M.I.A. + Jack White | Tracks

“Bad Girls”
M.I.A.

It’s the Arab Spring and all M.I.A. can blab about over her Middle Easternishy beat is jewelry and SUVs. “My chain hits my chest when I’m banging on the dashboard,” she says in her Gangstadeshi patois. Over and over again. “Live fast, die young,” but for what? This chorusless clunker is in no rush to get anywhere—but oh how quickly we go from revolution to runaway consumerism. Her boredom here is infectious, but that’s not the issue. Her Arular was spectacular because M.I.A. was singing from outside the States, fervidly lobbing her missives over our electrified fences. Those beats were teeming with lo-tech ingenuity. Aboriginal tween rappers were barking alongside her. It was young, angry, foreign and fresh. Now she’s cashing in on a Super Bowl appearance with a track produced by a dilettantish Timbaland protégé. Danja makes beats that mimic what M.I.A. used to do. This shimmers with the authenticity of a pyramid casino in Vegas.