Thursday, June 07, 2007

When God was in pants

My posts on God often don't run for pages. Simple reason. I’ve nothing to say about Him. But, some times, reverence takes over common sense.
Anyway, this isn't like a pre-80s Raaja essential listening or some such. Listing four songs as “essential listening” is farcical. This is just a sample listening. But, I think it offers a chronological perspective on the early phase of Raaja. Or, so I wish.

1. Kannan Oru Kaikkuzhandhai
2. Vasantha Kaala KolangaL
3. Aazhakkadalil Thediya Muthu
4. Kanden Engum (A song that gave its dharisanam some weeks ago and has kept me in rapture since then; I had wanted to write the customary, short rave-post.)

Now, all these songs are MSV-ish – strictly melody-based, emphasis on tune and exquisite singing, minimal arrangements, no majestic orchestrations, no complex rhythm patterns, just simple and straight.
Long story cut short – and, MSV fans must pardon me here, I think, in these songs, Raaja wonderfully demonstrates with great flourish what all can be done in MSV-style compositions.
These songs epitomise the early, MSV-ish Raaja, for me, and demonstrate how He simply surpasses MSV at the latter's own game, so to say. (Yes, call me a fanatic.) Readers may please add what they think is “MSV-ish.” For chronology's sake, readers may limit themselves to pre-80s.
(A more fanatical way of putting all this is to challenge the reader to show me some MSV songs that match up to these. I’ll tell you upfront, I’d only be delighted. I must also add an escapist but true disclaimer here: I am not greatly familiar with MSV’s works.)

Of course, these songs, in many ways, carry the unmistakable Raaja stamp too. The preludes and interludes, even if “simple,” (by Raaja’s standards, that is) are mostly quintessential Raaja.
Also, please note, this selection is restricted by design to only those songs in which He “emulates” MSV, whatever that means. So, there's a reason why you didn't find His majestic, classical showdown-pieces or the path-breaking Raaja-folk pieces of the pre-80s.