Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 95: On JioSaavn | On YouTube
15 songs this week. Saavn has 13 of them and is missing Jyotsna Radhakrishnan’s Paranne and Shilayude from Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 (since it is inside a YouTube playlist). YouTube playlist has only 8 songs out of the 15 
Dheeme Dheeme – Pati Patni Aur Woh (Tony Kakkar and Tanishk Bagchi) – Hindi: This song may be a new record of sorts even by Tanishk Bagchi and T-series’ standards – this is a remix of a song from May 2019 that had already garnered over 300 million views on YouTube! A May 2019 song remixed in November 2019! Of course, Tanishk, in his inimitable style spikes up Tony’s sedate original into a pulsating dance song befitting Kartik Aryan’s confident footwork.
Kannu Thangom – Vaanam Kottattum (Sid Sriram) – Tamil: Possibly owing to his unique singing style (that has recently been exploited to the hilt), even the tune of his own song sounds a bit like Imman’s Kurumba from Tik Tik Tik. And because of the way Siva Ananth’s lyrics have been cut literally word-by-word for each line in the tune (almost like substituting Mani Ratnam’s one-word sentence dialogs in the form of lyrics), it also feels difficult to cohesively make sense of the meaning of the song. But, Sid’s debut as a composer is listenable, for sure. I do look forward to more from Sid, beyond this familiar template.
Paranne – Jyotsna & The J Note (Malayalam) – Indipop: 2 years after her debut single, Ini Varumo, Jyotsna Radhakrishnan returns with another. This one’s more accomplished and layered than the earlier one, and sounds like a great combo of Avial and Thaikkudam Bridge’s music. The thump in the hook and Jyotsana’s vocals keep it consistently likeable.
Vanavillen – Safe (Rahul Subrahmanian) – Malayalam: Harishanker’s singing takes off with Rahul’s lively musical lift-off in the ‘Neeyum’ line. It’s to Rahul’s credit that he doesn’t overdo that lift-off and keeps it short, and as something that you go back to at various points in the song. Nikhil Ram’s flute too deserves a special mention.
Atma – Malayalam/Indipop (Robert Keettikkal): Atma is a non-film musical album composed by Robert Keettikkal and released by Saregama back in 2014. I missed this album back then and it looks like Millennium Audios has got the rights to re-release this album recently. The singers list alone gets your interested immediately – Swetha Mohan, Vijay Yesudas, Shakthisree Gopalan, Unnikrishnan, Yazin Nizar, P Jayachandran, Gayathri Suresh and Sooraj Santhosh! But, beyond the singers, the biggest surprise is Robert Keettikkal’s compositions! The range and quality of songs is incredible! I’m totally mystified why Robert hasn’t composed more music, and particularly for Malayalam films – his range and sound is a perfect fit for Malayalam film music. My pick of the album includes Ethethu Janmam (Vijay Yesudas and Swetha Mohan), Mounam Melle (Swetha Mohan), Hridhayamurali (Shakthisree Gopalan), Nimisham (P.Unnikrishnan), Sakhi Nin Pranayam (Yazin Nizar) and Pokkali Padam (Sooraj Santhosh). For a 9-song album, 6 songs sounding so good is a great achievement!
Shilayude – Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 (Bijibal) – Malayalam: What a lovely melody! I went back to Ilayaraja’s Indraikku Yen Anandhame – is this based on Abhogi raaga too, I wonder. Vipinlal’s warm vocals and Biju Annamanada’s veena in the 2nd interlude add tremendous value.
This Is How (We Want You To Get High) – George Michael: This is the first posthumously released single from George Michael based on his recording from 2012. He doesn’t sound quite like the George we are very familiar with and it is clear that some ‘work’ has gone into the composition and vocal processing. But the tune and style is unmistakably George Michael. A somber reminder that he is no more!
Orphans & Arabesque – Coldplay: While Orphans is familiar Coldplay material (and perfectly enjoyable), it is Arabesque that really pushes the boundaries of what you expect from Coldplay with a mood-creating sound complete with a jazzy base full of French horns and sax! Incidentally, Coldplay’s new album, with 16 songs, was advertised in the classified section of a newspaper!
I Feel Love – Sam Smith: Donna Summer’s 1976 chartbuster, produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte makes a comeback in Sam Smith’s new song! The original’s zing keeps this recreation endearing too!