photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Robyn @ Bonnaroo

Robyn played Bonnaroo this past weekend, where she spoke to MTV News about her current tourmate... Katy Perry. After initially avoiding the question of whether or not she is a fan of Katy Perry's, she told MTV at Bonnaroo:

"I think that girls are always expected to have opinions about each other, and maybe I don't have an opinion about some things, you know? That doesn't mean I have a bad opinion or a good opinion, it's just that, at that point, I never met her," Robyn said. "I didn't know much about her album that was out, and it was hard for me to have an opinion, and that's all. There's some songs that she's made that I think [are] amazing: the pre-chorus in 'Teenage Dream,' I wish I had wrote that. So, it's all good."

Good that things aren't awkward between them, because they're on tour together now. They'll play Nassau Coliseum on June 17 and Prudential Center in NJ on June 19.

The day after the NJ show, Robyn plays a free show at Terminal 5. No, not that Terminal 5. She's playing the Jet Blue one inside JFK Airport on 6/20. Like Jet Blue shows at JFK Airport in the past, the show will be for contest winners and people who happen to be catching a plane.

And speaking of indie-leaning, major label-signed, future Scandinavian female pop stars that are playing in NYC this week and opening shows for Katy Perry (yuck), Oh Land is playing a Northside Festival show at Brooklyn Bowl on Friday (6/17) with Rye Rye and Deluka. Doors are at 10:30pm, and Oh Land headlines the show at 1am. Tickets are on sale..

Hopefully Oh Land has a chance to rest after the late show, because she's also playing the NYC Pride Rally in Central Park the next day, Saturday, June 18th, 2011, 3:00 - 6:00 PM. Oh Land opens for Katy Perry in California in August, after her tour with Sia that brings her to Webster Hall this summer.

Janelle Monae, Marina & The Diamonds, and Jessie J are also opening dates on Katy's current tour.

Rye Rye (also on the bill of the Oh Land show at Brooklyn Bowl) just released a new video starring... Robyn! Titled "Never Will Be Mine", the track is basically Rye Rye rapping along with Robyn who is singing her 2005 hit song "Be Mine". Check out that video, along with more pictures from Robyn's set at Bonnaroo, a video of Oh Land playing Craig Ferguson recently, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Robyn played Bonnaroo (pics), stars in Rye Rye video, playing JFK Airport & shows with Katy Perry (just like Oh Land)"

photos by Lori Baily

Die Antwoord @ MHOW - July 25, 2010

Last time Die Antwoord came to town was in July. They opened for MIA at one big show (HARD FEST), and headlined one of their own (MHOW). When I heard that they just added a last minute October 29th show at Gramercy Theatre in NYC (ON SALE NOW), I assumed they were doing the same since I knew they were scheduled to open one of Deadmau5's three shows at Roseland Ballroom this week, BUT it's actually a venue change. Die Antwoord are no longer opening at Roseland "due to production needs". That's good news for non-Deadmau5 fans since now Die Antwoord's one and only show is as a headliner. They are also the only band playing Gramercy Theatre Friday night (no opener of their own)

Want to go (it's this Friday!)? I have THREE PAIRS of tickets to giveaway. Details on how to win them at the bottom of this post.

What are the pictures in this post? They are an unpublshed set from the Music Hall show that I've been saving for a special occasion like this, and you can see the rest of them, along with video from their recent appearance on Kimmel, their new NSFW video for "Evil Boy", and all dates, below...

Continue reading "Die Antwoord changed NY venues (win tix), played other shows, on TV & stuff (more dates, pics, videos, etc)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - I Lost Time (MP3)

Bologna, Italy's A Classic Education will be here for CMJ, playing six shows:

WED Oct 20 7:00P The Delancey (Lefse & I Guess I'm Floating Showcase) NYC
THU Oct 21 8:30P - Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party @ Backstage (formerly The Annex)
THU Oct 21 10:00P Trash Bar, Brooklyn
FRI Oct 22 12:00P Pop Tarts Suck Toasted @ Cake Shop
FRI Oct 22 6:00P Pianos
FRI Oct 22 8:30P The Charleston, Brooklyn

Maybe you caught them last year when they played one of our CMJ day parties? The band's new EP, Hey There Stranger, came out about a month ago on Lefse Records (How to Dress Well, Dominant Legs) and straddles the line between swoony baroque pop and reverby indie, with plenty of "bah bahs" and "oh ohs." You can download "I Lost Time" from it at the top of this post, and watch the found footage video for it below

Note that one of the shows on their list is the Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party. You can RSVP and stream tracks of the artists playing at Hype's site, and check out full lineup and flyer, and more, below...

Continue reading "A Classic Education returning to NYC for CMJ, playing 6 shows including dF & Hype Machine's party (dates & lineup)"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

"Damn I was gonna go see M I A at Brooklyn Bowl for free tonight then I just saw the line. #noway!" -alishamayiact

"This line at brooklyn bowl...wowzah. #mia #worthit?" -laurelism

"Still in Line to try to see M.I.A @ Brooklyn Bowl....
This is friggin Crazy!!!" -MsIndependent81

"Cops + crowd at m.I.a. show at brooklyn bowl. Very polite anatagonism." -pkafka

"Im Dancing in the Bowling Lanes while M.I.A performing! Brooklyn is Real live tho No Lie! Brooklyn Bowl is where we at!" -The RealRyeRye

The masses started lining up at 7PM, which was the time people were allowed to start lining up, to checkout M.I.A. with Rye Rye at Brooklyn Bowl last night (10/6). The free show was announced in two parts starting on September 24th and ending with the venue details three days later which was the same night M.I.A. brought her tour to Terminal 5 for a much bigger and not-free NYC show. Having your ticket from HARD Fest wouldn't help you get in the door, but it was a free show nonetheless.

More pictures from it, below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. played her free show @ Brooklyn Bowl (pics & video) "

photos by kolored

DJ Asma took the stage for a couple of joints before bringing out a makeup-less M.I.A., dressed in a green safari hat and a black Middle Eastern getup straight out of the first "Mummy" movie, for /\/\/\Y/\ opener "The Message."

From there the British singer/rapper launched into gems from her first two albums, Kala and Arular, with the crowd leaping on top of itself for "Galang" and bass-heavy "Bamboo Banga."

She then removed her black top to reveal a T-shirt that said, "F--- Google. Ask Me!"

Although there were some sound issues in the beginning of the set -- at one point, M.I.A. took it upon herself to turn the speakers on the stage to face the audience -- the crowd didn't seem perturbed in the least.

As she strode in to hit "Boyz," M.I.A. stripped down to what would be her outfit for the remainder of the night: a white satin top with matching boy shorts. Chanting "Oy, oy!" and "New York!" the crowd met her with equal fervor for new album joints, "Lovalot" and "Story to Be Told," which had her switching between a sort of Bharatanatyam snake dance and a writhing punk twist.

For "Born Free," M.I.A. launched herself into the crowd and surfed above her fans. After throwing her mic to the audience so they could join in, they threw it back. "There's a dent in this!" she noted. "See, this is what YOU can do!"

A mesmerizing feature of the show was the kinetic movement of dancers Cisko and the awesome White Boi, who were both at M.I.A.'s side throughout the show.

She returned for her encore swigging from a bottle of Patron before singing "Teqkilla" and received an electric reception for her blowout finale, "Paper Planes," which saw her entire entourage and a few audience members joining her onstage. [mauldin brand agency]

After a late, but not too late, start, Rye Rye kicked things off at Terminal 5 lat night (9/27). Her opening set was complete by 10pm, giving M.I.A. plenty of time to play without even ending later than normal. If you missed it, M.I.A. will be back later in her tour for a free show at Brooklyn Bowl.

More pictures from Terminal 5, that prove must of what is described in the review above, below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. played Terminal 5 w/ Rye Rye (in many outfits) (pics) "

M.I.A. getting freaky @ Governors Island in July (more by Matthew Eisman)

M.I.A. has announced a new tour, and not suprisingly there's no mention of a free show. Oh well. There is a new NYC show though, and it happens September 27th at Terminal 5. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon ($35.00 advance / $40.00 day of show).

Neet Recording artist Rye Rye, who also played with M.I.A. on Governors Island, will open the whole tour. All dates below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. announces more 2010 tour dates (no free show listed) "

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"The [Saturday night Governors Island HARD FEST] set started with "Steppin Up," with M.I.A. backed by about a dozen power drills as part of the rhythm track: noise triumphant. But M.I.A.'s vocals were often so buried in echo, and the bass so bloated, that her lyrics just became more of the din, and the songs that she segued together like a disc-jockey set were barely distinguishable. Instead of a barrage, it was a morass.

Her set was cut short by thunder and lightning, which she attributed to God and answered with a last defiant gesture: rapping "Born Free," which vows to speak her mind, a cappella as her backup group shut down. But an exodus from her set had begun well before the downpour." [NY Times]

I was there and I have to agree about the sound. M.I.A. agrees too, and not surprisingly, has taken to Twitter to deal with the accusations, and the rain. About the sound she wrote, "money doesnt buy u shit! i thought more money means better sound guys in america/\/\/\! i was wrong, the higher u go , they turn u lower!", and "fuck technology! even the stage broke + parts of it fell off in the storm". And about the rain, well, check out the Twitter screenshot above! Don't have a Hard Fest ticket? Don't worry because Maya also promises that "if u do me a lil dance , ill let u in too!" We'll make sure to keep you posted when and if more details emerge.

In related news, the rained-on Modest Mouse show that happened one night earlier has been rescheduled, and the rained-on Williamsburg Waterfront show that happened one day later went on as planned, but later and in a different venue.

OK, so if you're following along, you saw: "Die Antwoord steal the show while topless girl dances (video), M.I.A. spits on a photographer (pics), rain, lasers & more... (HARD NYC in review - part 1)" which was followed by "Die Antwoord played MHOW & Governors Island (pics, video)" which was followed by "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more)". That makes this post PART THREE, and it includes photos from the same artists as well as more crowd pics and Skream + Benga who played too. Those pictures, which include a shot of M.I.A,'s planned setlist, continue below...

Continue reading "M.I.A. promises free NYC show for HARD Fest ticket holders! (and here's another set of pictures from that show) "

photos by Matthew Eisman

Ninjasonik / HARD FESTival goers

"Hard provided a music experience for those New Yorkers who love to rave, get down and dirty with thousands of strangers and weren't afraid to show some skin. (Looks like some attendees took notes from our Summer Music Fest trend report!)

Also, depending on how much you felt like raging, you could choose the "Hard" stage or "Harder" stage. (Which to me, is almost as character defining as choosing between "fire" and "ice" on the Dueling Dragons ride at Universal Studios.) Guests who didn't want to be bothered with making such a life-altering decision set up camp where ever and proceeded with their very own impromptu dance party.

The culmination of the evening came with M.I.A.'s much anticipated performance. Unfortunately, she wasn't properly miked, her voice was drowned out by her mashed up beats, and the only time she was heard was when she was yelling at the sound team...Thankfully mother nature was on her side, and it began to downpour, cutting her set short. At the end of the day the only press she received was spitting in a photographer's face, but all wasn't lost! She brought the noise, and really, isn't that what music festivals are all about?" [Guest of a Guest]

Saturday's NYC HARD FEST on Governors Island wasn't all just M.I.A., Die Antwoord and Sleigh Bells (and more Die Antwoord), it was a 2-stage extravaganza that fit up to 15,000 concert-goers (not sure how many tickets actually sold, but it was far from empty looking) in a large field just a short ferry ride away from South Street Seaport (Pier 11 actually). Destructo, Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, and Theophilus London were also among those on the bill. More pictures from those sets (and the big three), below....

Continue reading "HARD FEST NYC in pics (part 2.5) (Ninjasonik, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, MIA & more) "

photos by dailybeatz, words by Andrew Frisicano

Hopefully all goes well with the HARD NYC show at Governors Island's South Island Field this Saturday (7/24). The show, which still has tickets on sale, will be happening despite the cancellation of its sister HARD LA show. The disappointing HARD LA cancellation came right after the disappointing lukewarm critical reaction to Maya (though Metacritic rates it as 69/100, so not so bad overall actually).

MIA, who is also playing the Virgin FreeFest this year, is on a lineup that includes Die Antwoord (who play the next night at MHOW) and Sleigh Bells, who just played Pitchfork Fest's third day.

A full list of who's at HARD NYC, with set times, and more pictures and some palpably sweaty videos of Sleigh Bells at the Pitchfork Festival (on the stage and in the crowd) are below...

Continue reading "Sleigh Bells played P4K (pics), playing HARD NYC (set times)"

photos by Chris La Putt

"I woke up the morning after the Gossip concert and could not get Beth Ditto's breasts out of my head. They were unleashed Friday night at Terminal 5 for one of the hottest concerts I've been to in some time. The energy and fervor lured out of the crowd by the insane vocals of front woman Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie is unmatched. I envy the confidence and drive of Ditto, with her severe bob and bangs, mad makeup, spirit, humor and plus-size fabulousness. I sort of want live in her world. I'm also enthralled with the androgynous Blilie, who also graces the cover of Gossip's latest album cover, Music for Men." [CenterOrch]

Gossip (again), Rye Rye (who has since been added to the M.I.A./Die Antwoord show) & the Phenomenal Handclap Band (who have since added a headlining show at MHOW) shared a bill at Terminal 5 in NYC Friday night (5/2). The show was part of a tour that started at Coachella. More pictures from it, with the headliner's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Gossip, Rye Rye & the Phenomenal Handclap Band played Terminal 5 - pics & setlist"

"Damn, I love Die Antwoord. It's like we've taken all the Disney Princesses at Stereotypes R Us, pulled off their wigs, forced their little legs together, and rammed them down the throats of the American purveyors of pop culture dreck, the soulless marketers who make millions every year by selling ersatz imperial myths to the rest of the world.

Okay, perhaps Die Antwoord aren't achieving quite that level of utter cultural domination, but allow me our little victories. The sight of Americans taking Yo-Landi and Ninja seriously is so delicious, I can almost forgive some of the excesses of the music. There's a 20 minute interview with Die Antwoord on Boing Boing, around their debut at the Coachella music festival in California, and it's a marvellous exercise in satire." [CHRIS ROPER | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA]

That video, along with the updated lineup of HARD NYC @ Governers Island below....

Continue reading "Die Antwoord are playing NYC w/ M.I.A. (and others) "

by Dominick Mastrangelo

"Hello, and welcome to Portland, Oregon," quipped James Mercer, as he and Danger Mouse greeted the freezing crowd at Mog Day Party on the final day of SXSW. A 40-degree drop in temperature from Friday caused flip-flops and t-shirts to be replaced by hoodies, coats and gloves. Broken Bells were just one of several excellent bands that filled the indoor and outdoor venues of the Mohawk.

I finally made it downtown before 2pm by taking the rather efficient Metro Capitol bus. Traffic along I-35 into downtown took almost an hour the day before from just 10 minutes north. Arriving a little after noon Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers were already on inside. Ray was squeezing the hell out of that squeezbox and her raspy, scowling voice was alarming so early in the day. It certainly set a tone. And Free Energy complete with free cassettes started things outside with their unabashed good times garage rock.

Back inside The Dum Dum Girls were up next with more of the same hazy lo-fi pop that drummer Frankie Rose was laying down the night before on the same stage with her band. I skipped back outside for Demolished Thoughts though Andrew WK (an advertised member along with Thurston Moore and J Mascis) was absent and the bassist for Fucked Up was filling in. It was thrashing punk stuff with silly songs like the 45-second "I Hate Kids" (those were the lyrics) followed by the 45-second "I Hate Sports" (some videos below).

Then it was back inside for a little dance - hip hop with Rye Rye and then back outside for Broken Bells - who kept busy at the festival. For a band only a couple months old they were tight and the songs sounded great. Inside again for Freelance Whales and then back outside for The Antlers, back inside for Real Estate and finally back outside for the Black Keys who straight up killed. Mercer and Danger Mouse (who produced the Keys' Attack & Release) and members of the Antlers were sidestage rocking out. The crowd was hanging over rails and pushing in toward the stage. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney had everyone riveted and rocking. Certainly the most polished performance of the day, perhaps the festival.

Unexpectedly, as I ventured back to the convention center, I stumbled upon Fanfarlo about to perform in Brush Square with free drinks (Shiner Bock!) and heaters to keep the tent warm. Fantastic live show. "If we knew there were going to be so many photographers, we'd have done better," quipped multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas about the the band's appearance.

For the evening it was all about finishing strong. I made my way to the Victorian Room at the Driskill for Miss Li who was great and her band was stellar, over to St. David's Bethel Hall to see some Texas bands as part of the Western Vinyl Showcase, including an unimpressive Matthew and the Arrogant Sea. I decided to go all out and dashed over to Barbarella for the excellent Best Coast who also played a couple of new songs that sounded really good. Back to St. David's for the ambient Sleep Whale (formerly MOM) from Denton, TX down to Paradise for crazy afro-beat inflected dance music courtesy of New York's Tanlines (it was a full-on dance party.) Finally, it was back over to St. David's for the beautiful, classical-leaning experimental band Balmorhea.

Day One HERE. Day two HERE. Day Three HERE. Day Four pictures and videos continued below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 day 4 pics & review (Black Keys, Dum Dum Girls, Broken Bells, Demolished Thoughts, Antlers, Fanfarlo, more)"

Gossip have announced a Coachella-to-NYC April tour that includes an April 30th show at Terminal 5 (the same venue they played last time they were here) with Rye Rye and The Phenomenal Handclap Band. Tickets go to that show go on AmEx presale on Wednesday at 11am. General sale starts Friday at noon.

Still no word on Lilith Fair dates which they are also supposedly a part of. All April dates below...

Continue reading "Gossip touring from Coachella to NYC - 2010 dates"

"Inglewood police dispatched a riot unit, and by 1:25 a.m. Sunday, more than 17,000 attendees had been sent home." -LA Times

Balcony climbin' @ Hard Summer '09 in L.A. Saturday night (downtownlobby)

A back door of the VIP section, where tickets began at $125, flew open and fans ran in from the parking lot in what [concert-goer Will] Fan described as a "stampede."

"We saw about 200 kids run right through the bar area," said the 35-year-old Sherman Oaks resident. "It was a little scary. I saw the bartender push one kid down, but everyone else just ran around him. Eventually, security was able to stop more people from coming in. But the kids ran out of the bar...and basically hopped over the balcony and onto the floor. Then the music stopped."

The sold-out all-night Hard Summer concert, which featured a lineup that included U.K. dance duo Underworld and Canadian electronic rockers Crystal Castles, was halted at about 10:50 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which cited "hazardous life-safety things taking place inside the event."
[L.A. Times]

Hard Summer '09 @ L.A. Forum (beltran)

"We were required to shut down Hard Summer at The Forum Saturday [August 8th] night by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They declared the event a "hazard" after seeing concert-goers jumping from the balcony to the floor. The Inglewood Police Department backed the decision of the Fire Department and assisted in clearing the venue.

While we, the promoters, worked with the authorities to consider other options to continue the concert, ultimately they made the decision to end it. We are happy to report that there were no major injuries.

We are offering refunds to all concert-goers and are deeply disappointed that the fans were not able to see this incredible show come to fruition." [official statement]

Underworld and Chromeo were among those who were supposed to play.

Hard Fest NYC is set to take place October 10th at Terminal 5 where we doubt any problems like that will happen. Crookers and Major Lazer (Soundsystem) headline, and tickets are still on sale.

LA refund info and the continued Hard Summer story with videos (showing people climbing, falling & jumping over railings and ledges), below...

Continue reading "chaos at HARD Fest LA causes shut down - people broke in, climbed over balconies, etc (VIDEOS) --- refunds available"

Trail of Dead @ SXSW 2009 (more by Black Bubblegum)

Although no formal announcement has been made, careful scientific analysis of the originally announced 2009 All Points West lineup, vs what is being advertised now, reveals some changes. First of all, Yelle, who not even one person guessed would be appearing at this year's festival anyway, is now actually not appearing at the festival. Five new artists are though. And they are:

• ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (Saturday)
• La Roux (Sunday)
• Rye Rye (Friday)
• The Honey Brothers (Saturday)
• Xavier Rudd (Friday)

Everyone else (like Beastie Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Tool, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc) is still the same. Tickets are still on sale. The festival takes place July 31-Aug 2, 2009 in Jersey City, NJ.

Related videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "All Points West silently added artists - 2009 lineup additions (Trail of Dead, etc) and deletions (Yelle) "

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

With all the leaks of bands playing Lollapalooza this year, there are almost no surprises in the official lineup announcement, except maybe the Animal Collective DJ set... The whole thing below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

The World Wakes Up To M.I.A.
"Paper Planes" Enters Top Five; How Many Votes Fix Mix Released
M.I.A. Takes On World
Opens School; Starts Label; Launches Clothing Line

"Everyone's a winner now, we're making that fame/Bona fide hustler, making my name."
As it turns out, "Paper Planes" is no mere smash, it's also a proven prophecy. Over a year after the release of Kala, M.I.A.'s playful boast has become reality.
BANG! BANG! BANG!

The BANG! press BANG! release BANG! is continued below...

Continue reading "MIA 'takes On world', starts label, releases Vote Fix Mix, etc"

LOOK I KNOW THERE ARE HATERS OUT THERE, I DEAL WITH IT EVERYDAY THATS NO FUCKING BIG DEAL AND IVE DEALT WITH WORSE IN MY LIFE, A FEW PEOPLE TALKING SHIT DONT MATTER TO ME, BUT TWISTING TRUTH ISNT THE LESSON I WANNA LEARN IN MY TIME IN MUSIC, SO WHO EVER THAT IS DOING IT , I WANNA SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

1, I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO SHOOT THE VIDEO IN A FACTORY ON THE BORDER OF EQUADOR, BUT COULDNT. I WAS TOURING THE U.S, I COULDA BEEN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD RIGHT THEN BUT THERE I WAS IN AMERICA, IN NYC, IN BROOKLYN, IN BEDSTUY , I WAS TORN BETWEEN SCRAPIN SHOWS IN AMERICA AND MEETING AMERICAN FANS OR SHOOTING IN NYC ON MY ONLY DAY OFF I'D HAD IN 4 MONTHS AND GETTING ON WITH IT.

2, SO THAT WAS THAT! I NEVER MADE A VIDEO IN AMERICA AND HEY ITS STILL A PART OF WHAT I DO AND SAY, ITS WAS STILL VALID, SO I WAS READY TO ROLL WITH IT.

3, YOU ALL KNOW HOW THE SONG SOUNDS, THATS WHY WHEN U GO ON YOUTUBE 400, 000 PEOPLE WOULD RATHER LISTEN THE SONG AS IT IS AND STARE AT SOME PICTURE THEN TO ACTUALLY WATCH A VIDEO

4, WHEN LETTERMAN CENSORD ME IT WAS WAC OF COURSE!!!!!! , AND YES I FELT SOOOOOO BAD FOR WHAT THEY DID TO MY SOUND. I WAS ABEL TO SOUND CHECK FOR THAT SHOW AND THEY LET ME SOUND CHECK FINE, THEN ON THE ACTUAL TAPING MY SOUND WAS SOOO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT ID AGREED, AS SOON AS I OPENED MY MOUTH THE DIFFERENCE BLEW ME AWAY, I FELT I WAS GETTING BULLIED ON NATIONAL TELEVISON, AND I COULDNT EVEN REACH OUT TO MY LABELS OR MY MANAGEMENT TO HELP, SINCE THEY ARE NEW TO WHAT HAPPENS TO AN ARTIST LIKE ME IN MAINSTEAM AMERICAN CULTURE.

SO THEY TRIED TO SHUT ME DOWN AGAIN. I MADE THE PAPER PLANES VIDEO. I MADE IT HOW THEY WANTED. NO VIOLENCE. AMBIGUOUS. MTV - FRIENDLY. NOW TODAY, I CHECK YOUTUBE AND SEE THE LEAKED MTV PAPER PLANES VIDEO UP FOR THE FIRST TIME. I CLICKED ON IT AND OUT COMES THIS FUCKED UP MESS WITH DOUBLE-TRACKED BULLSHIT MESS

WHO THE THE FUCK IS DOING THIS TO ME?????' [M.I.A.]

The rest of the letter, and the "uncensored" video, below....

Continue reading "M.I.A.'s (uncensored?) "Paper Planes" video"