Turns out that M.I.A’s music video for “Born Free” wasn’t just a gripping short film that speaks in shocking images and metaphors to bring the realities and injustices of genocide to an audience that rarely considers the threat of the widespread murder of a group of people as something that might effect them or even as something that still happens in the world despite our modern “civilization.”
The London-born singer, who recently released her third album, /\/\ /\ Y /\ (TMT Review), has announced that she will be heading out on the “Red-Headed Massacre” tour where, upon arriving in a town, she will systematically round up all the ginger-haired and freckled-faced weirdos in the local area before escorting them to her concert, where, between sets, M.I.A. will “eliminate” their presence using the sound of gunfire to segue into her closing tunes, which will be highlighted by popular single “Paper Planes.”
In a prepared statement, M.I.A. informed the world that, “we were warned, early and often, the video wasn’t just entertainment or simile, but a mission statement… and that any deaths won’t be on her hands.” M.I.A went on to assure her public that “the idiot writing this news ‘story’ that you are reading right now is an insensitive buffoon who is only adept at making off-color and inappropriate jokes about a very serious topic and that I (M.I.A.) do not condone or practice genocide… also, more dates to be announced soon.”
M.I.A. will be accompanied on the tour by Rye Rye, the first artist signed to M.I.A.’s label, N.E.E.T. Recordings
09.21.10 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
09.22.10 - Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy
09.25.10 - Washington DC - V Fest
09.26.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
09.27.10 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
09.29.10 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
09.30.10 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
10.03.10 - Ithaca, NY - Cornell University
10.04.10 - Boston, MA - Royale Nightclub
10.05.10 - Boston, MA - Royale Nightclub
10.09.10 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park -Austin City Limits
10.12.10 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
(We’re kidding, of course.)
• M.I.A: www.miauk.com
• N.E.E.T. Recordings: www.neetrecordings.com
