M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls" Video Premiere

So today we launched the Noisey YouTube channel, and we’re insanely thrilled to kick things off with a premiere of M.I.A.’s new video for “Bad Girls,” a squirmy little party-starter about living fast, dying young, and leaving a hot corpse in the middle of the desert. It’s basically like if 2 Fast 2 Furious had been shot out in the Middle East. Seriously, how many videos have you seen lately that focus on criminal Saudi drag racing?

We first caught wind of “Bad Girls” on the last day of 2010, when an early version was released on M.I.A.’s Vicki Leekx tape. The Arabic Pop-inflected banger was re-released this past week. The original was a stripped-down sketch--here, super-producer Danja gives the track a facelift. The video, shot by French director (and Creator!) Romain Gavras, is set in a dreamy Saudi Arabian desert scene. It was actually filmed in Ouarzazate, Morocco, one-time crossing point for African traders and current home to one of the largest film studios on the planet--Lawrence Of Arabia, The Mummy, and Gladiator were all shot out there.

We’re psyched to premiere this bad boy, and to kick off the Noisey YouTube channel. You can head here to subscribe and preview more Noisey shows. Also, if you want to ask M.I.A. something, she'll be responding to comments left on the video next Friday.