NPR’s excellent news magazine “Day to Day,” leads today’s broadcast with a comprehensive audio profile of M.I.A.:

…music critic Christian Bordal relates the inspirational story of M.I.A — a young hip-hop artist who grew up in Sri Lanka and South London. Her music bridges the gap between her war-torn past and her urban present…M.I.A says she had an idyllic childhood until the civil war intervened — her father joined the Tamil fighters, and she and the rest of her family relocated to Britain, settling in a housing project in the south end of London. She blossomed in art school as a teen, and developed her own unique style of music — a "do-it-yourself" aesthetic inspired by the British club scene, with stripped-down bass and drum rhythms driving catchy melodies. [NPR]

Meanwhile, BoingBoing reports that her father’s ties to the ’Tigers may have caused her to miss a scheduled appearance in Seattle:

…reader Pablos says: "M.I.A. was scheduled to perform at Chop Suey in Seattle tonight. Apparently she is having some kind of Visa trouble and her show has been cancelled." Some speculate the incident may relate to her father’s affiliation with a Sri Lankan rebel group designated as a terrorist organization by the US. No news on her site or newsfeeds yet, but she’s also scheduled to play at SXSW this week. [BoingBoing]

Previous posts: M.I.A. signs with Interscope, M.I.A.: step up to blow up, Steel balls and pots, M.I.A. looked directly into my eyes!, and Military chic

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Authorities in the city of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh state are sending drummers around to create a noise outside homes until [tax] evaders cough up. Officials say they recouped 200,000 rupees ($4,600) on the first day. Harried residents emerged from their homes to be told by accompanying tax collectors to pay up or continue facing the music. [The Municipal commissioner] … said he was confident people would pay up to avoid embarrassment as everybody now knew that the drums meant there was a tax evader inside. [BBC]

If this fails, they can always play classical music, rock or rap to pound the scofflaws into submission. Continue reading →

Billboard.com reports that powerhouse music label Interscope Records has signed U.K. rapper M.I.A., and will release the controversial musician’s upcoming album “Arular” in the U.S. by mid-April (via Nirali Magazine). She’s currently touring the country, and will appear at the immensely popular Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in May.

Billboard.com: Sources: Interscope signs M.I.A.
Previous posts: M.I.A.: step up to blow up, Steel balls and pots, M.I.A. looked directly into my eyes!, and Military chic

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The Record, a music mag out of Bombay, ran an interesting interview with Nelly Furtado:

My daughter Nevis [with her DJ, Lil Jazz] is actually a quarter East Indian so I have family there now…

… I grew up with a lot of Asian and Indian friends speaking Punjabi and Hindi. And I grew up watching a lot of bhangra, Bollywood, religious music and we even had it on television on Saturdays. Actually sometimes while I would clean hotel rooms… my friends invited me to sing at their Indian cultural festival when I was about 18 years old, and my friend’s father said I should sing in Hindi, and I really liked it. I learnt Kabhi Kabhi and I really like Lata Mangeshkar and of course Asha Bhosle who I did a little collaboration with…

I’ve already done Indian remixes in the past. In particular I had an ‘I’m Like A Bird’ remix… And Josh (the Indian band who did the remix), are Canadian — they’re from Montreal actually… It has a lot of hip hop energy to it.

Heck, with that surname she could’ve been Goan 🙂 Here’s a previous post on the Josh remix of ‘Powerless’ (thanks, Sajit).

The Christian Science Monitor focuses attention on a growing epidemic in Indian society: kids no longer listen to their parents. The cause? Perhaps it is the glorification of parental disrespect and all the “following your heart” crap embedded within today’s Bollywood songs, as compared to those of yesteryear that kept it real (Mera Juta Hai Japani).

Indians have as many words for “love” as the Inuit have for “snow.” Songwriters choose from the many subtle variations: pyar (affection), mohabbat (love, in Urdu), prem (love, in Hindi), ishq (passion), or even junoon (obsession).

These sweet nothings are timeless, but the lyrics surrounding them have changed dramatically. In the 1950s, boys and girls would pine for each other, but accept their parents’ or society’s better judgment. Today’s lover lives and dies by his or her own mistakes or inner faults – immaturity, pride, poor dress sense – and the modern concept of love is spreading at the speed of sound to cities and villages, on radios and music videos, and into the minds of the humming masses.

The result, cultural watchers and filmmakers say, is a country teetering between its traditional rules and the giddy individualism of the West, with profound effects on India’s urban youth.

“This is the first generation that believes that tomorrow will be better than yesterday,” says Santosh Desai, president of the advertising firm, McCann Erickson, in New Delhi. “There’s this sense that the world is opening up with the lifting of constraints. There is an unspecific optimism, and one part of it is economic, but the other part is the lifting of mental barriers.”

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Stumbled upon a hidden musical gem while listening to one of iTunes’ streaming radio channels:

Anup Patel is a unique musician who combines traditional classical Indian music with western pop music. Anup proficiently plays the sitar, table and the keyboard, with his personal favorite being the sitar. Although Anup does not consider himself a master, he has been playing both tablas and sitar for over 30 years, a fact which is easily noticeable in his music.

Sure, it probably isn’t for everybody, but you don’t have to waste any money to figure out whether you’ll like it or not. Online music label Magnatune is so confident that you’ll enjoy Patel, and their other offerings, that their entire library is available on a “try before you buy” basis. You can listen to Patel’s entire album for free, as much as you’d like, and without having to register. Check out “Sweet Dissonance” and “Resolve.” If you’re into it, show the uncle some love and buy the album.

Magnatune: Anup Patel

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