Lorde’s commentary is mostly a reflection on the music/art scene itself and a criticism on the common youth perspective. She sings “I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air” in Team, “It’s a new art form showing people how little we care” in Tennis Court, “Explosions on TV/And all the girls with heads inside a dream/So now we live beside the pool/Where everything is good” in Buzzcut Season, and “Maybe the Internet raised us, or maybe people are jerks” in A World Alone. Subtle social commentary in each song, but just as effective as M.I.A.’s political refections.
What else do these two have in common? Well, they have been the subject of much music media buzz lately.
There is not much else for me to say for myself about Lorde, since she has been fully covered by many media sources in the past couple of months. LA Weekly’s Jena Ardell recently released an article about Lorde, including these picture quotes from the artist that I have included throughout this post. I’m a huge fan of Pure Heroine, her debut album, but I’m also a huge fan of 16 year old Ella: the way she carries herself, her mysterious candidness (what an appropriate oxymoron), her sense of style, her sense of humor—ALL OF IT. She reminds me of a sensible Amy Winehouse type, in musical ability that is.
As for M.I.A. in the current media, she has a new album out on November 5th entitledMatangi, including a interesting song: Y.A.L.A.
I personally consider M.I.A. an alternative artist of the new-fangled Hipster-Hop genre, joining Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and in a way, The Neighbourhood. The genre combines elements of rap/hip-hop with worldly influences and a more general alt/indie sound. My definition of hipster-hop also adds the element of having a deeper social message than typical rap music embodies. As I mentioned, M.I.A. is skilled in social commentary work in her music, just as is Macklemore’s hit Same Love and other songs on The Heist. What’s interesting about Y.A.L.A. is that it further goes against the Rap scene criticizing Drake’s absurd Y.O.L.O.. Praise The Lord (no pun intended), that a song has come out that says exactly what we’re all thinking about the ridiculous phrase. Y.A.L.A. stands for “You Always Live Again” whose lyrics include
"YOLO? I don’t even know anymore. What that mean though? If you only live once, why we keep doing the same shit? Back home, where I come from, we keep being born again and again … That’s why they invented karma."—via SPIN magazine
Other news involving M.I.A. involves her lawsuit with the NFL over the middle finger incident during the Madonna half-time show at the Super Bowl. The singer is stating that the backup singers/dancers were more offensive than her flipping the bird. She even went so far to release a video on Monday speaking her opinions.
"They’re basically [saying] it’s OK for me to promote being sexually exploited as a female, than to display female empowerment through being punk rock,” the singer said. “That’s what it boils down to, and I’m being sued for it."—via Huff Post Entertainment
All in all, another interesting week for M.I.A., to say the least.
Ah, the power of music: to have me thinking so much about these two artists and the unbelievable similarities between then, all because an incredible mashup of two catchy tunes.
-Josh Pineda (@IndieFoxJosh)