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M.I.A.

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Oct. 14

Tove Lo's Dirt Femme is on our shortlist for the best new albums out this week. Moni Haworth/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Moni Haworth/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Oct. 14

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include the long-awaited return of M.I.A., plus new records from Tove Lo, The 1975, Mykki Blanco and more.

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Oct. 14

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Turning the Tables: Your List Of The 21st Century's Most Influential Women Musicians

Beyoncé performs onstage during Coachella on April 14, 2018. Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Coachella hide caption

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Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Coachella

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

Turning the Tables: Your List Of The 21st Century's Most Influential Women Musicians

The results are in for our reader poll of the most influential women and non-binary musicians of this century. Your picks help us consider and question what "influence" can mean in new ways.

'It's Amazing How It Stood The Test Of Time': M.I.A. On 'Paper Planes' 11 Years Later

M.I.A. performs onstage during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival 2017 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

'It's Amazing How It Stood The Test Of Time': M.I.A. On 'Paper Planes' 11 Years Later

"I've never come first at anything." M.I.A. reacts to her 2007 hit "Paper Planes" being named the No. 1 song on NPR Music's 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+.

M.I.A. Reacts To Turning the Tables

'It Never Existed Before': M.I.A. On Changing Pop And Documenting Her Story

M.I.A. performs during Bestival 2018 in Lulworth Castle, England. Matangi / Maya / M.I.A., the new documentary about the pop star, is out now. Joseph Okpako/WireImage hide caption

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Joseph Okpako/WireImage

Music Interviews

'It Never Existed Before': M.I.A. On Changing Pop And Documenting Her Story

'MATANGI/ MAYA/ M.I.A.' is a new documentary about musician and activist M.I.A. She joins NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro to talk about the film and what it's like for women who speak out.

'It Never Existed Before': M.I.A. On Changing Pop And Documenting Her Story

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'Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.' Documents A Complex Life In Pop Atop An Unrelenting World

The life of Matangi Arulpragasam, best known as M.I.A., is examined in the new documentary Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. Here, she performs in Denmark in 2011. PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images hide caption

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PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images

Review

Music Features

'Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.' Documents A Complex Life In Pop Atop An Unrelenting World

In the new documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A., director Steve Loveridge examines the development, rise and oppositional success of the iconoclastic pop star — who was always something else entirely.

A Conversation On The Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

Clockwise from upper left: Mitski, Jenny Lewis, ANOHNI, Kali Uchis Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

A Conversation On The Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton talks with Ann Powers, Marissa Lorusso and Sidney Madden about some of the greatest songs released by women and non-binary artists in the past 18 years.

A Conversation On The Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

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M.I.A.: 'How Can The West Turn People Away?'

M.I.A. in the "Borders" video. YouTube hide caption

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YouTube

Music Interviews

M.I.A.: 'How Can The West Turn People Away?'

The London-born, Sri Lanka-raised artist has made a habit of crossing borders in her life and in her music. In her latest video, she wonders why those borders exist at all.

M.I.A.: 'How Can The West Turn People Away?'

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'I Built The Platform Myself': M.I.A. On Being Heard

M.I.A.'s fourth album, Matangi, is out now. Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

'I Built The Platform Myself': M.I.A. On Being Heard

While making the new album Matangi, the singer-rapper discovered she had a divine counterpart: a Hindu goddess who shares both her birth name and her taste for self-expression.

'I Built The Platform Myself': M.I.A. On Being Heard

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Fall Music Preview

Clockwise from upper left: Anna Calvi, M.I.A., Poliça, members of Los Campesinos!, Deltron 3030 and Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

Fall Music Preview

Our massive 2013 fall music preview is packed with new jams from M.I.A., Son Lux, Polica, Mount Eerie, Luscious Jackson and more.

Fall Music Preview

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All Her Children: Madonna As Pop's Reigning Mother

Madonna (center), flanked by Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., during a performance of her new single "Give Me All Your Luvin'" during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show in Indianapolis. Christopher Polk/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Getty Images

The Record

All Her Children: Madonna As Pop's Reigning Mother

As she showed last night at the Superbowl, for the last decade, the Material Girl has been writing her own legacy through collaborations with younger stars, and in doing so, she has helped to map the contemporary pop landscape.

M.I.A. Returns, With A Darker, Harder 'Maya'

M.I.A. Jaime Martinez hide caption

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Jaime Martinez

Review

Music Reviews

M.I.A. Returns, With A Darker, Harder 'Maya'

Maya is the third full-length album by M.I.A., and it rattles with hard-edged and well-produced beats and electronica. Reviewer Oliver Wang says that even if it's not her best work, the record still offers reminders of why M.I.A. is one of the most compelling and unusual artists in pop today.

M.I.A. Returns, With A Darker, Harder 'Maya'

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From Elvis To Lady Gaga: Playing With Shock Value In Music

Lady Gaga in her controversial video for "Telephone." courtesy of artist hide caption

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courtesy of artist

Music News

From Elvis To Lady Gaga: Playing With Shock Value In Music

For decades, musicians have used shock value to provoke their audiences. Elvis swung his hips, Madonna sang about her nonexistent virginity and Marilyn Manson named himself after a convicted killer. Now, there's a new crop of rabble-rousers on the scene. Lady Gaga, M.I.A. and Erykah Badu are among the artists continuing the tradition of shock value in music today.

From Elvis To Lady Gaga: Playing With Shock Value In Music

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Music Interviews

Urban Desi: A Genre On The Rise

Rapper Snoop Dogg's latest release, a collaboration with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, is a recent example of urban desi, which blends South Asian pop culture with American hip-hop. Originating in the U.K., the style of music is spreading in the U.S. and India.

Urban Desi: A Genre On The Rise

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