M.I.A. -- "Galang" on XL

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Backjob

Well-known member
What Matos said on the credibility issue.

So long as you don't judge it as any kind of a scene record, I think Galang is pretty good fun - the "hey ya heyyyy" chant bit is nice. And the MIA/Diplo thing isn't like any sort of work of genius, but the tunes they choose on it are all good'ns.

Put it this way, if she <i>didn't</i> have that background, it would be seen as an enjoyable novelty instead of a reprehensible rip-off...
 
B

Backjob

Well-known member
I mean, otherwise it's like hating on Talking Heads for ripping off "proper disco". Not that I even like Talking Heads, but I still think that'd be a dumb-ass line to take...
 
D

DavidD

can't be stopped
Erg the problem with criticizing it is i feel like no matter what i say about the song its going to be too far in either direction.
I don't think its a BAD song. I said "I don't like it at all" but that was a lie. I like it ok. There's just an overwhelming hype that accompanies it riding this wave of eclecticism and timing. Song of the year? Its cool, but jeez...and the MIA Diplo thing was interesting in parts, boring in others, and i never really listened to it that much. I didn't say "oh this sucks" but...

now I sound like riding the fence. Well, fuck you I am. ;)

it is safe here.
 
S

stelfox

Beast of Burden
yeah but matos the fact is that it is just NOT GOOD MUSIC. i couldn't give a fuck what she's ripping off if she's doing it well. unfortunately she is not. i do find it very strange how americans seem to rate MIA waaay more than brits.
 
Woebot

Woebot

Well-known member
stelfox said:
yeah but matos the fact is that it is just NOT GOOD MUSIC.
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well i'm kinda taken with matos's recontextualisation. "iko iko", hmm. glad he can get something out of it.

not so sure the talking heads/disco thing carries much weight. in these instances its always the recontextualisation thats interesting. you couldnt accuse talking heads of being anything but nerdy college dudes. it's when people try and slip under the radar, pull a fast one that i get irked. (scratches head) somehow i'd be much less annoyed by M.I.A. if she was a white rock chick. horrible to admit........
 
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dubplatestyle

Well-known member
her backstory seems pretty hardcore. (i don't make determinations about whether or not it makes people "credible." i don't think ex-crack dealers are cool people either.) she could be making it all up too. would that make it better or worse?

i like her.
 
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DavidD

can't be stopped
She can't be THAT hardcore, she hasn't sampled Pilot yet. Killa Cam is the barometer by which hardcore shall be measured.
 
N

Ned

Ruby Tuesday
Whatever people say about her production being derivative or dishonest or whatever, I think she's a far better MC than most of the grime MCs that get all this hype.
 
C

Clubberlang

Well-known member
stelfox said:
yeah but matos the fact is that it is just NOT GOOD MUSIC.
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I love quotes like this followed (and preceded) by miles of speculation about how she only got where she was because she's "pretty" and then finger-pointing at Justine Frischman and then digs at art students (haha and this is a joke, right, I mean wtf is this board if not a haven for geeky art kids) and oh then the race card (classy.)
 
hint

hint

party record with a siren
don't think anyone's had a go at art school students have they? that's the initial connection between her and justine frischman, isn't it?

M.I.A. did artwork for elastica... who were kinda ahead of their time in the sense that they sounded, back then, the same as how a lot of bands sound right now...

and "galang" kinda means the same as "gwan" if used as an exclamation... think it's a shortened form of "go along" (whereas gwan is "go on")... but kinda means the same as "come on then, let's 'ave it!" if you just say it on its own - "galang! galang!"
 
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DavidD

can't be stopped
I'm not choosing sides here but I assumed those jabs were more intended to explain the positive press surrounding average music rather than saying "she sucks bcuz she is not real."
 
J

jed_

Well-known member
love it - one of the years best tunes. It's amusing the way people's peceptions of it changed after they heard who was involved. she's a terrible dancer though!
 
M

mms

sometimes
blimey, as mutant dancehall goes it's alright, i'm sure she's very nice and like alot of pop people she has a ghost writer and a production team, she's not an auteur? big deal.i've heard it come from one car where i live so erm is that ok?
i prefer the b side to sunshowers, the second one but the best one that team have done is the lovers: sex club imo, that's ace.
 
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