The New York Times reports: “In 2005 M.I.A., the Sri Lanka-born, London-raised rapper, released her acclaimed debut, “Arular,†a wildly inventive mash-up of punk, hip-hop, dancehall and electro. Now she’s added South Asian sounds to the mix. Her electrifying new single, “Bird Flu,†was partly recorded in South India, where she also filmed the video posted on her MySpace page (myspace.com/mia). The track is pure, surreal rhythm: thunderous dhol drums, poultry squawks and chanting children. (It may be included on her as-yet-untitled album, due in June on Interscope.) Last year a “bird flu dance†craze swept the Ivory Coast and Jamaica. It involves imitating a dying chicken, and naturally you can find plenty of examples on YouTube. In a highlight of M.I.A.’s video, a tiny boy leads a group of dancing villagers, flapping his arms like wings.”
COLLABORATORY: VITAL SYSTEMS SECURITY
The Vital Systems Security collaboration examines how, today, security is being constituted as an object of knowledge, intervention, and political reflection. It proposes that the security of vital systems such as energy, transportation, communication and health is one norm in relationship to which security is being reproblematized. A central goal of the collaboration is to examine these issues through collective, conceptually driven inquiry that addresses rapidly developing contemporary problems.
Makes one nostalgic for the old days of Cold War certainty, when we were dancing the mutually assured destruction boogie. “Dhol drums”?? Is that serious
All this said, the band is quite good.
Andrew, is this here purely for ironic purposes, or should I add good taste to the list of your positive attributes?
david.
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