Shuru kare antakshari, leke prabhu ka naam – mm. “Maye Ni Maye….” from Hum Aapke Hain Koun is being sung. It is fascinating to think despite decades and generations having gone by, even today when you play antakshari and it starts with singing a song from ‘mm’ – the first song that clicks is ‘Maye Ni Maye’ even though we have a plethora of newer songs at our disposal.
And that’s where thought arises – the longevity of songs and the musical notes ranging from the 40s, 50s, 70s, 80s, 90s and even the 2000s – sustains across years, generations and demographics in miraculous ways. However, the same cannot be said for music that has perhaps now become a decade old or more so. Sure, there are some gems in the large pit of coal but the ratio of the ones you remember as opposed to the ones you don’t is much smaller and somehow, is getting smaller and smaller even more.
Playing a simpler exercise, you are asked to think of the top 5 songs in your list and there is a chance that 4 out of those 5 songs will be old. I use the term ‘old’ loosely but it encompasses a long trajectory – perhaps the inception of music to a period about 10 to 12 years ago. Also, this is Hindi film music we are talking about because let’s face it – we can never get over Hindi film songs.
It won’t matter what generation you belong to: songs like ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’, ‘Chand Mera Dil’, ‘Neele Neele Ambar Par’, ‘Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua’, and we can just go on and on don’t just have a recall value but somehow activate a lightbulb in one’s mind owing to the organic feeling it emulated in you. Ironically, we talk about how the music in current times and the recent past is so forgettable but the younger lot of musicians try to cash in the nostalgic aspect of the aforementioned and other lists of songs by remixing it or re-creating it to make sure it reaches a wider audience. These are, more often than not, met with a lot of disdain and negative reception even if they cross millions or billions of views.
The bigger question, however, is what is about the old songs that lead to having a much longer shelf-life than anything you might have heard in the recent past? Is it about the purity of the songs, or is it the melody? It would be easy to point out one aspect and say that this is the sole reason for it but that would touching the iceberg and making an analysis on it without much backing to it.
A reason that engulfs the most of it – is that there is a lack of a recall value to newer songs and that is owing to a blend of two things – the laziness with which a few musicians, singers and lyricists make their music today. There is little to no genuine effort taken to create magic and rather focus on a tune that ‘slaps’ (yes, that is a gen-Z word). This is aided by the immense consumption of social media where the attention spans are lesser and lesser and a song or a tune might be popular and might ‘go viral’ but the sustenance of that is extremely limited: in no time another thing comes across and that tune is forgotten.
And ultimately, we as humans, have a tendency to live in nostalgia and be overwhelmed by it as well, time and again. A few years ago, terming anything ‘nostalgic’ encapsulated a period that ranged till the 2000s but here we are where anything that became a huge deal even about 15 years ago is now ‘nostalgic’, and perhaps, rightfully so.
Music and lyrics are as much a part of our lives as is eating food, and having a bath and imagining life without it is seemingly impossible. And while every song might have a phase with which it stays on our mind and in our heart based on the moods and reasons; the organic nature of songs and tunes staying in your mind irrespective of the situation is the kind of bliss that is inexpressible yet beautiful.
From ‘Chup Chup Khade Ho Zarur Koi Baat Hai‘ to ‘Zara Si Dil Mein‘, we grew up.