what makes for a good singer - Page 13

Originally posted by: madhavir108

Before I begin to comment on anything, I am a very very very small person before all the stalwarts who have posted before in this thread. I have just spent the past one hour reading, researching and trying to understand this post and this had led me to discover some beautiful music.

Yes, I am a part of this generation who has grown up listening to Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Udit Narayan and since I started appreciating music, it was A R Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and the modern age directors like Vishal Shekhar, Sulaiman etc..

Until recently ( 3 - 4 yrs) I was never really fond of old music. Why would a 14 year old relate to old music? Now, its different! I was hearing Oh Duniya ke rakhwale recently and I was crying... and I have more songs in my old songs folder than in my new music !!!

Old Classics are like wine, just get better with age.. They are absolutely divine and listening to them again and again just increases the euphoria for them...

But I would beg to differ with a lot of people who said that singers of today aren't good.. I think we are being very harsh on them, extremely harsh infact. Rafi Shahab, Kishore Da, Lata and Asha Ji were in totally different era where the society wasn't this competitive and this harsh. If Rafi sang one bad song, no one wrote him off... Today if a singer doesnt change with the times he is totally shunned.. even though he might be an excellent singer.

Music has changed from becoming a necessity in a cinema to an extra feature that adds entertainment value. In the 60s and 70s, it was impossible to think of a movie without songs, but now tis changing. Over the past couple of years particularly so many good movies have come without music. Hence the need for music has come down to a great extent.

Also with the intermixing of a lot of Pakistani Pop culture with ours has changed the style of our music and its perfectly viable...

Often music and musicians create music keeping in the situation of the country and the trends happening... Today India is on the threshold of a great revolution of becomign a Technological superpwer and its about celebration and its about celebrating the youth of today who are going to be the future of tommorow. Music had to suit their styles and it works.

Take A R Rahmans RDB, I thought the music was fantastic.. it was hep it was funky but there was always a classical tinge to it.. Thats the beauty of a lot of songs.. they might not be semi classical or anything, but u cant deny that they have classical value. Dheere Jalna, Piyu Bole, Hay Rama, Piya Tori Kaisa Abhimaan, Oh Paalanhare (lagaan) etc are pretty classical and sound good.. and they do work with the youth today.

Some one said that no singer today is able to last that impression what Rafi or KK were able to do. Well its simple, that time there wasn't so much of competiton as it is today. Rafi had his own directors, Kishore Da his own, Manna De his own and Mukesh his own... Today, there is KK, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala who are the upcoming singers, then there is also Abhijeet, Shankar Mahadevan, Udit Narayan, Hariharan who occasionally sing but give that blockbster..and then we have A R Rahman and Himesh Reshmiyaa also singing which is crazy competition already.. and added to it is new talent emerging from SRGMP like Hema, Vinit, Debojeet, Sharib and the like from other reality shows, what do you expect ?!

Each singer then had a style, something that set him apart, the singerst oday are far more versatile as they are forced too.. situation breeds it.. If Shaan has sung Dus Bahane, he has also sang Woh Pehli Baar... Sonu Nigam has sung almost all kinds of songs... Its obvious in this competition that their voices or songs arent that remembered.. but its detting there.. even over 12 years latter, Tu Hi Re from Bombay is still remmebered.. Songs from Rangeela are still remembered.. and this is going to stay for some time..

Music is almost like a religion, its so personal and everyone has a taste. Indian Music is so beautiful that it has catered to everyones taste and my only wish it that it continues to.

Thats why I love shows like SRGMP, it shows the future of the country and music. Through this show I realised what it is to be able to stand there in front of 1000s of people and sing ins uch a competitive environment and especially with people comparing u on everystep..its hard very very hard..

Singers of the past were glorious and they did great stuff and we wont forget them, but let us not underestimate the singers of today.

Sorry if I hurt any1 with my views..

👏👏👏 I can completely identify with you.

Originally posted by: punjini

In one T.P.Kailasam play, the definition of a Kannadiga is given as one who talks to another Kannadiga in English. So I am a true Kannadiga. 😊

Nanu kooda Kannadiga, Dwarakanath kooda Kannadiga anta keli Ascharya tumba Asharya wayitu. Kannadigaragi ishtondu Urdu Shayri matte uttama Hindi sangeet premi agidira swami tumba aanand wayitu nimma matu keli. Ya uuru swami? yelli irodu?

Dear Madhavir,

A very well written article But I have some differences here which I believe are true.

"Some one said that no singer today is able to last that impression what Rafi or KK were able to do. Well its simple, that time there wasn't so much of competiton as it is today. Rafi had his own directors, Not true Kishore Da his own, Not True Manna De his own and Mukesh his own... Not True All of them sang for almost all Music Directors and film directors. Today, there is KK, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala who are the upcoming singers, then there is also Abhijeet, Shankar Mahadevan, Udit Narayan, Hariharan who occasionally sing but give that blockbster..and then we have A R Rahman and Himesh Reshmiyaa also singing which is crazy competition already.. and added to it is new talent emerging from SRGMP like Hema, Vinit, Debojeet, Sharib and the like from other reality shows, what do you expect ?! Remember the number of films produced today are trippled compared to 50/60's and hence the industry can absorb many more singers also the number of private albums were non existant then, all they had were a few private records by HMV the only recoring company at that time then came Polydor.
Often music and musicians create music keeping in the situation of the country and the trends happening... This applies to any time period not just today. We had a smooth transition from Khan Mastan, Surendra or KL saigal to Talat M, Rafi, Mukesh. From, Feroze Nizami, Shyam Sunder, Naushad, To Shankar Jaikishan and Laxmi Pyare etc Today India is on the threshold of a great revolution of becomign a Technological superpwer and its about celebration and its about celebrating the youth of today who are going to be the future of tommorow. Music had to suit their styles and it works. If anything quality should have gone up not down however todays music is a wee bit better than Kishor Kumar/Rd Burman era

Singers of the past were glorious and they did great stuff and we wont forget them, We cant forget them even if we try to but let us not underestimate the singers of today Agree 100 % The MD's are more to be blamed than the singers them selves today who plagarise.

I agree with what you say. Just to clarify some points :

- When I say write off, I am talking about media. Read any of the reviews online, if a singer hasn't sung well in a song, media is SO harsh with them. Media wasn't that harsh with singers previously. I am pretty sure of this because even till recently (5 - 6 yrs ) back media never wrote out any singers or just said they aren't good enough. Today press talks about 'good' singers and 'bad' singers. They might be wrong in their opinions but they definitely can't be ignored.

- As for them having to change, how successful is a Richa Sharma as compared to Sunidhi Chauhan ? Richa Sharma has a brilliant voice and she is definitely successful as she has given us some hits, but how many? Sunidhi on the other hand had a voice that could handle both soft and strong numbers with power (Bhaage re Mann and Ding Dong ).. Thats what I mean.. whatever said and done, unless they learn to adapt they cant survive. Bollywood is like a jungle, the survival of the fittest.

- When I was talking about movies without music I was talking about a majority not a few. The number of movies without music today are definitely more than before. Can you imagine an Amitabh Bachan movie in 60s without a song? Today he has acted in 2 movies last year itself without music. What I mean to say is, gone are the days when music becomes the lifeline of the movie.

- When there is talk about situation or actor, today that doesnt exist so much. For a long time Abhijeet was considered voice of Shahrukh, now Sonu Nigam, KK have also sung for SRK and it doesnt sound odd! Situations also all the singers can handle or rather are forced to handle... Competition definitely increases. SD Burman, RD Burman did sing some good songs but it was always hte frontline singers on the top, today its slightly different. HR's songs were hte biggest hits of the year, A R Rahmans Maa Tujhe Salaam is still considered one of hte best patriotic songs to come up during the past 10 years.. If you have heard his Yeh Jo Desh Hai Mera you will understand what I mean.

- Yes, the songs and singers being talked about are 50 years old but then that is because most of the adults have grown up listening to these songs. After 15 years when I am in my late 30s, I am going to tell my kids about A R Rahman's older songs, Jatin Lalits romatic love tracks etc... By then these songs will also become old. What are classics ? Stuff we appreciate years later and for that give these songs a chance.

-I dont say we dont have a choice. But I wish that people would stop writing off singers of today or say they aren't good as the ones before. They can never be, each singer is special in their own right and each of them must be respected for that. Its their forte and if people like it, it solves the purpose rite? I have friends who told me that they find songs of ABA relaxing, fine if they do, its apersonal choice. Music particularly in films is to entertain people, and if it achieves that purpose its fine. Yeh sangeet ki tauheen nahin hoti hain.

Todays songs are entertaining to the youth and I guess thats fine then. If they can't appreciate old music, thats fine too. Its a matter of choice and way of looking at it.

Originally posted by: madhavir108

- Yes, the songs and singers being talked about are 50 years old but then that is because most of the adults have grown up listening to these songs. After 15 years when I am in my late 30s, I am going to tell my kids about A R Rahman's older songs, Jatin Lalits romatic love tracks etc... By then these songs will also become old. What are classics ? Stuff we appreciate years later and for that give these songs a chance.

-I dont say we dont have a choice. But I wish that people would stop writing off singers of today or say they aren't good as the ones before. They can never be, each singer is special in their own right and each of them must be respected for that. Its their forte and if people like it, it solves the purpose rite? I have friends who told me that they find songs of ABA relaxing, fine if they do, its apersonal choice. Music particularly in films is to entertain people, and if it achieves that purpose its fine. Yeh sangeet ki tauheen nahin hoti hain.

Todays songs are entertaining to the youth and I guess thats fine then. If they can't appreciate old music, thats fine too. Its a matter of choice and way of looking at it.

Hi Madhavir

Of course, it is a matter of choice. No one is denying that. I can't force you to like the old songs nor can you force me to like Himesh R. It's a free world. 😊

I don't know if you saw Debojeet struggling to singing the qawaali "Na to caravan ki talash hai". He couldn't sing it even 10% as well as the original song. Those songs were NOT EASY. Years ago, my classmates practised this qawaali for days and days for a college fest and finally gave up saying they would sing an easier qawaali. I challenge any singer of this generation to sing the following ten songs with some credibility.

1) Saavare Saavare - Lata (from Anuradha)

2) Yeh mahalon yeh takhton - Rafi (from Pyaasa)

3) Manamohana badey jhootey - Lata (from Seema)

4)Tum jo mil gayee ho - Rafi (from Hanste Zakhm)

5) Yun hazraton ki daagh - Lata (from Adalat)

6) Raina beeti jaaye - Lata (from Amar Prem)

7) Jyoti Kalash chalke - Lata (from Bhabhi ki Chudiyan)

8) Na jeeya laage na - Lata (from Anand)

9) Saiyyan jaao - Lata (from Jhanak jhanak payal baaje)

10) Kuhu kuhu boley koyaliya - Lata Rafi ( from Suvarna Sundari)

Today's singers are highly camouflaged by hundreds of instruments and loud beats. Music Directors comfortably purloin tunes from around the world, make a few changes and pass it off as new music. 40-50 years back, the raging debate must have been "Which music director is the best?" and it was so difficult to choose amidst the greats like SD Burman, Madan Mohan, Salil Choudhury, C Ramchandra, OP Nayyar, RDB and so on. Today it is difficult for me to decide "Who is the worst music director?"

It's not that I don't give a chance to today's songs. When something beautiful like "jeeya dhadak dhadak" or "laaye vee na gayee" comes along, I do sit up and take notice.

I didn't exactly grow up listening to Lata and Rafi. When I was small, Bappi Lahiri was already at large. But once, I heard the songs of "Jhanak jhanak payal baaje" on our stereo and was swept off my feet. My musical journey began and one tape led to another.

Madhavir, I have tasted nectar. How can I like synthetic juice?

Yes I agree with you when you say that these songs are not easy, they are DEFINITELY not easy!

So many singers have tried to sing these songs nad have failed miserably but that is because we compare it with the original. I was listening to Shreya's performance of Kuhu Kuhu when she was a SRGM contestant and it was fanstastic. For a common man, who doesnt know much about classical music, I think his ear is a good judge and he will appreciate it. After hearing her performance I heard the original and the original was a 1000 times better, but then it cant be denyed that she put in an outstanding performance.

The music directors of today aren't that bad ! HR's music in Tere Naam I thought was very good! His ABA wasn't that great, but I cant forget that this man gave beautiful music in Tere Naam. ID's music in HDDCS is really good. I am a HUGE fan of ARR and each album of his was outstanding. I dont have much musical knowledge but as a listener, for me its hard to say who is a better music director!

I think the qualities that make a good singer come down to a matter of choice. It depends what music you enjoy.

Saying this, I must say that I love old music and I go mad trying to find the songs on cooltoad. I spend a lot of time listening to them on musicindiaonline. I have learnt Carnatic msuic for 4 years so I appreciate classical music. That is hte reason I can safely say that today's music might not be the best, but is definitely reinventing itself...

Madhavir, one good way to listen to music is to get World Space Satellite Radio installed, I believe. The channels called Farishta and Gandharva are highly recommended. But since you live in Canada, you might not be covered. Check www.worldspace.com.

Originally posted by: punjini

Madhavir, one good way to listen to music is to get World Space Satellite Radio installed, I believe. The channels called Farishta and Gandharva are highly recommended. But since you live in Canada, you might not be covered. Check www.worldspace.com.

Thanks punjini, maybe I will. That might help me change my opinion !

Hi Madhavir, I don't think I need to make you change your opinion, since you have already admitted that you are a fan of old Hindi film songs. 😉

But since you are 17, you still have hope that the new film songs will re-invent themselves. As for me, I have seen too much of mediocrity to have any such hope.

People go for "time pass" cinema rather than watching the craft of film making. People want bang bang music beats to which they can gyrate and expend excess energy.

I will be pleasantly surprised if quality takes precedence over quantity.

Long live your dodappa!
hey you are claiming you can sing the climax of "yeh mahalon"?