Saturday, February 4, 2012

M.I.A - Bad Girls


MIA's last album, Maya, somehow tried to fuse her signature sound with Primal Scream's XTRMNTR and then filter that through Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. To my ears it was an unlistenable mess and made me long for the confrontational sub continental infused pop of her first two albums. Bad Girls is back to that formula and while it's pretty sexy and fun, let's face it, this song is all about those dudes surfing in their sandals while hanging onto speeding cars at the end of the video. Seriously, I have nothing to say about the song apart from saying the video is awesome, check out the video 2:54 - wow!

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2 comments:

  1. Matt "Max" VanFebruary 4, 2012 at 5:25 AM

    I liked /\/\ /\ \/ /\ well enough, even if it wasn't as good as Kala, which remains my favorite MIA record, and even liked the Vikkileekz mxtape, which had the early version of this track, but, much like most non-Kanye hip hop, what's best about MIA is the mix of references- in this case Young male car culture and the Saudi ban on women driving, which while thrilling, isn't up to the extremism of Born Free- I mean, you've got Suicide's Ghost Rider mashing up to Blomquistian third world dystopianism, on what looked like a Liveleek video smuggled out of Iraq with south park references. This is easier to watch, but Born Free is like a gauntlet thrown down by the third world asking the first world how much they really believe their ideals, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is pretty much the core of MIA's message... a reminder, then-http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd2w3j_m-i-a-born-free-video-official-real_music

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  2. JonathanFebruary 4, 2012 at 11:42 AM

    Oh yeah, Born Free is just a head fuck and fuck you at the same time - it's pretty unforgettable and a visceral jolt to anyone who doesn't understand the notion of ethnic cleansing. The politics are infinitely harder on that record but I can't say that I want to hear it on a regular basis. It's been a while, maybe I'll go back and give it another listen but I think both the first two albums are better. While I got the Saudi ban references, she seems to be having fun with it (no redhead head shots here) and some of that driving is pretty amazing. Just a great video really...

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