999. M.I.A. - Arular (2005)

Track Listing

1. Banana Skit
2. Pull Up The People
3. Bucky Done Gun
4. Sunshowers
5. Fire, Fire
6. Dash The Curry Skit
7. Amazon
8. Bingo
9. Hombre
10. One For The Head Skit
11. 10 Dollar
12. U.R.A.Q.T.
13. Galang

Review

Down to 2 albums to finish this! I will then be going back to two albums in the past that I didn't get in time to review and do the updates for the new edition of the list! And then this will go on with other stuff... I'm getting the Mojo Collection book and doing all the albums that do not overlap here. So loads of new music coming in again. I might be doing this until I die.

Now lets get to M.I.A.! She mixes all kinds of stuff and makes a pleasing cacophony indeed! She is basically helping develop what might be called "guerilla pop" a kind of world-influenced, politically aware dancy hip-hop/pop. She isn't the first but she is definitely the first to get some wider recognition.

Since M.I.A. other bands have moved the "genre" further, people like Buraka Som Sistema draw from a different continent but are nevertheless developing a pretty worthy and well rounded musical style. No surprise M.I.A. would later collaborate with them. Great fun and deep stuff.

Track Highlights

1. Pull Up The People
2. Galang
3. Bucky Done Gun
4. Hombre

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

M.I.A. wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album and created the basic backing tracks using a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine given to her by long-time friend Justine Frischmann. Collaborators included Switch, Diplo, and Richard X. The album's title is the political code name used by her father, Arul Pragasam, during his involvement with Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, and themes of conflict and revolution feature heavily in the lyrics. Musically, the album incorporates styles that range from hip hop and electroclash to funk carioca and punk rock.

Pull Up The People: