Saturday Night Fever: M.I.A. "Jimmy"

One of the best songs of the year gets a far-out video makeover...


M.I.A. "Jimmy" [Hi-Res]
dir. by Nezar Khamal
Disco Dancer, which provides the inspiration for "Jimmy," is one of the great soundtracks of the 80’s, and the Indian musical is exactly the sort of gaudy mess that fits perfectly with M.I.A.’s aesthetic of celebrating the forgotten and marginalized art of the third-world. While the song channels the extravagant emotions of unrequited Bollywood love through dreamy guitars, gorgeous epic strings and her most impassioned vocal performance yet, the video amplifies the effect by riffing on space travel, Buddhism and the "disco" theme.*

The final shot is of M.I.A. tearfully calling out to her lover Jimmy, and it initially seems at odds with the buoyant energy of the previous 3 minutes. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's also a telling moment of sincerity. The artist is, after all, working within a specific style which calls for dramatic gestures and visuals which convey the grandness of human feeling. In the 1983 movie the song "Jimmy Jimmy" is sung by the female protagonist during a dance competition, meant to entice her suddenly hesitant partner to come join her on stage. He never does gather the courage, and she finishes the performance alone. M.I.A. extracts the metaphor from the scene, using it as a mirror for her own struggles with love - dancing and singing in hopes of capturing the wavering heart of her own Jimmy. In many ways her spin on Disco Dancer (which to be honest, is remembered more for its music than its feeble plot) is more romantic and more animated than the original scene - she makes it brilliantly more Bollywood.

*Parts of this paragraph are quoted from my own review of the track at Stylus

Dance Lessons: M.I.A. "Boyz"

Our favorite English-born Sri Lankan artist drops a raucous new video...


M.I.A. "Boyz"
dir. by Jay Will
Though it's hard to believe, M.I.A. has taken the visual themes of 2005's Arular (seen everywhere from the cover art to the video for "Galang") and created something even more gloriously epilepsy-inducing for sophomore LP Kala. The vibrant collage of neon colors and cheap special effects found in the promo for new single "Boyz" (as well as her fantastic website) is a homage to everything from 80's video games to the advertising and film culture of Nigeria, Southeast Asia and Jamaica. But it's also a completely singular vision, and one that is impossible to pin to any particular movement or region of the world.

Which, by no coincedence, mirrors the melting pot style of her brilliant music. M.I.A. (who studied fine art, film and video at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design) aims to change the world with her message, but it's her intelligence and enthusiasm in pursuit of that goal which makes her so exciting. Earlier this year she ran amok on the streets of Sri Lanka in the politically-charged "Bird Flu," and here she manages to stuff every major dance craze in contemporary Jamaica into one hypnotic short video.

It would come as no surprise if M.I.A. films her next project in yet another new locale, showcasing the under-appreciated talents of even more people. She has no fear of expressing her own sexuality or desire for a good time (check out the recent non-album cut "Hit That"), but her greatest talent is the ability to code meaning into such fun music. Turns out boys are the same everywhere, which is good for free drinks and cross-cultural unity - but worrisome for global politics.

Check out the "Making of Boyz" here, and more set photos here.