The Bombs To Make You Blow

Excerpt from Radio Sumatra: The Indonesian FM Experience “The Most Radio” – Both of today’s selections are taken from recent compilations of recordings of contemporary radio in Indonesia and Cambodia curated by Alan Bishop of the Sun City Girls. Bishop’s recordings have been edited down into a collage of excerpts, but the sound has not been processed or overdubbed. This first cut is from Indonesian radio, which is notable for its odd balance of regional tradition and local adaptation of contemporary US pop culture. This cut begins with a station ID that sounds like a repurposed generic bumper from the US, followed by an extremely catchy song by an unidentifed Asian pop-punk band. If you tune out the lyrics, the song sounds like it could be a big hit on American rock radio, but then out of nowhere it shifts into a baffling choral section that would be like Kryptonite to corporate programmers in the US. (Click here to buy it from Sublime Frequencies.)

Excerpt from Radio Phnom Penh “Re-Mixed Culture OR: The Graffiti Walls of Angkor Wat” – In the liner notes of Radio Phnom Penh, Bishop posits that Cambodia is a “re-mixed culture” due to the circumstances of its history in the second half of the 20th century. This goes a long way towards explaining the phenomenon of Cambodian record companies remixing and overdubbing traditional and classic recordings of Cambodian music to attract or maintain the interest of the younger generations. The original recordings have mostly disappeared, so the majority of the public only has access to the later versions in record shops and on FM radio. (Ha, sort of similar to how George Lucas has taken the original Star Wars films off the market.) (Click here to buy it from Sublime Frequencies.)

M.I.A./Diplo @ The Knitting Factory, NYC 2/5/2005

Pull Up The People / Fire Fire / Hombre / Sunshowers / 10 Dollar / Amazon / (intermission, costume change) / URAQT / Galang / Bucky Done Gun / M.I.A.

I think that Amy is overstating the lip synching thing – there were prerecorded vocals, but most of it was definitely live, complete with ad libs, mistakes, and some off key singing on “Hombre.” The room was packed so tightly that full-on dancing was out of the question, but almost everyone there was moving, especially during the end of “Galang.” (There’s always a few of those guys who stand perfectly still and show no sign of emotion, though I can’t understand why they are there to begin with. Do these guys go to dancey shows on a dare or something?) It was pretty clear that M.I.A. and Diplo were still figuring out the live show, but they were very impressive nonetheless. M.I.A. has enough natural style and charisma to make her more awkward moves seem like forgiveable quirks.

I haven’t noticed any reviews of the show that have mentioned the animated video loops that were projected on a screen above the stage. This is a shame, because I think that it added quite a bit to the overall effect of the performance. (To get an idea of what the imagery was like, have a look around her website to get a sense of her visual aesthetic.) I hope that she is able to further integrate video into her show, since it is very clear to me that her visual art is just as important to her as the music, and should not be separated. It would be fantastic if she were able to acquire a large flat screen backdrop similar to what U2 used on their Popmart tour, but on the scale of the average club stage. I think that she needs something as huge and overwhelming as the music itself.