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The INVISIBLE and The UNHEARD - What role can Listeners play in re-establishing QUALITY in TFM?

Topic started by Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on Thu Mar 28 10:41:25 EST 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Vanakkam/Namaskar !
This is the first time I am initiating a discussion. In the last year that I have visited this site I have heard many views on the current state of Tamizh and Tamizh Film Music. Moving out of the ARR-IR tugs and pulls, it would be good to hear your comments on the FUTURE of Tamizh/Film Music:
Points to consider:
1. Globalism is a Reality: How has this affected the packaging of TFM?
2. Is blatant imitation of "Western" trends in TF Music a sign of Progress/Evolution?
3. There is a strong sense of discontent among tamizh film music listeners (what I have gleaned from posters here - no definitive survey :-)) with regards to the way Tamizh has been corrupted in the name of "fashion" or "novelty" - Is this trend reversible? Or is this the way of the Future?
4. Masses and Music: The old Chicken and Egg argument: Masses influence the Music/ Music influences the Masses - What is the role of the Tamizh Audience in this? Are criticism and discrenment powerless vis-a-vis the Marketing Machinery?
5. The slow decline in meaning and music - singing/lyrics/refinement - can these be fixed? Or is this undeserving of serious thought/input?
6. How (and where) do you see Tamizh Film Music - five years down the road?

These are some genuine concerns. Please, let us do our best, to make this an engaging discussion. I look foward (no personal blame-games please) your insights and ideas. Do add to the above list of concerns if you find them to be incomplete...

Best to All!

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Anand (@ 216.87.103.221) on: Sat Mar 30 09:15:30 EST 2002
  
  naaz, excellent topic...something sorely needed considering the general run of discussions infesting newtfmpage nowadays.
  
  my $0.02 :
  
  i may be slammed for assuming an elitist position, but i am of the strong opinion that however refined or aesthetically brilliant a piece of music be, it is only an infinitesimal fraction of the masses in any country who are able to truly appreciate its sublimity. as for knowledge of various musical forms, there has been little or no growth in the appreciation of different genres despite the internet. as a result, the masses have a pitifully distorted concept of western music and they welcome these "cool" sounding music dished out by these mushrooming musical illiterates in the firm conviction that they are listening to "western" music.
  
  unfortunately though, it is these boors who drive the market by sheer force of number. this has in recent years given rise to the cropping up of half-baked, tone-deaf "composers" who serve up putrid creations that make one wish one were deaf so that they may be spared the agony of listening to such rot.
  
  i am sorry to say that i only see the situation worsening in the future. youngsters in tn are intoxicated by the western lifestyle and seek to imitate it as they perceive it even while at home. this sentiment has been given a big fillip by today's lyricists who give songs a "cool" twist by adding pointless english words and phrases to the already atrocious lyrics. there is no solution to this problem. add to this the total lack of musical sensibilities and refinement and we get a situation where a popular song's life cycle begins and ends within a week, only to be replaced by an equally insipid and cacophonous song. this whole state of affairs is actively abetted by the "hip" youngsters in whose opinion such musical tastes are essential for one to be "cool".
  
  god save the land....
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Mar 30 09:44:50 EST 2002
  
  I want to address Kiru's concerns regarding Culture and Commercialism - and the subsequent erosion of "indian" or "tamizh" values.
  The issue of "morality" is fraught with a million subjectivities - and more often than not - leads to a "prescriptive" or "policing" solution. That way danger lies.
  Raising children with a sense of pride and knowledge of one's culture is essentially the responsibility of parents. Parents are the compass in the confusing (and often "couldn't care less") georgraphy of childhood/adolescence. I know "tamizh" families who have immigrated to the US a decade ago with their children. I am sometimes in awe of their commitment to "tamizh" culture, so far away from their motherland. The children read and write "tamizh," present dance-dramas from the epics, conduct school presentations on Tamizh Culture and the 3 major arts (iyal, isai, nadagam) for their class...Encouraged and Spurred with enthusiasm, at every moment in this cultural exploration, by the parents.
  
  If "tamizh" families outside of India can inculcate such admiration for tamizh in their children, what prevents the same from happening in TN? With a solid foundation, rooted in the pride of one's culture, any other exploration outside is welcome. There are no threats to the erosion. Children who grow up thus, know and value their heritage. Tamizh then is an every-growing (with interest) fixed deposit.
  Not everything associated with the "West" is bad either. What is crucial, however, is the ability to recognise value and purpose in things, no matter which culture they originate from. Once there is an unshakeable and resolute belief in the merits of "tamizh," a bedrock commitment and appreciation from childhood, there is also a point of comparison for the child.
  Children raised in this manner (not pressured, but gently guided to see the richness of their own heritage) will grow up to be discerning individuals. However, without this emphasis in their formative and growing years, all will come to naught. It is at this juncture that a scapegoat hunt begins. Some "other" influence to blame. Ease the guilt of neglect and lack of focus in the early years.
  How can one expect youngsters to be able to discriminate (between value and crap) when they don't have the intuitive tools, carved from their early years, by the guidance of their parents?
  Parents instill values in the their children. If they accomplish this, their children will not be part of the herd, they will be in a class all their own. And there will be no place, room, or need for the blame squad.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Mar 30 12:18:36 EST 2002
  
  typo again: "ever-growing fixed deposit" it should read...maaf kijiye!
  
  
• From: s0 (@ 128.119.85.50) on: Sat Mar 30 17:45:09 EST 2002
  
  let me give a counter example. many chinese kids in the US have a Sunday school where they learn the language, culture, go around with other chinese people in the community etc.. they hate it. it is as if they were forced to do it in childhood and couldn't wait to grow out of it.
  
  interestingly, contemporary chinese music is predominantly pop/western. you cannot make out the difference between an english and a chinese song unless you listen to the lyrics carefully. classical chinese music which I think is of the style of the opera doesn't have as much following. I guess that would have been the fate of tamil/Indian music too if it had not been for our films and TFM. thanks to TFM!!
  
  
• From: yinyang (@ 172.182.101.252) on: Sat Mar 30 18:46:53 EST 2002
  
  fantabulous thread.
  sadly thats all it is going to be.
  there is a phase in history when honeymoon ends and the rest of the time is spent yearning for the days of honeymoon.
  a cycle that repeats generation after generation.
  nobody knows what is in store for our kids in future, while we hope that it is as good as ours was.
  it is a lifetime, guys, they will have their fill too. take heart and enjoy watching the world around you as things evolve for the good or for the worse.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Mar 30 21:07:13 EST 2002
  
  s0 - As they say: Be careful what you wish for...it may just come true!! (with special reference to the last line in your post above :-))
  
  
• From: s0 (@ 128.119.85.50) on: Sat Mar 30 21:29:40 EST 2002
  
  hey, I'm not wishing for anything. just thankful (to TFM) for not having gone the way the chinese went.
  
  
• From: curses (@ 203.199.248.189) on: Sat Mar 30 22:31:45 EST 2002
  
  adding to s0's post:
  .......yet!!
  
  
• From: curses (@ 203.199.248.189) on: Sat Mar 30 22:32:17 EST 2002
  
  jus joking!
  
  

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