[Big A]

New topic and let's start a meaningful conversation..

Anyway..here is the post that I replied to Lavanya longtime back..she conveniently overlooked it and funny enough that, she was no where to be seen for a while. No wonder about her ignorance. But she still seem to flaunt with her arrogance..Here it goes..

I never said, ARR is trash. I never do that. I never choke down my values through people's throat.

First of all, opinions itself differs among people. Why is that? Is it because of different 'self'.

there is nothing called 'self', we all wear that facade for others, this 'self' is shaped by cultural, racial, economical, lingual (in turn, Semantical), regional(environmental), etc, almost everything external to you (right from your birth as you grow up).

Our genes just determine our physical attributes and it contains few other traits. Your tolerance level to different things, might be decided by these genes but it’s the other social factors that ultimately decides, both decreasing and overpowering the tolerance level and in turn, the reactions to different things. Again that depends on how you are exposed to these factors through people you meet (from parents, friends to strangers) throughout your lifetime.

This 'self', is a social construct ascribed to fit the margins better (even this margin and the ‘attuned’ comfort zone, is based on the above-said influences).

Sometimes, we live denial to like certain things. For example, I might find ‘Fountainhead’, boring, uninteresting, and pretentious piece-of-**** but it is valued to be the best-written work. Consequently, I immediately jump into the bandwagon of double standards and call it great!

Same way, I feel each person’s favorite music, books, movies, dress (style, color and make), even friends (And enemies), life-partner, are determined by ‘external factors’!

So In your case (or very other case), liking something 'more' is something thats not because of 'your' judgment alone. Because there is no 'you'.

Now you guys can decipher what I said. I have nothing against ARR. But the way, this external factors has programmed 'me', I measure 'greatness' from the way the products (music, movies and books) 'affects' , 'amazes' or 'bewilders' me. I don't think ARR has done that as often as I would like to. He is in my secondary list except for very few tracks. Like I love the trance in Yakkai thiri. I also like Bombay's bgm, Vande Mataram,etc. But somehow he doesn't achieve Maestro's sense of nostalgia. It's a sensation which transcends understanding. I don't know "How to name it?" I wish you could also experience that wonderful violin symphony and let the waves vibrate the mind. Of all the themes I've been through, Punnagai mannan's stands out. It conveys the feeling. With or without the video. The overture and the follow-through is beyond human expression. The music is eternal. ARR's is more modernist than a classical or a retro kind(which I rate higher). Having listened to almost all his tracks, he improvised the 'composition' focusing more on instrumental and Acoustical engineering. When to use what..how to compile the prelude, interlude and postlude to lure the audience into it and the way the juxtaposition of different sounds should work and sound to different people.

I wouldn't blame you, if you rate ARR high. But please, Think again before you pass some inane judgement over IR's music!

I would like to say this for the final time..our tastes are built on exposure. Lack of it can bring in blind prejudiced views against the rival of our favorite. Thats why ARR fans ridicule IR and IR fans reciprocate. This blindfolds us from making a neutral comparison. I will reiterate again, Opinions/tastes like 'ARR is the best' or 'IR is the best' are constructed by the external factors more than 'you' per se. It's not something you choose. It's something that just happened. Greatness is a highly subjective term with an individualist notion to it. Some people bring in this 'popularity' rant out of no where. That doesn't in anyway should affect your evaluation of greatness. Beverages like Coke or Pepsi can be sold in different places..their sales records shouldn't affect your taste or evaluation of the drink.. As simple as that..

Don't bring the popularity contest hereafter.. It is not a yardstick to measure greatness..

When you can say something based on their 'name' being known in different parts of the country, that is entirely different or flawed. Eminem is known all around the world, 2pac was known only in USA. Does that make 2pac lesser than Eminem? Or no one knows Ennio morricone but people know James horner..does that make James horner great? Or, Horner's music is popular amongst people and reached different people..Does that make him 'BETTER'? How many of them getting ARR's albums know about Bach here? Have they listened to IR's albums? Do they understand how IR revolutionized WCM?

I am not as bad as these kids to ridicule about ARR lowly to prove a point. Like 'pray for me brother' is ridiculous and out of life. It was pretentious..The video was even more presumptuous and didn't invoke the feeling. One gets the feeling that he made the video for his own good rather than a honest song for 'poverty alleviation' . Blaze's rap was overdone in that respect. I am yet to see a song where Rahman composes a tune with little less mixing and focusing a lot more on the continuity of that tune to make the sounds acoustically more pleasant, blended, smoothened and striking a chord in the process. That way it affects the listener's senses unlike the general junky 'WOW' effect..

P.S: Whatever I wrote may not be applicable to others. But I would like to make my stance clear..And in the process of it, could have shown my bias towards IR.

PPS: Don't take some selected chunks of this and leave out the rest as it would only make it contextually flawed. Thank you.