Shorter version of my MIA argument: if you reduce her music to a political statement, that statement is kinda stupid, at least insofar as most people seeking to analyze music as politics are only interested in policy-position messages or general grandstanding hoo-ha and miss the more complex and interesting political messages conveyed by the music as a whole etc. oh awesome Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" is on! What was I saying? Oh yeah.

So the problem is if you reduce MIA to a political statement, it's a stupid one, as would be the case for almost all good pop songs. But the music itself, to say nothing of the lyrics, are adamently not stupid. It's the equivalent of taking a meal, adding up how much each ingrediant cost, and assessing its worth that way, rather than by how it, y'know, tastes. And this isn't even getting into the icky idea that Arular exists to make the public aware of the situation in Sri Lanka. Save me from the horrors of pop-music-as-PSA, please. We owe it more than that.

As linked in a comment below, more on politics in art here.
posted by Mike B. at 1:19 PM 0 comments