M.I.A. at Letterman

M.I.A.
4" x 4"
watercolor, 2013

I know, it's been awhile. Life's been taken me places. But then the top 100 is kind of my life, so it will continue, in one form or another. The only painting I've able to churn these last two months is this tiny M.I.A. portrait done with watercolors. It took me a whole week to do it (to illustrate where my mind is at right now.) But it's M.I.A.! so I will take this opportunity to butter you up to her art (which is performance art.) I had already been mesmerized by her song Born Free since the day it was issued. It's been ranking high in my lists ever since its release in 2010, and it's steadily moving up the ranks of my all time favorites list ever since. There are three versions of the song now contributing to this rapid ascend up the list: First there's the album version on her CD Maya (that also appeared on The Believer 2010 Music Issue), then there is the 9 minute official video which is one of the most horrific I've ever seen (http://vimeo.com/11219730). It's a piece of art that video, but what I consider the real piece of art capital "A" is her performance of the song on Letterman. The keyboard player plays with his fists, creating a soundscape as punk as punk gets but the real treat is M.I.A. with her many clones. The video ranks with best music performances I've ever seen. I should not fail to mention that the song is based on the classic Suicide tune Ghost Rider, in itself a top 100 veteran.