The Complex Journey of M.I.A. & PAPER PLANES | New British Canon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2020
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British music in the first decade of the 2000s could be defined by many things. The New Rock Revolution. The emergence of Grime. The continuation of UK garage. Poptism and Talent Shows were in the charts and nu metal and post-hardcore was fuelling the rock underground. But an artist that defied everything else happening around her but defined everything in her wake, was MIA. Starting off with her scrappy DIY debut album Arular in 2005, with similarly scrappy singles “Galang” and “Sunshowers”, her sound was a dizzying mix of whatever she could get her hands on: Hip-hop, jungle, dancehall, bhangra, electro, whatever but always with an ear for the mainstream. But the world truly knew her name with the release of “Paper Planes” in 2008. A monster single that fused together themes of immigration, public paranoia and being a gangster with biting satire, blasting gunshot effects and an eternal pop hook and a forerunner to Rihanna and Childish Gambino's "This is America". This is New British Canon. And this is the story of “Paper Planes.”
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#MIA #MusicDocumentary #PaperPlanes
Soundtrack:
South London HiFi - Kamogawa Dreaming
Jeremy Blake - Pixelated Autumn Leaves
Max McFerrin - Stasis Attempt
Sarah, The Illstrumentalist - Yellow Flamingo
B-Side - Pen Unubis
Luar - Anchor ( / luarbeats )
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What other songs deserve an episode of New British Canon?
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How Soon is Now.
Tubthumping by Chumbawamba please xx
The streets pls. Also you could make whole Pirate Radio scene and how influential it was for UKG and other genres
21 Seconds by So Solid Crew is a MUST in bridging the gap between garage and what became known as grime, propelling it into the mainstream and creating chart success
The libertines and Pete Doherty’s influence on music / culture even fashion...now gone out not with the bang everyone expected at one point (ie by OD) instead fading away as he kind of has, never really getting clean... i think he was the most talented songwriter of his generation, but wasted so much potential. There’s a clip on TH-cam of Alan McGee saying more or less the same thing - even that he could have been as big as oasis. Not sure if I think he had enough general appeal for that, but he could have done something greater than he did at his peak circa 04-06 if surrounded by better musicians and less drugs. Pissed it all up the wall, you could say. It was foretold.
"got more records than the KGB" is an iconic bar
could you please explain the meaning?
Mug
@@elysian5028 ...and a famously lacking bar. (All Vodka)
I mean it's very good but it isn't widely used enough or historical enough to be "iconic".
shes such a good role model legend, thank you MIA, also, for your voice for Tamil and opressed peoples all over the world, MIA is a MESSAGE, a good one
finally, a review that does justice to this brillant artist. I'm sick of people talking bout the gunshots in paper planes and taking the lyrics too serious and without any study of the meaning.
@Grant Kerr I used to think the song was about people hating immigrants and saying that "all they do is killing and taking our jobs" while the immigrant on the video is working hard.
@Grant Kerr
I just randomly was binging stuff about MIA and what do ya know? A recent thread! That's rare
What do they say about the gunshots? Just sounds kind of interesting
@Grant Kerr this is a very interest take too, I'll try to find where i found about the meaning of this music being related to foreign/immigrants
@Grant Kerr did he wrote the lyrics?
god i love this series. so good to see video essays that aren’t completely US-centric
Absolutely! It's fantastic to see another perspective
Right? It's like people think were the only scene, even though most good shit comes from over there...
Now imagine everything that's out there outside the English speaking world.
Sonic Goo oh man tell me about it, same with movies as well
@@frnk8650 yeah i went down a korean cinema rabbit hole last xmas...korean movies are often better than hollywood for production and story telling
"If I'm going to sing then I'm going to have to sing a bit weird." - M.I.A.
These are words to live by.
I had no idea about M.I.A’s history and this has just made me love her even more.
I grew up with her music and being the only person of colour among my family and friends, I related to her so much and felt a strong connection with her. She really inspires me a lot.
She is awesome... enjoy who you are too :)
damn bro it most be hard to be the only people of color in ur family and neighborhood
Her album Maya is absolutely incredible. I think M.I.A. doesn't get enough credit for how ahead of her time she is. She's a true rebel.
MIA's first 2 albums were like soundtracks to my childhood, and listening to them now they hold up soooo fucking well
So true.. her music is timeless
I'm going to a 2000s butlins weekend think I'm going to go as her!! She inspired my style so much I loved how colourful but chill she looked 😍😁
"how colourful and chill"
The best description ever 😉
I was into other forms of music at the time her first album dropped (early college days) so I kinda skipped out on her until much later. But I'll say her first two albums are still really futuristic.
Your childhood must have been really stupid and bad.
I remember people being upset that the song wasn't on the Pineapple Express soundtrack.
Still mad about it. It fit the trailer so well!!!
The trailer did so well that Interscope asked the movie producers for an obscene amount of money to have it on the soundtrack. victim of its own success.
She's so far ahead of her time
It’s crazy how the most legendary artist are so musically advanced that people don’t understand their artistry
is that the case? or did it not sound good and most people didnt want to listen to it.....
It wasn’t musically advanced or a lack of understanding . She and Diplo took established sounds from around the globe.
@@crieverytimsampling in & of itself doesn't mean otherwise. There are several examples in hiphop and electronic music that transform samples into very intricate and layered works.
Furthermore a lot MIA's stuff mixes a lot of different and distant genres. Which isn't easy to do.
@@moihawk666 I dunno. Singles that chart at the top3 of popular music billboard doesn't quite scream "music that nobody wanted to listen to"
You don't know what "legendary" means. Understandable considering your frame of reference is limited and your general knowledge of the past 100+ years of music is non-existent.
MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is probably the best documentary I've ever seen. It draws attention so clearly to the problems with American media as well as many other huge issues. It really puts things into perspective --- as well as being a brilliantly-made story about an amazing, unique popstar.
Funny thing is, it barely makes any mention of Paper Planes 😂
MIA is fascinating to me. I think my favorite thing is the verisimilitude she establishes by masking even her most politically poignant songs as dance club jams with lyrical cliches about dancing sprinkled in. It's like hearing pop music over the radio in a dystopian future and there's some secret organization of political dissidents that's desperately trying to squeeze their life experiences into the broader culture subliminally through pop hits. There's a very specific vibe to MIA's work. She's got a whole aesthetic.
Paper planes was a cultural reset PERIODT!
absolutely
as a Tamil from London and a British Asian, Im really happy you made this video. MIA is the type of artist that gives new artists of similar origin hope. as a musician myself, MIAs music is something completely different for me to listen to. my family is also from Jaffna and theres a lot in her music that's incredibly familiar, from the themes of immigration and refugees to the oriental styles of music that we grew up learning from our parents, and is pretty much a validation of the type of shit that we try to put out. a great British artist and one that I couldn't be prouder of.
MIA was fantastic. That record just spoke to people, with the Clash beat it was unescapable.
Amen, as a 1st gen kid from a largely immigrant (Central American, African, S.E Asian) community and this coming out in my HS - College years this was so empowering. This was blasting out of everyone's cars back in day
Strummer would have loved her.
"People be sleeping on me so much I feel like a mattress
They be giving too much credit to these girls that be actress." M.I.A., OHMNI, 2020.
To think she initially wrote Galang for Elastica... We can only be thankful that Justine pushed her to keep it for herself. Simply can't imagine my teenage years without M.I.A and her music.
Really?! It would have been cool to hear her take on it, but of course it only exists with MIA now.
@@Neenerella333 I have a different version of "Galang" in my computer, it sounds a bit like Elastica at the intro.
Wow! I can NOT imagine anyone else bodying Galang, much less Elastica 🤯
We do not care about Justine 🤬😂🥱
I still think Galang is a killer single.
the version I downloaded from LimeWire (I know) had M.I.A. the hidden track behind it, I really like both songs.
One of the first things I ever borrowed from the library was her Arular album. I was instantly attracted to all the colors on the cover when I was a kid. I read the lyrics from the booklet and was shocked, especially for 10 Dollar. For the first time, I realized music could be talking about real problems in the world. Pretty sure she's the reason I have high expectations for artists' lyrics.
I’ve liked MIA since 2004 when I heard Sun Showers. Am so glad she’s still making beautifully complex music. She’s definitely an icon. And crazy smart too.
Still some of the most futuristic pop around over a decade later.
I am from Tamilnadu. Most of our people don't even know her, even to these days. I am happy that she went ahead of all odds. Those were really pernicious time for tamil elams in sri lanka
I found her music in 2006 and that shit still gives me chills.
Yep straight to hell gives me chills too
Everyone, please watch her documentary. It's MUCH more than some 'behind the music' type shit and is crazy powerful and thoughful.
do you know where i can watch it?
I wasn’t too big on her, until I watched this, and started listening. She’s a talent!!
Just rewatched her documentary, true badass, have had her on repeat for a week
Ooo! Where’s it streaming?
Repeat and repeat
To add another bit of her international influences, Bucky Done Gun is highly influenced by Brazilian funk. She even went to Brazil at the time. This was over 10 years ago, waaay before Brazilian funk go mainstream abroad
1 of the greatest artists of our lifetime everyone should watch her documentary
What is it called? I enjoy her work soooo much 👌🏾
@@pathfinder759 Matangi/Maya/M.I.A
@@gale_poot thank you so much 👌🏾🙇🏽♀️
I had such a big crush on her as a kid lol
Damn...how old are you dawg?
Lehlila Devandria just turned 21 bout two weeks ago 🤣
To be fair she looked pretty cool/interesting hehe
This is such a wonderful love letter to one of my most favourite artists of my teens. You've encapsulated why myself and so many people adore M.I.A. and her music and what she stands for. Thank you for this.
pls do a video on the misunderstanding of fiona apple, and how she was undeservingly blacklisted by mainstream media!!! thank u
Yes please!
Fiona Apple is a admitted reclusive that only releases albums every decade or so and when she does they’re always critically acclaimed. I’d hardly say she’s been blacklisted.
@@firemarshal2629 She was regarded as a joke by many people at the beginning of her career in the late 1990's. Everything from her looks to her personality received a lot of scrutiny from the media and the public in those early years... It slowly started getting better once she released her second album, but she had a rough start for sure.
Real Heel Ryan after her acceptance speech at the 1997 the media branded her as unhinged oddity or a diva that forced depression upon herself to make better art. they did try blacklist her because she spoke out against the pop machine and critiqued the media.
Please!!!
It's important to note that the Clash were credited as co-writers of the song. Some people seem to think she (and Diplo) just brazenly stole it. So the surviving members of the Clash have probably made a fairly decent amount from it over the years, given the song's enormous success.
Interesting that Public Enemy and Madonna were big influences on MIA. I know she has other influences but I can see the influences of those two acts
M.I.A is such an inspiring artist, she is so talented. Thank you for the video!!!
It's crazy how one tune can absolutely blow up your career. That paper planes even though I'm not into that style of music completely grabbed me and stuck with me . Such a great song that goes with so many settings in life 😍
I always said paper planes was my funeral song. & I still stand by those words
I won't say I named my daughter after MIA, because my wife picked the name. However, MIA was the reason I said yes.
There is no other artist like M.I.A. she stays so true to herself and takes inspiration from such a wide variety of sounds so it is impossible to put her in a box.
Edit: Free Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸
Hi Funny Little Frog, we both love the Beastie Boys, but do you know that they cameoed in the Paper Planes video as customers in her food truck?
@@evapalma9899 Yes, i have been listening to the song for a long time but only noticed their cameo this year 😁 u can imagine my surprise
*"I fly like paper get high like planes"* always liked that bar.
yessss M.I.A is my favorite artist ever, thank you so much for doing this, and for recognizing her immense talent. Love you talent 🤍🤍
Paper Planes, Borders and Bad Girls are classic 😊🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Brave and Real...Then Now and Forever.
Thank you for making you're Music Mean Something. Thank you for standing for ones who can't stand, thank you for a voice, for ones who have no voice. This music is longevity becuse you told the truth.
Massive Respect.
M.I.A. is such an underrated artist, i remember playing midnight club 3 as a kid and hearing fire fire and fell in love with it. never heard anything like it before
I mean, there’s something irresistible about that awkward elbow dance!
Her song "XXXO" is my favorite song and video from her
Great video. Cheers.
I wish I understood M.I.A. more when I was younger, but I was younger.
I love her so much! I didn’t appreciate her music when I was younger but now listening to it as an adult, she’s so phenomenal and inspirational. Some things you don’t appreciate or recognize until you’ve grown up a little lol
I was always a fan of M.I.A, and have always been intrigued to know more about her. Her lyrics always controversial and antagonising and honest. Eclectic styles, but original and new
Kind of slept on her, I see her influence in SoundCloud rap. At least, aesthetically.
She has also that death grips quality in her few of her songs and projects
don't mention her and soundcloud rap in the same sentence
Your video essays are great! I always watch them, doesn't matter if I'm a fan of the artists or genre you're covering or not. Love your work, I feel like I'm actually learning something.
Kala is properly imprinted in my mind as my first post-college soundtrack. It was August 2008. The opening of $20 made those daily bus rides from York University to my first post-college job at a shitty call centre, with the hot summer sun pouring through the window, absolutely uplifting and transportive. A ray of light during otherwise melancholy days.
Paper Planes story reminds me of Lizzo's Truth Hurts, she also almost quit music after it was released. Until a netflix movie used it and the song blew up. Crazy how on thing can change your life forever.
It was an episode of ru Paul's drag race
I always thought the gun shots meant ‘shotting’ - slang in the U.K. for selling drugs (weed mostly). Reloading at the time meant re-paying cash to your dealer to get another big bit for you to split up and then ‘shot’. So all I want to do is shot shot shot shot and reload (the trigger sound) and ‘ka-ching’ (cash register sound) and take your money. Sell the bits, reload from the bigger guy and pay him. Because even in a non government (lol) regulated industry, you’re still a cog in the chain. 🤷🏻♀️
So glad i clicked on this. My interest level in M.I.A just went from about 25 to 100 real quick. Paper Planes has always been a banger. New subscriber.
Arular remains one of my favourite albums to this day.
I love these short films - brilliantly researched, really well put together, and I always learn something. Please do more.
Loved this album back in the day. Nice to see it get a spotlight put on it again. Great video man
I had never heard of this artist or the song until I saw Slumdog Millionaire years after the film was released. Almost as soon as I had finished watching the film, I looked for where I could find the song, and more of the artist. I bought Kala and I have thoroughly enjoyed the album. Since I don't really pay much attention to popular music, I never realised how popular it was.
I love her so much
Thank you for this and all of your other videos! Definitely one of my favorite channels.
M.I.A. is amazing. I remember when "Maya" came out. My fave song from that album is "Meds and Feds". It sounds best cranked up with the subwoofers.
Been MIA fan for a long time, didn't expect to have goosebumps and tear up watching this. I was very curious on the 20 minute video versus some older artist covered but she has such a powerful life. I downloaded Kala on my Zune it was promoted on briefly, the Bun B and rich boy remix of Paper Planes is one of my favorite songs of all time.
M.I.A is the greatest and realest artist of all time. I don't think we'll ever have someone as good as her. So many artists took from her : Diplo, Jayz, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Grimes, Gaga, Azealia Banks, ... They were all inspired by her. She was so unique and had her own brand.
I think You are talking about santigold
This is why she is one of my favorite humans on this planet! Super underrated in my opinion, so happy I got to meet her. Forever humbled!
MIA is one of the greatest musicians of the 21st century
I was a junior in high school when this song came out. My favorite song from this album was actually '20 dollar.' I was quite young so hadn't really paid attention to the lyrics, but I'm so glad this video brought me back to the song and its lyrics. I'm so glad to know the inspiration for that song and to delve back into her music. M.I.A. is brilliant!
Fantastic!Loved it! I needed this video in my life. THANK YOU so much. I can't wait to see here and absorb more from this artist on ALL mediums. Now I have a better idea of where and what to look for, thank you again.
such an iconic anthem for the last two decades
Great video. That song is a masterpiece but never thought about it much. This gave me a new appreciation of what MIA went through and how dedicated she is to causes bigger than her, especially her family.
What a fantastic, informative video. Amazing job, and extra for picking a song that really did just explode what was possible in pop at the time.
This is the greatest channel on youtube, this is everything I've ever wanted
i love this series sooo much, maybe you should do a video in charli xcx and how she is shaping the way pop is being made
ps: sorry if my english is weird, its not my first language haha
This series just gets better and better. Essential content.
You really should drop these episodes as podcasts aswell! I would love a new british canon podcast and i'm sure it would do well!
I associate Kala so strong with my last couple years at school, walking around with my obscenely loud earphones in.
She’s the best rapper of all time in my view. So many of her songs are just so powerful.
Every single video of yours is so good. Incredibly good job.
this video couldn’t have come at a better time. being from london this song is played at EVERY party and it’s helping me get through quarantine
This was wonderful to watch. I love M.I.A. but had no idea she drew some much inspiration and influence from some other great musicians.
One of my favorite songs EVER. Such a nostalgic and dancing vibe, rocks me every time!
Thanks to this channel for highlighting artist that challenge the status quo instead of being part of it
Thank you Trash Theory and your patrons for this amazing video!!
I am one of the biggest M.I.A. fans. I grew up listening to her music. I remember buying her albums and watching all her videos on TH-cam ... like watching this made me so happy.
Idk why but I really can’t stand paper planes. Like it’s a great song I just use to hate when I would talk about her and it’s all people would mention. She has amazing work,..
I still vividly remember the first time I heard this song. I was driving around with my friends and we must have heard this at least 3 times in a row. Epic.
"Borders" is in the new Netflix preview for "The Old Guard". I love that song too!
great source of knowledge. cannot stop watching one after another. huge respect and gratitude. and i found a song i've been looking for for a ddeeccaddee:OOO
Started listening to her attentively on Kala, then paid attention to Arular, so on and so forth until AIM. If she were to pull a surprise album at any time now, it's duly awaited!
So awful how the industry tried to push M.I.A out of the picture because of her stance
You are the best channel I’ve ever come across, keep it up 💖
I literally stumbled upon MIA at a festival in Australia. She was performing Bucky Done Gun, those massive swooping bass lines pulled me in but she kept me there completely overawed. I’ve been a huge fan for two decades and was lucky enough to see her in a small (now defunct) venue called the Forum. To this day she was the coolest MF I’ve seen on stage.
I heard about M.I.A. on public radio, The World one day and liked it. Downloaded Arula and listened to it, a lot. I had no idea what I was singing, but I sang it anyway. No matter what playlist I was listening to, ARULA was in every playlist I made. The story covered a bit of her life, nothing this deep.
All these people talking about "this girl who sings paper airplanes" and I just want to smack them on the forehead. This girl?? I was so excited that the song was so popular, but people don't want to bother to find out her as an artist. Go listen to Arula or never speak to me again.
Fantastic video as always! I love your videos 🙏
this series is phenomenal
don't stop !
hands down this is my favourite video on youtube of all time. seriously. and i watch a lot of youtube. from a tamil girl, thank you.
Such a great video. Such a great song. Such a great artist. Thx.
i didn’t think that i would finish this video but it was so good!
Wow. Suddenly this song is a lot more than a catchy school dance/radio song. Awesome video.
Great delve into that! I had no idea there was so much musical inspiration that fed her as an artist etc, quite interesting
I've never listened to M.I.A much. I need to fix that. Excellent vid!
Yay! Enjoy!
MAYA (2010) is future music.
Just found your channel. Enjoyed this. I was a big fan of MIA's, especially as an Asian kid in London (Tooting no less). The Asian music scene had blown up from 97 onwards but was flagging by the early 00s with a lot of garbage and I was getting bored of Asian music nights. MIA was a real breath of fresh air. I'll admit though that she pissed a lot of people off, every time I met her (mutual friends) she was rude (I was/am a nobody so fair enough!) and expressed some fairly out there views. Most of us kind of tuned out, not to think about her again until she made a tit of herself at the Superbowl. She's also made some pretty lousy music as of late. But this video reminded me how cool she was and how I used to blast her early stuff from the two 12" subs in the boot of my blacked out Nissan Micra. Off to check out your other stuff.