TEN SONGS THAT DEFINE THE DECADE: #10

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#10

words: Jamie Milton
illustration: Stevie-Marie Terry

MIA – Paper Planes

Cast an eye back to ‘Kala’, released in 2007, breaking M.I.A, Mathangi Arulpragasam, into worldwide stardom. That album was notably top-heavy in terms of unleashing accessible pop music, placing ‘Jimmy’, ‘Boyz’, ‘Bird Flu’, all within the first four tracks. Thereafter she delved into more cultural awareness, drawing guest appearances from Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob. It was quite possible that ‘Kala’ was going to end loose and untied. But then, along came ‘Paper Planes’, a “pop” song that will always define the illustrious career of M.I.A.

Every thirty seconds or so unveils a startling inclusion, be it the gunshots in the chorus or the very first confident cry from M.I.A’s swaggering tones. It’s here that fellow music-makers have used a single line in ‘Paper Planes’ to form other classic songs, TI’s “Swagger Like Us” springing to mind most notably.

‘Paper Planes’ is just another eye-opening account of life in the suburbs, but this time round it’s told with an almost haunting sense of joy: “All I wanna do is (gun shot) and a (sound of cash till opening) and take your money” – the finest chorus of the decade. A fine example of simplicity rising high above pretentious experimentalism.

mp3: M.I.A – Paper Planes

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