M.I.A. Takes On N.Y.C.

Monday 9.27
M.I.A. @ Terminal 5
610 W. 56th St. 212-582-6600. $35-$40. 8 p.m.
with Rye Rye

Woofer-shattering bass, copious demands for alcohol and an orgy of police sirens—these are components of just one song by Mathangi Arulpragasam (let’s go with her stage name M.I.A.). So where does her music fit in best? A dance hall? Skate park? Night club? Street corner? Yes, sure, definitely, if you’ve got a boombox. That’s because M.I.A.’s sound—a combination of electronic, hip hop, world music and unpredictability—has influences from all over the place, including London, where she was born, and Sri Lanka, where she spent her childhood. All this just might make New York City the perfect match, which could explain her temporary residence a bridge-hop away in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where she had a place during the time between her first album, the this-is-mind-blowing-how-can-she-top-it Arular, and her second album, the somehow-she-did-top-it Kala. Just hope she plays more old stuff and less from her newest album, /\/\ /\ Y /\, which adds another element to her sound—unintelligible noise.