M.I.A., “Boyz”
Thanks to regular reader/antagonista Tony, I am now in possession of the new M.I.A., “Kala,” which improves on 2005’s “Arular” — as if it needed improvement. It might not have that immediate shock of the new that we experienced with “Bucky Done Gun” and “Galang,” but the melodies are stronger and the vocal performances show greater range. “Boyz” is the first single.
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I’m looking forward to hearing the new one. MIA is one of those artists that I feel less cool, listening to, because I can appreciate its greatness even if I can’t handle listening to it for too long (see “Ra, Sun”). Maybe the new one will be more accessible for us old folks.
The second video (”Jimmy”) is now available and on the front page of music video blogs everywhere:
http://extreme.colonelblimp.com/directors/nezarkhamal/movies/NK_Mia_Jimmy.mov
cool Bollywood vibe.
Often, I have a hard time getting into dance music. Probably because I am listening way too much and not dancing enough! That said, I like the beats in her music from what I have heard. The sounds seem more based in real percussion instruments and the overall packaging of the sound/spectacle is pretty cool. I don’t know if I would describe it as melodic since the focus is on the rhythm, but it does have a short “sing-songy” reptition that catches the ear. They slight subtle changes in triplets and duplets make “Boyz” listenable, but it doesn’t seem as dance-y and catchy as the earlier tunes on first listen.
Her story is interesting, as is the situation in Sri Lanka. At first I thought all the tigers in her videos a bit dubious, but from interviews I read, she is not a fan of t he Sri Lankan gov. OR the Tamil Tigers (although her father is a bigwig in the latter – she was not raised by him). The Sri Lankan govt. has been pretty horrible to the Tamils, but the Tigers are famous for putting child soldiers on the front lines, inventing modern day suicide bombing and for assanination of anyone in their way, perhaps even fellow Tamil militant groups. They are labeled a terrorist organisation by the US.
Anyway, I found all this really interesting. Thanks for the exposure!