There has been nothing orthodox about the roll-out to M.I.A.’s ridiculously-anticipated third album. From blimps above Coachella to battles with “gotcha” journalists, getting there has been half the fun. But with a month to go, this marathon build-up is becoming absurd. Today, the full album began streaming on the People’s Record Store website (Faux-populist web portal name? Check!). The rub? The player only plays :30 of each track at a time, meaning if you want to hear the full 6:20 of “Teqkilla,” you have to hit play 13 times. Not that we’re too worried. We’re sure some torrent pirate with too much time on their hands is presently playing, ripping and assembling all the songs into their full re-constructed glory. The down side might be we’re becoming too fatigued to care.
Thank you for this album! Merry Christmass;)