Now we are Talking!

:)
ON Sunday afternoon, listening to music on the radio was a treat. Every channel that I switched to, had something different to offer. Variety had finally arrived.

So there was Marathi music and there was Indipop. I could hear Tumhe Apna banaane ki (Sadak) from the 90s or a Devanand song from Guide and I could even listen to Dabanng. Radio One's initiative to promote independent artists also sounded refreshing. The Swapnil Joshi show made me smile (in spite of me being a non-marathi girl) and the back to back music on Fever also did the trick.

After a long time, I could sing along, switch and experiment with my radio set with love and enjoyment, rather than frustration and impatience.

Ofcourse, all of this, on a Sunday. Afternoon. Hope the spread spreads further :)

RJ Mantra bye-bye?

Hey! Bad news... just last week I was about to blog about how Mantra manages to save a dying link in mid-sentence even. And now we come to know that he is going off-air!
Of course, he will be back... but most of the drive-time show hosts who have left their respective shows (which were doing respectably well) and their stations who backed them well... have not succeeded in a come-back on a different channel.
RJ Tarun - kick-ass on Mirchi.. now Massaging on Red fm.
RJ Rohit - building a show on Big - is still starting from scratch on RadioCity.

Another thing to notice here is that competition on the drive sounds all the same! - to begin with, all Male. (except Radio One) Whether its Rohit (City), Suren (Mirchi), Mantra (Red) or Rishi (Fever). And unfortunately, the guy who's decided to step out is the one who had the most to offer in terms of "an identity that stands out from the crowd"

There are rumours galore about Mantra joining another station (at too big a price tag) - but then again, we can only wish the station all the best.
Sometimes, we dont realise, it's not always the jock who is the star of the station, its the station that makes the jock the star. There are various attributes that make or break the jock... which include the station personality, programming focus and brand loyalty.

Point to ponder - would Mallishka still be as strong a jock/style on-air if you take away "Bajaate Raho" from her?

Is the Chorus back?

So the next big hit in Bollywood turned out to be "Pee Loon" from Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Pritam has kept up his pace to deliver hits.

But what I have also noticed is that there are some things common in some of the recent hits in the industry. Pritam seems to be using it as a formula almost after "Tu Jaane Na" from Ajab Prem Ki. The 'Kaise Bataye' hook became more popular than the part sung by Atif. (without doubting Atif's popularity)

Now with "Pee Loon" and "Tum Jo Aaye" from OUATIM - he seems to have re-confirmed this style. One, going traditional (tabla, harmonium, the works). and Secondly, using chorus as a strong element in the song.

Even the next big song from Dabanng (music to be launched on 5th Aug) is a slow qawalli style number with Raahat Fateh Ali Khan; who has become like a compulsory singer in every album these days. After this one, he will also sing in We Are Family - in the same style as are 90% of his songs. Why do we run after whatever becomes a hit and drain out the freshness completely?!

Anyway, not moving away from where we started, whether its All Izz Well, Uff Teri Ada (KCK), Dhatad Tatad (Lafengey Parindey), Sajdaa (My Name is Khan), Mehengai Daiyan (Peepli Live) - I see the chorus taking enough space on a song to be mentioned in the credits. Remember the back of cassettes in the 90s? "Singer: Kumar Sanu & Chorus" :)