Bird Flu (song)

Infobox Song
Name = Birdflu


Artist = M.I.A.
Album = Kala
Released = November 23 2006
track_no = 2
Length = 3:23
Producer = M.I.A.
Composer = Maya Arulpragasam, R. P. Patnaik, Dave Taylor
Label = Interscope
XL Recordings
prev = Bamboo Banga
prev_no = 1
next = Boyz
next_no = 3
Misc =

"Birdflu" is a Dappan koothu / Gaana song recorded by the Sri Lankan Tamil songwriter M.I.A.. It appears on her second studio album "Kala."

Background

M.I.A. spoke about how her trip to Tamil Nadu led her to revisit the old Tamil folk music she had known from her time growing up in Jaffna. M.I.A. also talked about the filming location for Birdflu and how it had a personal connection for her:M.I.A. also mentioned in the same interview that Paulina, the girl featured in Birdflu, was not specifically picked for her role; she just happened to be playing outside when they were recording the song (and they could not keep her out of their studio).cite web | title= "M.I.A. - Fact Magazine"| url= http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/56068 | work = FACTmagazine | accessdate=2007-06-11]

"Birdflu" incorporates elements of the song "Thirvizha Na Vantha" from the Tamil film "Jayam". "Birdflu" utilises the gaana genre (Dappan koothu music). [cite web | title= "M.I.A."| url= http://sl2uk.com/content/miabirdflu.shtml | work = SL2UK | accessdate=2007-10-19] Arulpragasam recorded the song using live Urumee drummers from temples in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. [cite web | title= "Life in Exile"| url= http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2007/08/07/video-interview-mia-jimmy | work = Fader | date=2007-07-08 | accessdate=2007-10-19]

Release and reception

It was released as a downloadable single on iTunes on November 23 2006, despite M.I.A. not considering this song to be the album's first official single. [cite web | title= "BOYZ"| url= http://www.miauk.com/info/ | work = MIAUK.com | accessdate=2007-06-11] It was first mentioned in M.I.A.'s MySpace blog on August 18, 2006. Inside the post she talked about how she shot a music video for the song in a fishing village on the south coast of India. She also said that she called the song "Birdflu" as "this beat gon ["sic"] kill everyone!!" [ blog.myspace.com/mia. "GOT MY VANS ON, AND THEY LOOK LIKE SNEAKERS" (2006-08-18). Retrieved on 2007-06-11.] M.I.A. finally posted the video for this track on her MySpace on February 5 2007. [cite web | title= "Video: M.I.A.: "Birdflu""| url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/40940-mia-bird-flu | work = Pitchfork Media | date=2007-02-05 | accessdate=2007-06-11]

"Bird Flu" has been remixed by Cavemen. This song is featured in the video game "FIFA Street 3" and was featured in the Japanese CGI anime film "Vexille". [cite web|url=http://www.7digital.com/artists/various-artists/vexille-soundtrack-1|title="Various Artists - Vexille Soundtrack"|work= 7 Digital| accessdate=2008-09-25] Kitty Empire in "The Observer" and Jody Rosen in Slate.com named it the best song of 2007, with the latter appreciating the "clobbering" urumee symphony of the song complimenting the "thick, buzzy and exciting beats" of much of "Kala" that was likened to "a post colonial studies seminar". The folktronica artist Patrick Wolf and experimental band Fuck Buttons cited the song as a favourite with Andrew Hung of the band commenting "She's got experimental tendencies but it's really popular at the same time. It's quite admirable in that sort of way. I love it." [cite web | title= "The year in the arts 2007: Hip young things and tired old sounds"| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/dec/16/popandrock4 | work = The Observer | date=2007-12-16 | accessdate=2008-09-25] [cite web | title= "Guest list: Fuck Buttons"| url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/48610-guest-list-fuck-buttons| work = Pitchforkmedia | date=2008-03-20 | accessdate=2008-09-25] [cite web | title= "Guest list: Patrick Wolf"| url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/42373-guest-list-patrick-wolf | work = Pitchforkmedia | date=2007-04-20 | accessdate=2008-09-25] [cite web | title= "The best music of 2007"| url= http://www.slate.com/id/2179977/entry/2179978/ | work = Slate.com | date=2007-12-20 | accessdate=2008-09-25]

M.I.A. often requested fans to dance with her on stage when "Bird Flu" was played in concerts during the KALA Tour in 2007 and the People Vs. Money Tour in 2008.

References