M.I.A. - /\/\ /\ Y /\

One could almost bet that Maya Arulpragasam was expecting all the divisive opinions that she is getting, and even the start of a backlash, when releasing her third album. In other words, /\/\ /\ Y /\ screams a confrontational attitude in every possible sense, something that was bound to cause negative responses from a lot of people. The initial sirens heard in "The Message" are the first warning, and then come the chaotic sounds that follow through the rest of the album, together with the raw energy, synthetic noises, political lyrics, uncomfortable samples and dirty production values. Yes, with all its claustrophobia and distortion, this is mostly not music to please.
So after "Paper Planes" pushed her to unimaginable levels of fame, she does what only someone with the will to keep challenging popular culture could do, and makes her most risky album. It's not even relevant anymore to mention the way she seems to effortlessly create a perfect symbiosis between genres like dancehall, baile funk, grime, punk or dubstep. In this case, the news is really that aforementioned confrontational attitude, something which, in reality, was always present in her music, but that in here is pushed to dangerous extremes. So inflated it is that sometimes she may even sound like a provocateur that is going full-speed, too fast, while, on the way, leaving incomplete angles in the amalgamation mass that is her sound.
True, there's a lot to discuss about her honesty and the sincerity of all this. Could M.I.A. be just a fictional character created by someone that knows too well the present state of our culture and is aiming to agitate it - in order to become more popular? For all the debate that she has already caused, one thing is for sure: M.I.A translates our present times like few other people do, and that makes her one of the most vital and exciting presences around. The urgency of what is heard in /\/\ /\ Y /\, even with all its voluntary imperfections, couldn't really translate it any better. (7,5/10)

M.I.A. - XXXO (video)



M.I.A. - Teqkilla (Lost my fone out wiv Nicki Minaj Remix) (mp3 via kickin the peanuts!)



www.miauk.com

M.I.A's Born Free video

I have to confess that I still don't know what to make of M.I.A.'s new video. Directed by Romain Gavras, this 9-minute-clip features a lot of very violent actions taken against a prominent minority group that you wouldn't expect seeing in this kind of context. Annoying points of the video: its smart-ass cleverness and the fact that it's full of gratuitously graphic images in an obvious attempt to be shocking and controversial just for the sake of it - and thus talked about. But on the other hand, smart-ass or not, it's anyway a very clever piece, and also quite a descend into hell: even you may see it as just entertainment during the first minutes, it then gets progressively more and more disturbing as it evolves, until there's finally no way out for anyone. Literally.



www.miauk.com
www.myspace.com/mia

Best of 2007: Top 20 Pop Songs

20. Lykke Li - Little Bit

(video)

19. Kanye West - Stronger

(video)

18. Jens Lekman - Sipping On Sweet Nectar

(video)

17. Dizzee Rascal - Sirens

(video)

16. Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

(video)

15. Lil Mama - Lip Gloss

(video)

14. frYars - The Ides

(video)

13. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

(video)

12. Matthew Dear - Deserter

(unofficial video)

11. Cajun Dance Party - Amylase

(video)

10. Arcade Fire - Intervention

(unofficial video)

9. Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

(unofficial video)

8. Battles - Atlas

(video)

7. Late Of The Pier - Bathroom Gurgle

(video)

6. Klaxons - Golden Skans

(video)

5. Björk - Earth Intruders

(video)

4. Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life

(video)

3. The Tough Alliance - Silly Crimes

(video)

2. M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Any song about selling visas to illegal immigrants and built around a sample by The Clash, gunshots and cash-register sounds is destined to be on every year-best list so, obviously, here it is.

(video)

1. Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z) - Umbrella

A lot has been written speculating possible reasons why this simple song turned out to be so special... Was it the almost absence of harmony? The cool almost anonymous way in which she sings it? The explosive keyboards in the background? Either way, this was without question the Pop moment of the year, including a word-play that will go down in history: Under my Umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh...

(video)

M.I.A. - Kala

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam's biography is so cool that it could almost be irritating: born from a Sri-Lankan family, her father is a Tamil revolutionary known as "Arular" (incidentally her first album's title), an activist that is still searched by the Sri-Lankan army; because of this, the rest of her family were forced to flee the country when she was very young, escaping to India before finally moving to London, where they were relocated as refugees. Here, she learned english and ended up studying fine art, film and video, while also starting her first experiments with music, together with her then-boyfriend Diplo. After "Arular", widely seen as one of 2005's best records, she was then refused a visa to enter the U.S.A. where she was supposed to work with Timbaland, all because of her origins and family history. She decided to take some time and travel around the world instead, with the goal of collecting new sounds, cultures and experiences that would take part in her second record. And here it is, the result of all this, "Kala". With an immense palette of sounds, beats and atmospheres, the few criticisms that were pointed at "Arular", saying that its songs sounded too similar (they didn't, but ok), are definitely no longer valid. There are still hints of hip-hop, baile funk, grime, ragga, dancehall or electro, but there's also Bollywood disco-sound, kid's beat-boxing, Pixies citations, even-more-audacious sonic elements and filthier beats, and a whole atmosphere of extreme globalization where every culture has something to say, even (especially) the most marginalized ones. And that's another way to look at "Kala": a visceral world-music record as done by a revolutionary woman where, instead of the usual touristic cliches, we have sweat, blood and sex fluids. M.I.A.'s strong and fascinating personna is the commander that gives sense to so many disparate elements, presenting "Kala" as a definition of her own kaleidoscopic and very personal universe. Maybe it doesn't sound as revolutionary as "Arular" did in 2005? Sure, but it doesn't matter anymore. She's already somewhere else and, apparently, she's taken the whole world with her. Actually, you couldn't get more political than that. (9/10)

Music Videos # 54 and # 55

"Kala" is coming!...

M.I.A. - Boyz




M.I.A. - Jimmy

2 Comebacks (Music Videos # 30 and # 31)

M.I.A. - Bird Flu




LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum



They've been having all the hype for the last few years and now they're back with the first tracks / videos from their forthcoming albums. M.I.A.: a song to go gaga about...vicious and infective, killer beats, love it! LCD Soundsystem: good track, though slightly too similar to his previous works. What do you think?

Rio Baile Funk - Favela Booty Beats / M.I.A. - Arular

The "Favela Funk" was born in illegal parties organized at the poor neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and is now taking over the world, from suburban undergroung parties to posh and chic clubs, with the help of Dj's such as Diplo or DJ Malboro. This music is raw, dry and minimal, with basic-nonsense-semi-erotical lyrics, and is inspired by hip-hop, jungle or electro, having some parallels with emerging movements such as the miami bass, grime, crunk or the jamaican dancehall. In few words, it's completely infectious and irrestistible to dance to, with an addictive groove. A good way to start is with the compilation "Rio Baile Funk - Favela Booty Beats", which represents this style very well.

One step ahead is already taken by M.I.A. with her debut "Arular", which was probably one of the most important albuns of 2005 and has Diplo as one of its producers. She wisely joined together all the emerging underground movements mentioned above and created a completely new sound. Even her biography helps the myth, as she had to leave her country, Sri-Lanka, for political reasons - her father is a rebellion leader and is believed to still being in the Sri-Lanka forests, fighting the government troops.