Check out M.I.A.’s latest video, Bucky Done Gun. It’s a bit of an incoherent mishmash — the theme seems to be some kind of Brazilian favela shipwreck revolution — but hey, the song is great, and it’s a chance to watch Ms. Arulpragasam shake her thing in her charming if peculiar way. Oh, and those horns that sound like something out of Black Orpheus? They’re a sample of “Gonna Fly Now,” better known as the Theme from Rocky (as in Balboa).
In other M.I.A. news, she’s featured on the final track of the new Missy Elliott record, Cookbook, which is fitting. For one thing, Missy’s latest single, “Lose Control,” has the same vocal rhythm as “Bucky Done Gun” (listen to M.I.A. saying, “Mia’s so doable,” then listen to Missy saying, “Make you do a double take”). And if there’s anyone M.I.A. sounds like, it’s Missy, who gets a shout-out on M.I.A.’s “Fire, Fire” (“Click suits and booted in the Timberlands/Freakin’ out to Missy and Timbaland”).
Oh, and don’t forget that M.I.A. and her DJ, Diplo, are playing SummerStage in Central Park on Sunday, August 7, along with DJ Rekha, New York’s reigning queen of bhangra. Get there early!
Bonus: You can watch an audience completely not getting M.I.A. here, in this bizarrely shot clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live.