy from "English CDs" and set them to Indian lyrics.
2. MDs like Deva, Sirpi copying left, right and center, in situations excluding item 1 above.
3. Bad pronunciation of singers.
4. MDs like SAR repeating the same tune over and over and over......you get the point (and many times in the same film)
5. ARR not putting any effort in re-recording at all- merely playing the songs in the movie with slower/faster versions.
6. ARR, Srikanth (Deva's son), etc blatantly indulging in lip-synch activities. Other lesser known artists, engaged in karaoke singing. While this does not directly affect TFM it speaks for the lack of confidence in the talents of the artists.
7. Many occurences of really stupid lyrics - though most of them may be blamed on the director/producers adamant insistence or same boring situations.
8. Absence of thespians who could inspire Kannadasan, TMS, SPB, PS etc to give their best.

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Sam (@ 208.134.115.240) on: Fri Feb 21 14:23:15 EST 2003
  
  if u borrow the trained bwood singers to sing in tfm u can stop the degeneration. datz why many peepil r opting for bwood singers over da rats and zombies of tfm
  
  
• From: Balu (@ 128.107.253.38) on: Fri Feb 21 18:56:43 EST 2003
  
  Udhaya,Neenga sonnadhu marukka mudiyaadha unmai.
  A fair and realistic view.
  
  The contemporary MDs may not be giving us an Album with all songs in it memorable(so did MSV, IR with few exceptions) but there have been enough good songs for us to enjoy music.
  
  The Songs which Udhaya mentioned are in now way second to the ones that IR gave us in 80s or what MSV gave us in 70s.
  
  A song to be termed Good or Bad may be is subjective but one cannot deny that there have been certain songs which nobody can conflict about.
  
  One cannot forget songs like PaniKatre, OreManam, PooPoovai, KaadhalGantham(to name a few) even after just one hearing.
  
  
  
• From: Sharma (@ 61.6.38.132) on: Fri Feb 21 22:18:55 EST 2003
  
  Uthaya, I will go one step further and blame IR for the degeneration of music in TFM.
  
  Firstly, he placed utmost importance on music thus pushing lyrics to a secondary and mostly fill-in-the-gap position.
  
  Secondly, TFM saw the worse in terms of lewdness and crudeness during the time he was in peak.
  I am not saying that TFM has been angelic before and after IR, but it was during his reign that we saw songs like Nilaa kaayuthu, Nethu raathiriyamma, Nilaavathaan kaiyile pudichen, Raathiriyil poothirukkum, Orampo, Oru manja kuruvi, etc, taking TFM to new depths.
  
  Contrary to popular opinion here, TFM has actually improved post-1990s although it has not seen the richness of 50s and 60s.
  
  
• From: kiru (@ 192.138.150.249) on: Fri Feb 21 22:55:49 EST 2003
  
  I am busy collecting LPs from the 80s, 70s and earlier. It must be the music or it must be nostalgia. Oh well..I rather indulge in it :) It seems like fun !!
  (peeps, I used to like andhi mazhai pozhigirathu ..but not anymore. It seems too peppy for my present state of mind..by the time I switch on the stereo late in the evening..I would like some soothing melodies)
  
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.87.28.203) on: Sat Feb 22 12:10:36 EST 2003
  
  Rameshb -
  A fine and astute post. How refreshing to hear someone say it like it is!
  
  
• From: sabesan (@ 67.33.121.235) on: Sat Feb 22 13:17:19 EST 2003
  
  Sharma - for each song u gave there are equivalent examples in 60's or 70's.... in fact, there will be equivalent's to all the one's u gave in ALL the time period..... its up to u to take it or leave it..... for example a recent hit was "Vaadi Vaadi naatukatttaaai" song..... who is to blame ? i would blame the people who encourage these kind of songs..... as long as there are "customer's", there will be someone to sell their stuff....
  
  
• From: mythila (@ 137.237.13.20) on: Sat Feb 22 16:54:08 EST 2003
  
  I agree with Udayaa,Sharma in the quality of lyrics . IR's period is the best in terms of music and worst in terms of lyrics.Post 95, the lyrics are really good, fresh.
  Some of the songs of today Udayaa listed are good IMO. But Iam not ready to give superlatives like groundbreaking etc.
  Udayaa, I agree with melliname. It is a good melody.All songs of PoovellamKettupaar are really good.Chudidaar anindu is my fav.
  Frankly, I was disappointed with KV after all the hype it created in MTV/V Channel etc. The only number I like is 'sonnaalum' . The other good SPB song 'Endan Vaanil kaadal' is just a copy of a Hindi song.I didn't expect ARR to copy a song like this.Looks like ARR sets his sight elsewhere.
  I need repeated hearing of all the other 2003 numbers you have mentioned as I don't want to comment on them with just one or 2 hearings.
  ANRA (Ae nee romba) has some good numbers
  Tastes differ.
  I have heard 'mottukale mottukale' from Rojakootam and it is just mediocre music similar to any SAR number IMO.
  When we start discussing on a song to song basis, it gets personal. I still consider
  pootaadapootugal songs sung by SJ
  'Anandam anandam nee thandadu' and
  'Vanna vanna pooncholaiyil ' as great songs.
  
  When I was in school, my brother criticized me for dancing for these folk songs . They were dabba songs in his opinion.
  1. Chithirachevaanam sirikka kanden(Jayachandran chorus from some film I don't remember)
  2. Amman koil kizhakalle (sung by IR chorus film Sakalakalavallavan)
  3. Kothamallipuve -sung by SJ in Kallukul eram
  4. Sevanthipoo mudicha (16 vayadinile)
  Last year, he was pleased with his children to dance to folk songs from today
  1. Katta katta naatu katta(film Gemini)
  2. Sarakku vachirukken(film Shahjahan)
  3. vaadi vaadi naatukatta
  Now , there may be some good folk tunes recently. Probably my brother didn't furrow deep!!! I was lucky to have got all lovely numbers of 70's and 80's on a platter from Ceylon radio.
  
  
• From: Udhaya (@ 66.81.140.27) on: Sat Feb 22 20:25:41 EST 2003
  
  mythila,
  Of course tastes differ, but a general assessment about a song's melodic worth is possible if enough genuine music fans agree. Do listen to the songs I mentioned, I'm curious to hear your opinions. I think you have a discerning taste with strong leanings towards songs with deep Carnatic influence. And your brother sounds very picky if he considers "Chithirachevvaanam" as a dabba song.
  
  As for good folk songs in recent times: check out "Manja kaattu maina ennai konji konji poana", a superb folk tune by YSR with rock'n roll style inflections (oh yeah, oh oh yeah) by up and coming singer, Karthik. "Azhagaana Sooriyan" from the same movie is also an enchanting song.
  
  For the very latest in folk or dabbaanguthu songs: all thoatta boopathy and indaadi kappakizhangae" rule.
  
  I'll give a list of worthy songs of the past several months soon.
  
  
• From: kiru (@ 192.138.150.249) on: Sat Feb 22 20:33:36 EST 2003
  
  I listenend to Udhaya's suggestions late in the evening while finishing up work and shutting my laptop down. I thought they were good. Not bad at all. I would go him and open that 12b CD which was mistakenly shipped to me by a indian music webstore, few months back. Reached home, Sun TV, was playing, keeravaani..iravilE, pagalilE padava nee..idhayam urugudhE..SPB singing some swaras and with his own humming providing harmony for a fantastical India classical prelude to a song..then they played some songs from moonraam piRai. Thats it.. that 12B CD is still lying unopened for months.
  
  Not that I think the current crop of MDs are bad. They are good, Even impressive at times considering their age and breadth of knowledge, but something seems to be missing, maybe the nuances in the tune, the subtle rhythm probably or maybe even the pronounciation (which as not something we worried about earlier).
  samsaaram enbadhu veenai ..from vijayabhaskar..Endi muththamma Edhu punnagai from chandrabose (??) , tunes from T Rajender like vaigai kaaRRE nillu and some one-off MDs like manoy-gyan for oomai vizhigal are still memorable and fresh.
  
  Lyrics surely was a mixed bag in IRs times, if only he concentrated on the lyrics more a much larger percentage of his songs would have been a hit. Some songs made for the kaadhal ilavarasan were really bad, ofcourse, songs for silk smitha, jayamalini, who were standard fare in any movie those days, were something, you would never listen at home. IR was criticised those days for these songs and the dappaanguthus (unjustifiably so IMHO, in this case) and he worked hard on improving his skills in the indian classical side to undo this image.
  
  Still there were songs with good lyrics and while we were young, we enjoyed the IR-VM combination. And some even now.
  
  (mythila, you missed a chance to beat up your brother when you were young for calling those songs 'dabba'. He is a little grown up now, I guess for that :) chithira sevvaanam is a very good song. That movie (kaaRRinilE varum geetham)has another mind-blowing tune, oru vaanavil pOlE )
  
  
• From: vijay (@ 68.85.0.157) on: Sat Feb 22 23:21:11 EST 2003
  
  Of the recent songs I liked "engirundhu vandhaayada" from Five star (minus the interludes which has some hindi dialogues and sounds different probably because of the situation in the film). A very good tune and impressive tabla work. The young MDs of today seem to excel in catchy tunes but when it comes to strong tunes, songs like the above are few and far in between.
  Most of the melodies seem painfully derived and seldom make a strong impact.
  
  I guess they are just trying to satisfy the audience who mostly constitute youngsters. (Explains why Shankar and others are making films along the lines of "Thulluvadho Ilamai" and why "Oh Podu" was the biggest hit last year). Harris Jayaraj showed some promise with Vaseegara, but hasnt been surprising enough since then. ARR seems to be reviving some of his previously shelved albums and so this year we could expect a few surprises from him( although I was disappointed with his "Udhaya" album).
  
  Absence of strong tunes, lack of the nostalgia factor(atleast for some of us), proliferation of MDs with borderline talent(Dhina, Bharani, Imaan, Sirpy, SAR etc.), intrusion of unnecessary english words everywhere and even in serious songs like "Snehidhane", sucky pronunciation by the ever growing list of Bollywood-imported singers, increased levels of lifting (Deva, Sirpy, Bharani etc. are all culprits)etc. all contribute towards some of us not liking the present scenario as much.
  
  
• From: s0 (@ 63.246.174.232) on: Sun Feb 23 16:40:07 EST 2003
  
  I guess we are all just growing old :-), constantly making statements that start with "Andha Kaalathila...". Udhaya somehow has managed to stay young :-)
  The experience that makes a song last in your heart for years does not involve just the merits of the song. It also involves the mutual admiration & interaction that we go through along with other listeners. Andha kaalathila, we, as part of the direct audience physically present in the thick of the action, were able to react and identify songs that we ultimately carried them for the rest of our lives. I assume most of us are away in various parts of the world and are physically & emotionally out of touch with the factors that influence the success of a song. In a way that is good, because we are spared the hype and enjoy a song because we think it is good. But, that way we might have missed out on songs that we would have liked otherwise.
  Usually, a highly competitive market with no clear leader or a monopoly, is good for the consumers. But, I feel monopolies have done much better in TFM than the present scenario.
  
  vijay: thanks to your frequent mention of "engirundhu vandhaayada", I've listened to it many times and I like it a lot.
  
  

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