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M.I.A.'s Letterman performance last night means nothing

By Lindsay Cutler on Jul 14th, 2010  |  Comments (18)

M.I.A.

However you feel about Lady Gaga (i.e. has no message, is all artifice) is fine, but don't try to use it as ammunition for your pro-M.I.A rhetoric. (As if the argument that one pop star being better than another is an argument worth having, anyway.)

Check out the live performance of her barn-burning single, "Born Free." If you've seen the original video, you know it showcases M.I.A.'s penchant for revolution n' stuff. And sure - at least her music has a message and isn't some vapid meditation on authenticity and celebrity like Lady - oh wait, it is. That is exactly what this is. Additionally, whatever musical engineer (possibly her?) thought that adding an edgy noise element would take it to the next level, it did in the sense that I had to turn down my computer's VOLUME LEVELS. (Awesome joke.)

Watch Dave's reaction at the end:

FIND MORE
M.I.A. Doesn't Like Her NY Times Profile, Tweets Reporter's Cell Phone Number
M.I.A.: Lady Gaga Is Not Nearly As Weird As She Wants To Be

Comments ( 18 )

This is embarrassing--the performance, the lyrics, the song, the keyboardist, the fact that I just watched it.

unfunny commented on Jul 14 10 at 2:58 pm

I'm sick of this type of "musical" bullshit. No talent, no purpose, no real message, too shrouded in the veil of I'm-an-artist-and-performer, and too many lemmings willing to laud and praise them simply because it's the cool thing to do. These folks, and the idiots who enable them, need to go away.

SR commented on Jul 14 10 at 3:15 pm

No talent.

jr commented on Jul 14 10 at 3:36 pm

Terrible. Just terrible. Music needs to matter and I agree that she is better than Gaga but not all that great. Seems like she is swinging back towards Gaga.

Dionne commented on Jul 14 10 at 4:45 pm

About as artful as a McNugget.

emc commented on Jul 14 10 at 4:48 pm

That dude on the keyboard is pretty tough though. I wanna own that!

harhar commented on Jul 14 10 at 4:53 pm

The "edgy noise element" is Suicide's "Ghost Rider", the song MIA plundered for this single. But they must be OK with it, since it looks like Suicide's Martin Rev is manning the keyboard here. The fact that it would still bother people (I mean you guys) thirty years after it first came out is a testament to its relevance, methinks, but you obviously don't have to agree, y'all. Instead you can blabber about art or whatever. Boo hoo it's loud, boo hoo, it's not art. You're right. It's freaking pop music, people, get a hold of yourself. Pop music with a message never goes on Letterman, unless we're talking "We are the world" type messages.

Gman commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:06 pm

Where do comparisons with Lady Gaga even come from? They're both women, there's synth in their music? I don't get it. Lady Gaga is to MIA as Boney M to Kraftwerk.

DR commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:07 pm

I know she's supposed to be important....politically, or whatever. But I saw this last night and it was simply awful, and I've seen and heard other stuff by her, and...she's simply awful.

Jake A commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:24 pm

Am I the only one who thinks this is kind of awesome? Performing simultaneously with ten impersonators is just a clever idea. And as far as "abrasive noise," it's hardly a new thing in artsy pop music. Why the hate?

steve commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:30 pm

@steve: exactly.
@DR: I have to wonder why every other post on Scanner gushes over Lady Gaga's latest fake controversy or outrageously banal video (I mean seriously, her outfits look like Gaultier. BFD) and shitty music, but always mentions MIA to point out that she's not that cool, and she can be stupid on twitter, and blablabla. Yeah, but her music is consistently more interesting than Gaga's.

Gman commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:37 pm

Lady Gaga sucks too. She's a marketing and promotion genius, but her music sucks and she's as fresh as a bunny ranch hooker.

SR commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:49 pm

I like MIA and Gaga. I prefer MIA but I accept that people used to middle of the road AOR just won't want to be challenged and will dismiss her. Bless their little hearts.

And I'm not a head-up-my-own-ass-music-snob so I can happily admit that I dance to Gaga and her infuriatingly catchy songs. Have I lost my hipster indie cred? Couldn't give a toss.

Robin Kelly commented on Jul 14 10 at 7:36 pm

I don't know, I'm kinda digging the 8 back-up singers/clones on stage with her. It's gimmicky, but it's a good gimmick.

Sara commented on Jul 14 10 at 9:57 pm

Obnoxious. Why would they ever book her? Especially when "Paper Planes" was so ridiculously overplayed.

DIff commented on Jul 14 10 at 11:24 pm

honestly, i didn't know anyone who hated m.i.a. until that nyt profile incident.

emh commented on Jul 15 10 at 2:22 am

nobody really hates mia, they just want to. i mean, who cares? really? it's friggin' pop music, listen to it or don't. oh, and just because she's not bono doesn't mean she's lady gaga.

slanted commented on Jul 15 10 at 10:23 am

Moments of my life gone!

Argh! commented on Jul 20 10 at 12:20 pm

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