/\/\ /\ Y /\

/\/\ /\ Y /\ by M.I.A. (Interscope) ASIN: B003X03D58

Summary

The album is a series of abrasive dance songs (save for "XXXO").  Some are political; some are about partying.  There doesn't appear to be a unified message for the album.  The intent seems to be challenge her casual listeners.

Critical Evaluation

Maya Arulpragasam (M.I.A.) is an incredible pastiche artist.  Her early records include samples of songs by The Clash and the Pixies looped and skewed to create contemporary pop fare that can easily sneak onto the radio (see "Paper Planes" from her second full length album Arular).  The self-titled third album (spelled in a kind of l33t speak with slashes) is by far her most challenging.  Most tracks are dense sound collages.  But she still manages to sneak in pop confections like XXX0 as though they were songs she could write in her sleep.  She also samples "Ghostrider" by Suicide for "Born Free."  Suicide, with their abrasive attitudes and confrontational songs are not a typical group for samples.  M.I.A., like Florence Welch, uses her vocals to express a kind of power.  Here vocal range is not as varied as Welch, and her delivery is not rich or lush.  She relies on vocoders or tends towards rapping.  Her strength is certainly in the way she layers musical tracks: in this way she is very much the opposite of Welch.  Also, unlike Welch, Arulpragasam is willing to use sexuality in the tracks -- though she usually twists it, as in one of my favorite choruses of 2010.  It begins sounding like a standard pop starlet "You want me / XXXO / You want me / XXXO," but she twists it to "You want me be somebody that I'm really not."  The line sounds like a kiss off not only to potential suitors, but also to critics who had pigeonhold M.I.A. as a pop artist.  The album sits in a punk tradition of an album that attempts to steer an artist out of the mainstream -- Nirvana's In Utero, for example, was much more challenging than Nevermind (or the Clash's triple album "Sandinista," which with its confrontational name and daunting run-time almost ensured a lack of commercial success).  The album seems to achieve its aims as M.I.A.'s least critically adored work.

Reader’s Annotation

M.I.A. is an audio bricoleur.  She hoards old records and sounds like a squirrel hoards acorns; then she transmutes them and adds to them creating sounds that are at once familiar and pleasing but also peculiar and abrasive.

Information about the author

From the website Allmusic.com: 

Maya Arulpragasam spent the early years of her life in a number of places. She moved from London, England, to her parents' native Sri Lanka at the age of six months, only to relocate to Madras, India. During a return stay in Sri Lanka, the civil war taking place within the country escalated to the point where Arulpragasam began to lose family members and friends. She didn't see her father -- a devout and active separatist as part of the Tamil rebellion, which has clashed with the Sinhalese majority -- often throughout these years, but her life stabilized once she and the rest of her family were able to make it back to London. 

As a student, Arulpragasam became involved in the arts and published a monogram book of her paintings -- titled M.I.A. and heavily influenced by the Tamil rebellion. She later connected with Elastica, providing the photography and graphics for the group's second album, and she shot footage during their American tour. Elastica's support act, Peaches, introduced her to the Roland MC-505, a sequencer she became familiar with after returning home. Steve Mackey (Pulp) and Ross Orton became involved after hearing a demo; they made adjustments to "Galang," a song that was then pressed into 500 copies and released, under the name M.I.A., by the Showbiz label. It didn't take long for the song -- a bold, righteous amalgamation of hip-hop, electro, dancehall, grime, and baile funk -- to make an impact with DJs. She wound up signing a contract with XL, which re-released the single and, eventually, debut album Arular in 2005. Anticipation for the release was considerable, only heightened by the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape she put together with DJ Diplo. 

Her second album, Kala, was released in 2007 and was recorded while she spent time in numerous countries. M.I.A. produced most of its tracks with Switch; Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Timbaland also contributed. One single from the album, "Paper Planes," became a surprise hit in summer 2008 after it was used in trailers for the film Pineapple Express; it eventually reached the Top Ten. The soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire also featured M.I.A.'s music; the release featured new material from the artist and was the first disc issued on her N.E.E.T. label. /\/\/\Y/\, the third M.I.A. album, was released in 2010. (Kellman, 2013)

Genre

Music: Alternative Dance

Curriculum Ties

There aren't particularly clear curriculum ties.  The album might warrant study in a course on music production.  While she dedicates the album to the Tamil people, few of the songs are overtly political -- though certainly some are.  These songs may be appropriate in a social studies course examining the conflicts in Sri Lanka.

Booktalking Ideas

1)"XXXO" is catchy, but not representative of the rest of the album.  It may be the greatest hook though.
2) The first song "The Message" might give a good sense of M.I.A.'s politics "head bone connected to the earphones, earphones connected to the iPod, iPod connected to the Internet, connected to the Internet, connected to the Google, connected to the Government."  This could be read as skepticism or wariness (though it could also be read as paranoia).

Reading Level/Interest Age

9th grade and up.

Challenge Issues

Strong language; lyrics about alcohol and drugs; criticism of the Bush administration; sexuality.  The liner notes contain images of violence (and her music video for "Born Free" featured both nudity and violence though to a political end).

I would openly greet any patron who presented a challenge to the work, giving them ample time to detail their complaint.  I would listen attentively.  To respond to these challenges I would have some reviews of the work on hand.   I would be prepared to explain that as a public institution libraries "cannot limit access on the basis of age or other characteristics" (ALA, 1999).  I would have copies of the library's collection policy on hand.  I would be prepared to politely discuss that parents can control what their children are exposed to by coming to the library with them and examining books they check out.  If the Teen Advisory Group had written reviews of the work I'd have them handy.  While it may be of little comfort to certain parents, I would also be prepared to discuss my staunch support of intellectual freedom and abhorrence of censorship.  As a last resort, I would be sure to keep copies or a reconsideration form on hand.

Why did you include this book in the titles you selected?

I'm an M.I.A. fan, and I like this album though it was her least successful critically.  Also she performed 9 months pregnant at the Grammy Awards challenging our concept of how pregnant women should behave.

References

American Library Association. (1999). Strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips

Kellman, A. (2013). M.I.A.: Biography. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mia-mn0000388773