Wires and Wolves Missing in Action in Michigan

M.I.A.

I am probably the last person to hear about M.I.A. Wait, no I'm not. Mainstream America has not heard her, but I bet if they did, they'd love her.

I first saw M.I.A. (ne. Maya Arulpragasam) on Conan O'Brien. Sure, I'd heard about her a lot but had never seen her perform live or hear any of her material. The first thing I thought about was how tribal the beats were. I didn't think I'd like her much, even though the song she'd performed, "Galang" was pretty darn catchy. So I wrote her off. But then I got her album and haven't been able to stop listening to it. She's infectious. The jungle beats get under your skin like some primative insect or stinging dart and sticks there sapping your energy. This is a good thing. I got to thinking how she's a bit like Annie; they could both go on to become huge radio or MTV stars, but will they?

MIA-Galang
MIA-Pull Up the People
MIA-Bucky Done Gone

Patrick Wolf

Another person I didn't expect to be so good was Patrick Wolf. I still don't know much about him, but I do like his latest, Wind in the Wires. His voice is very different from what one would think it'd be like. Take a listen for yourself.
Here's an interview with him from Heraclitus Sayz.

Patrick Wolf-The Libertine
Patrick Wolf-The Railwayhouse
Patrick Wolf-Tristan

Sufjan Stevens (again)

And then here's a few Sufjan Stevens B-sides, demos and such...
Sufjan Stevens-Wolverine
Sufjan Stevens-Presidents Magistrates
Sufjan Stevens-Borderline
Sufjan Stevens-Vitto's Ordination Song (banjo acoustic)

Also, I'm not sure how many of you have seen Interpol's latest video for "C'mere," but it's truly strange (although I doubt any of their videos could beat out "Evil" for being really out there). Speaking of Evil, it's been nominated for Best International Video in the UK's MusicWeek CAD Awards alongsidde the Yeah Yeah Yeahs creeper "Y-Control" and Kings of Leon's "The Bucket."