M.I.A.
“It Takes A Muscle”

I think I know that lots of people are going to be down on Maya’s latest record. Sure, the leak doesn’t sound great; I think it does indicate to 99% accuracy what the record will ‘sound like.’ The first few tracks are mad grating. But there’s a middle part that’s pretty chill. And there’s a dub song, so that’s something.

(This is the dub song.)

Just so’s you know, I kind of like MAYA. The record is, perhaps unintentionally, pretty un-commercial, which seems to be part of what she’s all about now. I will probably review it when it’s released. But my off-the-cuff take is that it’s a knuckleball (maybe an eephus) from a regular old fireball pitcher. Not her best pitch. It’s not a pitch we thought she even had. It’s like she learned it before the game from one of those crazy fanatics that runs onto the field only to get tasered or chased off post haste. And she kind of tipped off the hitter (us) with all the strange pre-promotional stuff she’s done. The hitter (us) has had a lot of time to dig into the batter’s box, eyeing this beautiful turkey floating toward us. And we’ll probably hit it out of the park (pan it), but she tried something not to her strengths, and it’s a great try. Expect the coach (Interscope) to put a call in to the bullpen (more Diplo) soon.