This falls in the category of missing the point of the song as do most attempts at censorship. "Paper Planes," the breakthrough pop smash by British artist of Sri Lankan descent M.I.A., incorporates the sound of gunshots in the chorus to help underline the points being made in the song about images of immigrants. However, in various contexts, nervous TV censors decided that the gunshots were disturbing enough that they should not be heard by home audiences.
Last September when M.I.A. performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, the gunshots were replaced with popping sounds. Video of her performance shows M.I.A. obviously a bit disturbed with the selected sound. MTV's version of the "Paper Planes" video released last December also significantly altered the sounds including getting rid of the sound of gun cocking. This edited version of the sound of the video is the one still present on MTV's web site. Ironically, an explanation of the specific reasons for editing out gunshot sounds has not been forthcoming.
So...as "Paper Planes" heads into the US top 30, are we sensitive enough that the sounds of guns don't belong in a pop song? The shots are not gratuitous, and, in this listener's view, an essential part of the artistic expression in "Paper Planes." Check out the original version of the "Paper Planes" video below complete with gun shots and gun cocking.
Watch "Paper Planes."
Photo by Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images
Comments
I fell in love with the song the first time I heard it. I’ve listened to it many many times, but I still can’t catch all the words. M.I.A. has a very pretty voice. I like the slow beat of the song Paper Planes. Keep up the good work…..
I really like your song it’s the bomb i hope you get this message plaesse and call me @ 2284796 im 13 years old and i hope to be getting concert tickets soon and seeing you someday bye
Kaylan green at svms 12:37pm
FIRST TIME I HEARD THE SONG WAS AT A STRIP CLUB, I LIKE IT
I think that most of the people that even like the song don’t know what it’s about. And for those that do, they don’t think of it as displaying misconceptions about immigrants but as displaying ideals for them.
Anyone who just turns on the NEWS can hear plenty of gunshots – do MTV and Letterman think their viewers have never watched CNN or Fox or MSNBC?
“Paper Planes” is about people’s perceptions of immigrants and it’s written with the authority of an artist who’s “been there, done that”. M.I.A is a Tamil refugee whose school was bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force, so I’m sure she doesn’t take gunshots lightly. Instead she uses the sound to good artistic effect to get her point across.
A disgusting song by a disgusting individual. I recall a couple of years ago when this song came out. I had just been held up at gunpoint in an attempted carjacking. This song doesn’t have any hidden redeeming quality whatsoever. The first verse is about how the singer can create visas (presumably illegally) for people. I don’t even care about that. The brunt of the song, however, is how she dreams about killing people for money in a robbery. That’s what the song is about. A couple of years later, I was in fact shot in a robbery – in the head. It was a miracle that I survived. On a lighter note, I was able to serve on a jury trial in a murder that resulted from a robbery. I was happy to help send the perpetrator to prison for the rest of his life. Lecture away about some context I must have missed. But know that the millions of young, stoned people that are listening to this song haven’t the foggiest about what your obfuscated agenda is either. F**k the context of the song and the artist. Look at the song in a vacuum.