Politics in M.I.A's music
 

M.I.A is a rather controversial artist with strong political beliefs. 'Paper Planes' brought her international mainstream success, whereas songs from her previous album, Arular, like 'Amazon' and 'Fire Fire' did not. Why do think this is? Do you think the genre of the music affects the rate of audience reception?

Politics in Rock [U2 and Muse]
 

A great deal of rock music is political. Do you think mainstream artists, like U2, who have already established fame and popularity within the mass audience have it easier in terms of promoting their political songs, rather than an alternative band like Muse? Do you think the fact that the media promotes apolitical songs in preference to political songs may be a strong influential factor?

We'll likely answer this Wednesday night.