This Is My M.I.A. Post
Just when you may be thinking that we're done, I come correct with the following oh so strong a post and you know we still here. I thought I'd give ample time to see if someone else would pick up the torch. Allow me. Because really people this isn't dissension for its own sake, this is just truth. Strapped in? Kala isn't good, it's mediocre, and M.I.A. isn't cool, she's just Sri Lankan.
Upfront, let me deal with the record. I admit liking "Bamboo Banga", "20 Dollar", and "The Turn" especially the latter two. They are about something more than the Third World and self-proclaimed terrorism (the only thing Maya's probably ever blown up was Diplo's ego (Ohhhhhhh!)). I like hearing Maya recount her childhood and her favorite artists in "XR2". I even appreciate "Jimmy" for also not being about makeshift bombs. Musically, "Paper Planes" is the only other worthwhile cut in addition to the ones above (minus "Jimmy" of course-- a top ten worst production of the year). Is it just me, or isn't the rest of the record nothing more than a cacophony of whistles and gunshots and booty bass and at best third world repping ad nauseam and for the most part prattle?
Why all the love for Kala then? Shit I could drop no fewer than thirty records from this year that I know are better than Maya's. Why am I so worried that her record is going to be bestowed the crown of Record of The Year by the venerable Pfork, Sty, VV, etc? Could it be because things are so fucked up that the trend has become more important to an unquestioning society than the aesthetically beautiful?
M.I.A. is the epitome of the trend: Indian, hot, rapper, absurdly dressed to ex/impress, I hate America, I am woman hear me roar. You see her look and attitude beginning to run rampant among the youth in the "cultured" northeast part of our country. She's a fucking gold mine. Critical outlets such as Pitchfork, for example, who have also financially reaped the benefits of the trend, could never go against their flagship act and covergirl.
Maya and her new record produce a glib notion of cool. To me it's cool when people think that being white, dorky, into indie rock, partially prudish, not so far as conservative, but moderate, i.e. themselves, can be cool in its own way. I think it's cool when people show interest in their own canon and culture first, try to find the good in it, rather than spring for that which is other. What I am trying to say here, people, is that, if you stop and consider for a sec, I am obviously cooler than M.I.A.
1 comment:
Sweet.
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