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M.I.A. Mashup

March 16, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment

This is the sort of thing I love the Web for. First 27-year-old Maya Arulpragasam (aka M.I.A.) puts out sort of spastic dancer world music video called Galang-alang-alang-a . It features M.I.A. bowlegged-dancing in front of her own Tamal- Tiger-friendly graffiti art (her parents are Sri Lankan, but she was born in London, England). Next, over on cry.on.my.console
a DJ named Josh creates a mashup that mixes M.I.A.'s tune with Super Mario themes. A mashup is a digital blend of two or more songs, playing over top of one another. The result is Superlangalang a catchy tune any N64 player will immediately recognize.

So, world music, pop and graffiti become tune fodder for a hip Londoner with Sri Lankan roots. That, and vidgame ditties, become raw materials for a mashup, and we get to find them with no mainstream distribution channel in the way. You can discover more mashups here. This one struck me as worth noting because it mixes world culture with Web buzz, mashup tech and Internet as a medium. Plus, it's funny. I'll always give bonus points for funny.

March 16, 2005 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item