M.I.A.’s second release Kala, has made Time Magazine’s top 10 albums of 2007!
In a short but sweet review by Josh Tyrangiel, M.I.A.’s sound is described almost more as an experience:
“Instead there are sweltering melodies forged from disco, reggae, rap and Bollywood as well as animal sounds, kiddie choruses, didgeridoos, bells, whistles, zooming cars and what sounds like Silly Putty bouncing around in a rubber room. It’s easy to get lost in all the chaos, and that’s kind of the point.”
Coverage of M.I.A.’s recent Baltimore show. Michael Byrne notices that Rye Rye has some serious talent and implies that M.I.A. phoned it in!
Excerpt:
M.I.A. was robbed by a 16-year-old local girl named Ryeisha Berrain. We know: unthinkable. It wasn’t a back-to-the-wall mugging, but more of a lose-sight-of-your-bag-and-it’s-gone sort, the type of thing that happens after wandering into the wrong part of town without noticing. Last Friday, M.I.A. wasn’t all there and someone else was: Baltimore’s finest snatched-from-public-schools MC, Rye Rye.
Here’s a recent article in Papermag.com about M.I.A.’s apparent disdain for the music industry and what it does to a person.
Excerpt:
Sometimes M.I.A. just doesn’t feel like it anymore. A fall tour through Australia found the underground agitator wondering whether making music was still right for her. Everyone’s entitled to an off day, but some of us less so than others. When you’re one of the few political voices in alternative culture, an artist who’s staked her reputation on doing things the hard way, those days are few and far between. “I feel like whatever motivates me to make music next either has to be something that’s incredibly good or incredibly bad,” she says quietly in a voice verging on the cynical. “At the moment I feel like I’m free-falling. It’s a bit scary. The main cultural musical icons right now are Britney Spears, who is a tragedy, and Kanye West, because he’s that crass about selling himself. Everybody talks about Britney being so pathetic for her performance at the VMAs. That shows no understanding of a human being and what they go through. If that’s how you get judged, and that’s what it takes to [make it] in America, then I don’t want that. I don’t want to compromise what I say to get on the radio.”
Curiously enough, although M.I.A. is a rather new phenomenon in the U.S., you’d think Google would have indexed a ton of M.I.A. wallpapers! Apparently not! As an homage to M.I.A., thought we’d throw up some quick wallpaper. They aren’t anything special, but we like them clean and clutter free (makes for easier desktop organization!)
Would love to see what others have done if they care to share and we’ll add it to our wallpaper section! Just comment with a link!
The following are all 1024×768. If there is enough demand and we can secure photos, we’ll create more!
I can’t source it, but a devoted M.I.A. fan over at miafan.co.uk claims that M.I.A. may be done with the music industry. With INS issues haunting her, she’ll be out of the U.S. soon at least for now. Here’s hoping you don’t give up on music M.I.A.!
**Update** According to a recent MuchMusic interview:
“I’m doing all of these shows and I’ve already started saying to my fans that I’m not making music anymore.”
