So Zach is pointing out that M.I.A. claims that her father was never with the Tamil Tigers in this profile of her in the NY Times: “Either that’s entirely wrong or Hirschberg should’ve gone in way harder on the fact that the foundational myth of her career may be a lie.”

Read the rest by Doree.

M.I.A. more than almost any other artist—especially indie cred warriors (do they still exist? Really?) trades on the notion of authenticity. It’s unfortch, then, that she (is or seems to be) kind of a reverse-Thomas Sutpen. If she hadn’t tried to predict her future success based on a (perhaps) spurious past, she would be by all measures wildly successful. Since she (is or seems to be) measuring herself against a fantastic origin, she’s created a wild, broken estate that can only end in ruin and neglect.