Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 23:
On Apple Music | On Saavn | On YouTube
A packed week – 20 songs in the playlist! Apple Music has it all. Saavn is missing just one – Old Is Gold’s Oru Poovithal, while YouTube is missing quite a bit.
A note on the songs in the playlist.
—
This Is America (Childish Gambino): This is THE most hyper-viral song of the year. And more so because of the music video than the song itself. I can guarantee you that if you watch the video once, you’ll go on multiple repeats! Here’s a recap on what’s the video really about. The video is in the YouTube playlist anyway. DO NOT miss watching the video!
New Light (John Mayer): Very 80s, with disco guitars and all… and very ballad’ish given John goes,
“Pushing 40 in the friend zone
We talk and then you walk away every day
But if you give me just one night
You’re gonna see me in a new light” -lovely song!
Veere, Bass Gira Do Raja & Aa Jao Na (Veere Di Wedding, Hindi): Read the review of the soundtrack here.
Katravai Patravai, Thanga Selai, Kannamma & Nikkal Nikkal (Kaala, Tamil): Read the review of the soundtrack here.
Yaaradi (China, Tamil): Ved Shankar already has a great song in the film, oddly titled ‘China’ – the song Kannala that I had covered in the February 18th Weeklies. In Yaaradi, he hands a lovely ballad to Benny Dayal, that shines with his vocal prowess, its lilt and violin interludes!
Nijama Manasa, Chiniki Chiniki & Naa Nuvve (Naa Nuvve, Telugu): Read the review of the soundtrack here.
Oh Priya (Mehbooba, Telugu): Read the review of the soundtrack here.
Oru Poovithal (Old Is Gold, Malayalam): Jubair Muhammed’s music and tune are pleasant and simple, but what really works in the song is Remya Nambeesan’s vocals. It’s not singer-perfect, but there’s a beautifully earnest quality about her singing that fits the song perfectly.
Sowhrudham & Neeyen Suryam (Kamuki, Malayalam): Kamuki, with its 3 song soundtrack is one of Gopi’s best in recent times! After the ebullient Kurumbi, Sowdruham goes completely in the opposite direction – peacefully melodious! Very-Gopi too (background violins). Amidst the tabla base Mithun Jayaraj and Sithara Krishnakumar are outstanding while handling the serene tune, Sithara in particular, who seems to have an added zest in her diction! Neeyam Sooryan is equally calming, with a highly melodious anupallavi that reminds me of Raja’s repertoire. Excellent singing by Geethu, Divya S. Menon, Ashitha and Mekha.
Mann Ki Dor (Ash King, Indipop): Yes, the vocal processing jars, but the overall song composed by Sundeep Gosswami comes out pretty well in Ash’s engaging vocals.
Maa Reva Journey (Maa Reva, Gujarati): Mighty impressive music by Amar Khandha that literally brings the spread of Gujarat with its sweeping soundscape! Kirtidan Gadhvi’s vocals are fantastic, as also the rhythm, by Vijay Dhumal and Vivek Kulkarni.
Rangapura Vihaara (Agam, Indipop): I have to confess that this is the song that involved me lesser than the others from Agam’s 2nd album, A Dream To Remember. But that’s only in comparison to the other songs in the same album. On its own, this is a fantastic recreation of Mutthuswamy Dikshitar’s Brindavana Saaranga melody. While Harish is stellar in his exposition of the core melody, I did not connect adequately with the vocal choir going ‘Ranga Ranga’ – that somehow seemed a bit out of place to me. Barring that, a pretty awesome song!