M.I.A. Set to Bring Up-and-Comers to HARD Fest in NYC and L.A.

M.I.A. will return to the stage this summer with two festival dates in New York and L.A — and she's bringing along plenty up-and-coming protégés from her N.E.E.T label to support her, including hotly tipped acts Sleigh Bells and Rye Rye. The Sri Lankan MC has scheduled two dates in New York and L.A. for the HARD Festival, her first dates in support of her new album due out this summer. The L.A. date on 17th is a day-long, two-stage affair taking place at Los Angeles State Historic Park; the New York date will happen at Governors Island. Tickets, starting at $45, go on sale March 26th and are available at the fest's official site. The lineup features an impressive roster of up-and-coming hip-hop, indie-rock and electronic acts, including Theophilus London, Skream, Destructo and 12th Planet. More artists will be announced for both dates shortly.

Expect M.I.A. to unveil plenty of songs from her eagerly anticipated new record, due out this summer. "I just want to be real, whatever that is," M.I.A. told Rolling Stone about the disc in January. "Even if my songs are shit, and if I have flaws and if I'm confused, if I offend people or if I don't offend people, I might try to work it out in public, just so you know that it's OK to think, that thinking's not a dirty word."

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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