At 1.30 am on Thursday, hell broke loose. It seemed like a terrible storm was brewing. 6 Bud pints had already been victimised and killed.
He turned slowly to me. Eyes fixed on me. He gave me a menacing look.And now it was my turn to confront the fate of the Buds.
I had just taken perfect aim from a double barrel gun. And shot successfully at myself in the foot.
A friendship that goes back by over a decade was under serious threat. The seams were rapidly snapping off. Every sentence that was uttered was becoming more emphatic than the previous. The decibel meter of the two voices in the room was steadily climbing. The blood pressure was rising and if a bored nurse was around to record it, she would have looked at the mercury in that narrow glass tube with great anxiety.
And it all started with a casual reference to remixing old Hindi songs. No, actually it had started with me showing off a remix I had made of some old number as time-pass*.
And after this for the next 2 hours we debated.
Is a remix a good thing?
Yes. Said I. This particular remix may certainly not be. But yes, its all fair. Its all market forces.
My argument: Yes. It’s all fair in a free world. What works for the Largest Common Denominator works. There cant be any logic or higher reason against it if the LCD wants it. But yes, legal rights and ethical practices need to be addressed. If those are taken care of, then if the LCD wants remix, and if it will sell, its fine.
‘Weknows’ argument: No. The sanctity of the original cannot be compromised. The soul of the original cannot be sold for cheap commercial exploitation. Have the ‘spheres’ to create new beats for the new audience.
Which argument is right?
Dear reader, what do you think about remixing old soulful mixes? Is it wrong to repackage popular old music for the new market?
*No offence to Ashaji! All rights hers. All credits hers. This is just a time-pass garage production of a great song. Not meant for commercial use whatsoever [Ha! Not that it has any future commercially!!
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8 responses so far ↓
pODU // December 10, 2007 at 2:48 pm |
I’m fence-sitting here guys Swindle and Weknow incld. : )
I think its about the treatment finally – some remixes (kabhi kabhi the Big B one remember) are so nice and parallell yet never the same as the original
check out Madonna’s What it feels like to be a girl on youtube.com which has both the techno mix as well as the non -techno Madonna version – both are good …
There are some artists who also indulge in remixing the songs themselves (eg. Vishal Shekar for the honeymoon Travels album) so I think its best for us to judge personally and not universally ~ you jokers warmed a beer for this tamasha … thank Lord I dozed off this disc. ; )
thatnotwithstanding I happy that this is enough proof for my visitations on the blog and the re-discovery of old friends ; )
amal // December 16, 2007 at 9:07 pm |
I’m all for market forces….but then how does one ensure that the quality of the remix does not dilute the equity of the original!
Most of the remixes today are lousy work……some amateur using about 9 tracks
Basky // December 17, 2007 at 3:58 pm |
More than remix, it sound like trance music. Not bad though! (I was wondering, kab purdah uththaayegi?!) Of course there’s a lot of commercial potential. I know someone who would hire you to score music: T Rajendar
Basky // December 17, 2007 at 4:04 pm |
Ever noticed, in classical music (western, Hindustani or Carnatic) compositions of old are played or performed often by so many musicians (conductors), but the original composer or opus is ALWAYS prominently mentioned? Ok, may be Bach or Tyagaraya may not get royalty, but their names gets etched for eternity. But when the music industry remixesNoor Jehan (Chandni Raatein) or Shamshad Begam (Kabhi aar kabhi paar, etc) songs, these fine ladies, or their families don’t get a pie as royalty nor even a mention. I find that cruel. However when Bally Sagoo (or was it Biddu?) remixes Asha’s old hit songs with Asha herself singing them, with such spectacular effect, the jury is out…
JustPathe // December 17, 2007 at 7:50 pm |
@pODU: True, theres no black or white stand on this.. Basky has put it perfectly – see his comment…
and you know I used about 9 tracks to make this!
@amal:Agree. But the same market forces can decide the fate of the remix and show it the door…Thats also why I mentioned that my two bit composition is not for the market.
@Basky: Ayyo! T Rajenderaa!! this is over too much! ippadi kindel pannappdaadu!
thecrook // December 17, 2007 at 11:56 pm |
aye basky. QED. we win
Basky // December 18, 2007 at 10:49 pm |
I was just kidding about TRajender! He’s a joker alright, but some of the music he scored in his early days with SPB were, (ahem!) quintessential…
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