What other songs deserve an episode of New British Canon? Trash Theory playlists - Spotify: tinyurl.com/yxp32pjf Deezer: tinyurl.com/y2mdp8h2 Also if you want to help out, here's my patreon link: patreon.com/trashtheory
21 Seconds by So Solid Crew is a MUST in bridging the gap between garage and what became known as grime, propelling it into the mainstream and creating chart success
The libertines and Pete Doherty’s influence on music / culture even fashion...now gone out not with the bang everyone expected at one point (ie by OD) instead fading away as he kind of has, never really getting clean... i think he was the most talented songwriter of his generation, but wasted so much potential. There’s a clip on RU-vid of Alan McGee saying more or less the same thing - even that he could have been as big as oasis. Not sure if I think he had enough general appeal for that, but he could have done something greater than he did at his peak circa 04-06 if surrounded by better musicians and less drugs. Pissed it all up the wall, you could say. It was foretold.
shes such a good role model legend, thank you MIA, also, for your voice for Tamil and opressed peoples all over the world, MIA is a MESSAGE, a good one
finally, a review that does justice to this brillant artist. I'm sick of people talking bout the gunshots in paper planes and taking the lyrics too serious and without any study of the meaning.
@Grant Kerr I used to think the song was about people hating immigrants and saying that "all they do is killing and taking our jobs" while the immigrant on the video is working hard.
I had no idea about M.I.A’s history and this has just made me love her even more. I grew up with her music and being the only person of colour among my family and friends, I related to her so much and felt a strong connection with her. She really inspires me a lot.
I was into other forms of music at the time her first album dropped (early college days) so I kinda skipped out on her until much later. But I'll say her first two albums are still really futuristic.
MIA is fascinating to me. I think my favorite thing is the verisimilitude she establishes by masking even her most politically poignant songs as dance club jams with lyrical cliches about dancing sprinkled in. It's like hearing pop music over the radio in a dystopian future and there's some secret organization of political dissidents that's desperately trying to squeeze their life experiences into the broader culture subliminally through pop hits. There's a very specific vibe to MIA's work. She's got a whole aesthetic.
One of the first things I ever borrowed from the library was her Arular album. I was instantly attracted to all the colors on the cover when I was a kid. I read the lyrics from the booklet and was shocked, especially for 10 Dollar. For the first time, I realized music could be talking about real problems in the world. Pretty sure she's the reason I have high expectations for artists' lyrics.
The trailer did so well that Interscope asked the movie producers for an obscene amount of money to have it on the soundtrack. victim of its own success.
Amen, as a 1st gen kid from a largely immigrant (Central American, African, S.E Asian) community and this coming out in my HS - College years this was so empowering. This was blasting out of everyone's cars back in day
MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is probably the best documentary I've ever seen. It draws attention so clearly to the problems with American media as well as many other huge issues. It really puts things into perspective --- as well as being a brilliantly-made story about an amazing, unique popstar. Funny thing is, it barely makes any mention of Paper Planes 😂
as a Tamil from London and a British Asian, Im really happy you made this video. MIA is the type of artist that gives new artists of similar origin hope. as a musician myself, MIAs music is something completely different for me to listen to. my family is also from Jaffna and theres a lot in her music that's incredibly familiar, from the themes of immigration and refugees to the oriental styles of music that we grew up learning from our parents, and is pretty much a validation of the type of shit that we try to put out. a great British artist and one that I couldn't be prouder of.
I’ve liked MIA since 2004 when I heard Sun Showers. Am so glad she’s still making beautifully complex music. She’s definitely an icon. And crazy smart too.
To add another bit of her international influences, Bucky Done Gun is highly influenced by Brazilian funk. She even went to Brazil at the time. This was over 10 years ago, waaay before Brazilian funk go mainstream abroad
I am from Tamilnadu. Most of our people don't even know her, even to these days. I am happy that she went ahead of all odds. Those were really pernicious time for tamil elams in sri lanka
@@crieverytimsampling in & of itself doesn't mean otherwise. There are several examples in hiphop and electronic music that transform samples into very intricate and layered works. Furthermore a lot MIA's stuff mixes a lot of different and distant genres. Which isn't easy to do.
You don't know what "legendary" means. Understandable considering your frame of reference is limited and your general knowledge of the past 100+ years of music is non-existent.
This is such a wonderful love letter to one of my most favourite artists of my teens. You've encapsulated why myself and so many people adore M.I.A. and her music and what she stands for. Thank you for this.
Fiona Apple is a admitted reclusive that only releases albums every decade or so and when she does they’re always critically acclaimed. I’d hardly say she’s been blacklisted.
@@firemarshal2629 She was regarded as a joke by many people at the beginning of her career in the late 1990's. Everything from her looks to her personality received a lot of scrutiny from the media and the public in those early years... It slowly started getting better once she released her second album, but she had a rough start for sure.
Real Heel Ryan after her acceptance speech at the 1997 the media branded her as unhinged oddity or a diva that forced depression upon herself to make better art. they did try blacklist her because she spoke out against the pop machine and critiqued the media.
I was about 12 when “Galang” came out and I heard it on Fuse or some other now defunct music channel. I was immediately infatuated with how different it sounded from anything else at the time. Loved her music.
Heard Galang on a college station back in 2005, and liked it right away, because I thought it was a new dancehall song. It's still a banger after all these years.
It's crazy how one tune can absolutely blow up your career. That paper planes even though I'm not into that style of music completely grabbed me and stuck with me . Such a great song that goes with so many settings in life 😍
There is no other artist like M.I.A. she stays so true to herself and takes inspiration from such a wide variety of sounds so it is impossible to put her in a box. Edit: Free Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸
It's important to note that the Clash were credited as co-writers of the song. Some people seem to think she (and Diplo) just brazenly stole it. So the surviving members of the Clash have probably made a fairly decent amount from it over the years, given the song's enormous success.
Your video essays are great! I always watch them, doesn't matter if I'm a fan of the artists or genre you're covering or not. Love your work, I feel like I'm actually learning something.
M.I.A. is such an underrated artist, i remember playing midnight club 3 as a kid and hearing fire fire and fell in love with it. never heard anything like it before
I love her so much! I didn’t appreciate her music when I was younger but now listening to it as an adult, she’s so phenomenal and inspirational. Some things you don’t appreciate or recognize until you’ve grown up a little lol
So glad i clicked on this. My interest level in M.I.A just went from about 25 to 100 real quick. Paper Planes has always been a banger. New subscriber.
I was always a fan of M.I.A, and have always been intrigued to know more about her. Her lyrics always controversial and antagonising and honest. Eclectic styles, but original and new
I had never heard of this artist or the song until I saw Slumdog Millionaire years after the film was released. Almost as soon as I had finished watching the film, I looked for where I could find the song, and more of the artist. I bought Kala and I have thoroughly enjoyed the album. Since I don't really pay much attention to popular music, I never realised how popular it was.
Been MIA fan for a long time, didn't expect to have goosebumps and tear up watching this. I was very curious on the 20 minute video versus some older artist covered but she has such a powerful life. I downloaded Kala on my Zune it was promoted on briefly, the Bun B and rich boy remix of Paper Planes is one of my favorite songs of all time.
i love this series sooo much, maybe you should do a video in charli xcx and how she is shaping the way pop is being made ps: sorry if my english is weird, its not my first language haha
Paper Planes story reminds me of Lizzo's Truth Hurts, she also almost quit music after it was released. Until a netflix movie used it and the song blew up. Crazy how on thing can change your life forever.
I was a junior in high school when this song came out. My favorite song from this album was actually '20 dollar.' I was quite young so hadn't really paid attention to the lyrics, but I'm so glad this video brought me back to the song and its lyrics. I'm so glad to know the inspiration for that song and to delve back into her music. M.I.A. is brilliant!
Brave and Real...Then Now and Forever. Thank you for making you're Music Mean Something. Thank you for standing for ones who can't stand, thank you for a voice, for ones who have no voice. This music is longevity becuse you told the truth. Massive Respect.
Great video. That song is a masterpiece but never thought about it much. This gave me a new appreciation of what MIA went through and how dedicated she is to causes bigger than her, especially her family.
Started listening to her attentively on Kala, then paid attention to Arular, so on and so forth until AIM. If she were to pull a surprise album at any time now, it's duly awaited!
great source of knowledge. cannot stop watching one after another. huge respect and gratitude. and i found a song i've been looking for for a ddeeccaddee:OOO
Kala is properly imprinted in my mind as my first post-college soundtrack. It was August 2008. The opening of $20 made those daily bus rides from York University to my first post-college job at a shitty call centre, with the hot summer sun pouring through the window, absolutely uplifting and transportive. A ray of light during otherwise melancholy days.
Fantastic!Loved it! I needed this video in my life. THANK YOU so much. I can't wait to see here and absorb more from this artist on ALL mediums. Now I have a better idea of where and what to look for, thank you again.
I am one of the biggest M.I.A. fans. I grew up listening to her music. I remember buying her albums and watching all her videos on RU-vid ... like watching this made me so happy. Idk why but I really can’t stand paper planes. Like it’s a great song I just use to hate when I would talk about her and it’s all people would mention. She has amazing work,..
I heard about M.I.A. on public radio, The World one day and liked it. Downloaded Arula and listened to it, a lot. I had no idea what I was singing, but I sang it anyway. No matter what playlist I was listening to, ARULA was in every playlist I made. The story covered a bit of her life, nothing this deep. All these people talking about "this girl who sings paper airplanes" and I just want to smack them on the forehead. This girl?? I was so excited that the song was so popular, but people don't want to bother to find out her as an artist. Go listen to Arula or never speak to me again.
I was just saying on one of her vids that her music suffers from the "Rage Against The Machine problem". Her music is fueled largely by a message, or messages, but it also sounds great and there's often a dissonance between the contents of the song and it's sound ("Sunshowers" is a good example) so the message itself gets lost. People just listen for the sound. Or mistaken the lyrics badly. Instead of a sarcastic and hyperbolic take on immigrant stereotypes and state propaganda, "Paper Planes" is seen as a g'd out finesse song about knockin down licks. No different than how Republicans can listen to RATM and somehow feel it only fits Democrats instead of them too. Ya gotta sound appealing to get the music in front of people. But not everyone is gonna pick up on the message, much less agree with it, and some will pervert it entirely and use it for their own bs. A lotta mfs will just hear what they wanna hear or twist it into whatever serves their purposes. It's a real problem with revolutionary music. Either the message is pure and nobody ever hears it or the song is big enough but to get it there the message can be easily overlooked or lost. Idk how ya overcome that as an artist. Even with all the real world activism and making it absolutely clear what RATM was about many people still don't know what an anarchist is, much less that it's the perspective they come from, and can warp their songs into everything from childish rebellion to partisan hackery. Most people who fw RATM aren't anarchists or any other tendency of anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-bigotry, pro-autonomy,, pro-democracy, pro-equality, pro-solidarity, thought. Plenty of bigots and xenophobes love M.I.A's music, no doubt. Most of the people who liked Public Enemy weren't on their Black Power wave. A whole lotta Clash fans were artsy liberals who were just as guilty as anyone they sang about and were not militant radicals. Hella reactionary rednecks listen to Steve Earle and completely miss his pretty explicit critiques of patriarchy, racism, capitalism, etc, from a pretty obvious libertarian-socialist perspective. I've known a lotta dead prez and Immortal Technique fans who don't really have a clue what they're about and plenty of punks that don't understand the political, social and economic message in much of the music they claim to live for. It's all frequently taken as this general rebellion that keeps power structures and social relations intact. Individual "rebellion", like dyed hair, over fundamental change. A whitewashed and sanitized rebellion that's safe for the middle class to dip their toes in. There's a massive issue of artist and message being too separated from the listener/viewer. Which then begs the question of is art still in the artists hands once they put it out there? Or can the public do as they wish despite any intentions the artist may have had? Not sure how ya fix any of it. But it's interesting. ✊👊☮️🖤🏴🥀🌐A///E
This comment really got me thinking about what happens to art once it leaves the mind of the creator, and by* extension most things that require creativity and perspective and communal interaction.
That's why pop is one of the greatest modern vehicle for propaganda and détournement. Pop is an alogirthm. MIA is the concept. MIA understands the problem of art and revolution in post industrial society very well. As a musician, she explicitly stated early that she wanted to make innovative pop songs that sounded like nothing but was saying something should u decide u wna peel back. That has actually been a point of critique against her since day 1 by cynics - that she is not militant or clear enough in her politics in her art (the truffle fries incident lol). Either it's too serious and heavy or it's not serious enough. The thing is she's not defined by politics like pundits, art and cultural critics are. The last thing on her mind would be to label herself. I would be that she still doesn't consider herself a musician (her interview on QTV). Her life has been materially affected by politics in its most brutal form - more so than others. But MIA as artist (making music) doesn't come from a place of doing-politics (different from being influenced by politics... whose live isn't?). Her art is not trying to DO politics i.e. BE revolutionary, BE political or even have a Message™. Being political is almost as much incidental as it is a core part of MIA's art. If anything, her art is like the best modern satire... with banging beats and visionary visuals. Plus it's fun. It's ok to just dance! The artist-art conundrum is age-old. The death of the author is also old by now. Now, it's eclipsed by the notion of being a brand. MIA's too chaotic and contradictory to be a brand. She's been called leftist, racist, radical, terrorist etc etc. She's too complex to be whittled down to a branding identity for the consumer market. And honestly, she probably couldn't, she simply is not that kind of person to be simply one thing. She is always looking for the bigger picture like any artist and insists on her creative independence and creative license to feel and say whatever she wants. Alas, that's not the time we have been or are living in. Be a brand or work for a brand 2020. As for why she didn't succeed in the mainstream music industry, it's mostly cos she revels in contradictions. We're lucky we have her. She is an endlessly creative fun bratty punk goofy forward-thinking unapologetic artist. Her instincts are unmatched. OG TINGZ
I still vividly remember the first time I heard this song. I was driving around with my friends and we must have heard this at least 3 times in a row. Epic.
Thanks so much for this vid!!! I remember when Paper Planes was everywhere, & I had hoped that this was gonna lead to more mainstream success for M.I.A., but sadly, was not to be. I am still a huge fan of hers, & I was right there from the beginning, with the Arular album. Anybody know what she's up to nowadays?
I recall a time around 2007, M.I.A. was doing a 2 (maybe 3) night show at the Commodore Ballroom. I attempt to get tickets but it was sold out. I went down to the venue to see what tickets were going for. Let me tell you, between the scalper and the scalper, tickets were impossible to obtain at a reasonable price, and a tad bit pricey for my finances at the time. I even had one of the two scum-y hamster-gangster type scalpers tell me that I was scum because I was trying to by my tickets, from people who had extras, at cost. My jacket alone probably cost more then his whole attire. Despite my efforts. I never did get to go.
What an absolutely phenomenal video! Thank you. Is there anything in the pipelines for another video that continues on from her career past Papers Planes by any chance?
I love her music and I'm always listening to her discography since I was a kid but I didn't know much about the backstory of her music. This video was dope
I remember waiting for Sasha, and John Digweed to play their set at Coachella, or maybe it was just one of them, but I remember M.I.A. just pumping this song, I think she was pregnant too. I’ll never forget it!
THANK YOU, I've loved MIA since I discovered Paper Planes (I think thanks to Slumdog Millionaire, though I hated that movie.) I've been following her ever since, now you've reminded me to look for her documentary.
