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A lot of, though not nearly all, critics think her new record isn’t so great, but everybody’s talking about M.I.A. this week. I’m sort of on the same page as Click Track on this one: don’t love the album, but her appearance last night on The Late Show (with Martin Rev!) was awesome.
Also riding the wave: D.C. DJ Nacey, whose remix of “Steppin’ Up” recent La Roux remix hit No. 1 on Hype Machine this week. He’s now set his sights on M.I.A.
DOWNLOAD: M.I.A. – “Steppin’ Up” (Nacey remix)
[audio:http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/files/2010/07/MIASteppinUpNacey-Remix.mp3]Nacey gave a similar, if slightly more dramatic, treatment to La Roux’s “Bulletproof”: In both cases, he mostly just takes the vocals and sets them to pensive piano and a jittery, reverbed beat. But where the La Roux remix tampered down the infectious anthem with discordant strikes, with “Steppin’ Up” extracts something fragile and pretty from the assaultive, intentionally ugly original.