M.I.A.: Unlike Lady Gaga, I won't be 'blindfolded with naked men feeding me apples'

Never one to put her poison pen down for long, the agit-pop rapper M.I.A. has turned her ire toward Lady Gaga in a recent NME interview (unfortunately, unavailable in original form online). In it, she tosses off probably the best one-line takedown of Gaga yet put to print.

How important are image and visuals to your music?

Very. But it’s not like “Haus of Gaga” (laughs). Me blindfolded with naked men feeding me apples and ....

It comes as part of a longer, must-read ethering centered around  a popular criticism of Gaga’s music: that her fashion sense seems to far exceed her songs in terms of future-thinking ambition. 

“None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza music, you know? She’s not progressive, but she’s a good mimic…. That’s a talent and she’s got a great team behind her, but she’s the industry's last stab at making itself important - saying, ‘You need our money behind you, the endorsements, the stadiums.’ Respect to her, she’s keeping a hundred thousand people in work, but my belief is: Do It Yourself.”

In New York magazine’s earlier, fantastic profile of Gaga, one of the more intriguing subplots is how much shape-shifting Gaga went through to become a star known for morphing – from grungy rocker to drum-machine-driven hope of Def Jam to the kind of arena-trance pop that finally clicked. The story suggests that the whole point of Gaga is that others project ideas onto her charisma and taste, but that her charisma and taste are as flexible as her desire for fame and influence requires.

We’re past the point in culture of really caring if our pop stars are “authentic” or not, and we derive a lot of genuine pleasure from the sounds and imagery of “faking it.” But M.I.A.’s take underscores a more valid criticism – that even if a star is contrived, at least be contrived to fascinating ends. No one really touches Gaga on red carpet photogenic qualities, and she’s got an undeniable instrument in that voice.

But M.I.A.’s got a point: Much of “The Fame” wouldn’t be amiss on a ‘90s Ibiza trance compilation.

Here’s to hoping that Gaga’s sonic aspirations match up with her sartorial ones on her next full-length. But even if not, M.I.A. will be there to freak out our ears and eyes alike.

-- August Brown

Photo: M.I.A. Credit: Seth Wenig / Associated Press

Comments

[Seth P.]

And with that, "ether" inches closer toward having a 4th definition in Merriam-Webster.

[Jake]

Someone is clearly jealous, and WAY off base.

[B ob]

Spoken by someone who had one hit with a 30 year old Clash song.

[Gabriel]

M.I.A's music isn't even that great. Paper Planes popped off because of Pineapple Express...where would she be without that movie? At least GaGa is innovative and lives through her music. Some may think I'm a hard-core GaGa fanatic, but I work with hip-hop music. I record tracks and do some sound engineering, and I know talent when I hear it. GaGa is talented as an entertainer, a song writer and composer. Have I seen any of that in M.I.A? Not really. Ironically, I love the more social-political music, but something about GaGa takes me back to the Golden Age of Pop Music. She's no Madonna or Michael Jackson, but she definitely has some of their qualities.

[Jon Smith]

M.I.A. deserves her props. Her albums were critically acclaimed she she's been in the business.

But...

Her criticism of Lady Gaga is childish. She can join the ranks of India Arie. Gaga is able to fuse the industry and creativity into one, something M.I.A. has not accomplish yet.

And besides, was it her who stood onstage with Lil' Wayne, Jay-Z, T.I., and Kanye West singing?

[Squire]

M.I.A. is absolutely right. GaGa really is the industry's last crack at relevance. For all the talk of GaGa being this great innovator, she seems to just be an amalgam of what's been proven to work, with "Illuminati speculation" sprinkles on top. And "talented" in terms of what? The American Idol standard of making good music? I think the age of mega-pop stars like Madonna, Michael, Beyonce, your Jay-Z's and the like needs to stay in the past. The democratization of the music industry via the internet has been a godsend in terms of the exposure to up and coming artists. And anyone whose first exposure to M.I.A. was via "that movie I didn't want to see" really needs to get out more.

[Theo]

Ironically noone cares. It's not her fault she's so goddamn honest. major G points.
M.I.A. rules.

[Jimmy]

Gaga is the sad bastard child of Madonna and Dale Bozzio her music is about on par with Missing Persons no disrespect to Missing Persons fans of course. I really don't care whether MIA has a hit or will ever have another her music is still better than Gaga's garbage.

[Lady WhaWha?]

"I won't be 'blindfolded with naked men feeding me apples'"

OOH OOOH OOH! Can I sign up in her place then????

[Queenoftruth]

M.I.A is too honest for some people. Nonetheless, M.I.A makes a valid point on GaGa and the entire pop industry. Audiences are accustomed to thinking they should like whatever comes from major music labels just because of where it comes from. If it says Def Jam, Sony ( Music World, Columbia)...there are more... then we MUST prioritize it. lmao. But it's just sad. I wouldn't call M.I.A a hater or out of touch for her honest opinion...I'd say she hit the nail right on the head.

[Grow up, Gaga stans]

I wish Gaga fans/defenders (I'm looking at you, Gabriel) would come up with better arguments than "MIA is a one-hit wonder, Gaga is massively popular, therefore MIA is wrong". Your argument is extremely weak and lame. Tori Amos has been in the music business for over twenty years, and has sold 12 million albums worldwide. She's not a mainstream artist, and her commercial success is paltry compared to artists like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. In fact, she DID call out Lady Gaga, but did so in a much more neutral and classier manner than MIA. Would you say Tori has no right to voicing her opinion merely because she's not as popular as Gaga? Popularity isn't everything. N*Sync (remember them?) had the best-selling album of the past decade. Yet they were only popular for a couple of years out of that decade. Lady Gaga is still a new artist, and still has a lot to prove in terms of staying power. Many artists, both good and bad, have had great success in the beginning of their career, and then disappeared afterwards. Also, MIA is an indie artist, not a pop star. Her career, unlike Gaga, is NOT dependent on having #1 songs and albums. It's mostly about maintaining her fanbase. Radiohead built and maintained a career without commercially popular singles and albums. Their relevance is dependent on their music, not their image. I can't say the same for Gaga. She actually has it much harder than either MIA or Radiohead in terms of maintaining her success. Right now, she's a novelty, and it's working because everyone is looking for some entertainment to escape in these dark times. But answer me this: will her shtick still be effective a few years from now? Will she have the longevity of either Michael Jackson or Madonna?

[daniel b/]

lady ga garbage.