the above (quoted again because posts at bottom of pages tend to not get read) is more directed at nomad and other haters...
MIA - kala
- Thread starter gumdrops
- Start date
the above (quoted again because posts at bottom of pages tend to not get read) is more directed at nomad and other haters...
swears
preppy-kei
I think MIA is a classic case of an artist trying to control their image and what their music means to an obsessive degree, not giving anyone any leeway to interpret her, and in the process getting caught up in this vortex of getting slagged off, responding to it, getting slagged off for that, etc, etc...
I'm not saying everything should be totally open to any pomo style interpretation whatsoever, but she needs to relax a little bit and maybe consider the contradictions and let people make their own minds up a bit. What artist has a totally objective view of themselves anyway? Even MIA can't have a clear understanding of MIA.
I'm not saying everything should be totally open to any pomo style interpretation whatsoever, but she needs to relax a little bit and maybe consider the contradictions and let people make their own minds up a bit. What artist has a totally objective view of themselves anyway? Even MIA can't have a clear understanding of MIA.
Gabba Flamenco Crossover
High Sierra Skullfuck
She definitely seems to be obsessed with her own press, to an unhealthy degree.
N
nomadologist
Guest
i was way excited by the initial mixtape, but i didn't think arular stood up to repeated listening. it was very same-y and in my experience WAAAAY overplayed. i went into the whole MIA thing a believer, and the unfortunate arch of her career (which will not be helped by her terribly unprofessional bridgeburning behavior toward ex-boyfriend diplo who DID help her make a name for herself, whether he masterminded arular or not) is not helping matters.
N
nomadologist
Guest
i think you're exactly right. more than anything i wish a female artist who had so much promise and seemed so saavy would have known not to take that bait from the industry. now, whether it's true or not, she's acting the part of the "woman scorned" and playing into the hands of her misogynist critics (which I do believe she has) when she goes out publicly and instead of being professional and saying "it's too bad things didn't work out and diplo is unfairly credited with my work, since i had a great time making arular with him. i wish him the best, but on this new album i've really tried to move ina new direction" she talks shit about diplo and comes off as a typical person slagging off an ex.
N
nomadologist
Guest
Her father is considered by many to be part of a terrorist organization. I have no problem with her having been poor (which I highly doubt, her father was not poor in Sri Lanka!), I have a problem with her politics. Name dropping the fact that your dad is a "freedom fighter" but then making no clear political statements seems naive and stupid to me. Calling yourself a "refugee" when you're a St. Martins grad is pretty sketchy, too.
In the end, I suppose it's not even what MIA says that I don't like, it's what she doesn't say: so MIA, guns bombs terrorism? So what? In a world where so many people are so apathetic, it'd be more interesting to me if she had some sort of point-of-view I felt I could get behind.
N
nomadologist
Guest
Pffffffffffff. It wouldn't be the first time someone in an entertainment industry lied ("exaggerated") to project a certain image.
N
nomadologist
Guest
This is exactly what I can't stand about her. When you reference the suffering of the third world or woman in order to lend your album some aura of "political" credibility, and add a dash of "i'm a refugee" backstory for authenticity, but then fail to take full advantage of the soapbox you've just created for yourself--fail to really takea stand against anything--I think you make a complete mockery of your own intentions and political ideals.
I also really resent the idea MIA seems to have that just because she's female, she should be seen as some sort of representation of females everywhere, and that her music has some sort of "feminist" purpose and credibility, so that no self-respecting feminist could dare be critical of her.
Bullshit.
N
nomadologist
Guest
Does she remind anyone else a bit of Adam Ant? Obviously though, he had better tunes.
Yeah, I do like how her style in clothes represents the huge "pomo" mess that is her person cannon/set of musical influences. It's too bad she ruins it with her "politics."
N
nomadologist
Guest
The Clash are a pretty good referent for her, especially on Combat Rock--it's the same brand of stylized "politicism."
Guybrush
Dittohead
I like ‘Bird Flu’ the most; ‘Boyz’ is a close second. The Switch productions are pretty good but sound exactly like his remixes, so if you have been into those you are basically getting more of the same + dodgy rapping. (‘Bird Flu’ and ‘Boyz’ sound like Diplo productions.) I cannot understand a word of what she is saying 80% of the time ... It’s pretty energetic stuff, though. Wow, it’s the gender card and the Third World card — both in one neat soundbite. Yeah, she reeks of media-savviness. I wonder how much the relative success of Arular was down to it being one of the first albums of its kin. Now we have got all the other Diplo protégés mucking about. (Whatever happened to that M.I.A.-goes-Japanese girl, for example? The name eludes me. Well, she wasn’t very good.) The ones from Angola that Zhao lauded, and those favela-funking Brazilians with the ‘Office Girl’ (Boy?) one, and the Sinden guy, whose productions sound exactly like Switch’s. Maybe the (again, relative) success was sealed in part by many indie kids not having heard these kinds of beats before? Not in such an unintimidating setting anyway (British art-school student contra roughneck toasters). All that being said, there is no rationalising the triumph that is ‘Bucky Done Gun’. It’s a testimony to everything that was thrilling about dance music at the time of its conception.