https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9k89DYdHKQ
JM performed her new album last month at a thing we weren’t allowed to tweet about yet. It was really good and there was a song that sounds a lot like Prince’s “Kiss.” Excited for this one. https://t.co/Jo8MVNTjwb— 𝖘𝖈𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖌𝖚𝖒 (@scottgum) February 16, 2018
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 16 February 2018 15:25 (six years ago) link
I was afraid we lost her to Hollywood.
― Dangleballs and the Ballerina (cryptosicko), Friday, 16 February 2018 15:34 (six years ago) link
is this still part of the Archandroid trilogy
― frogbs, Friday, 16 February 2018 15:40 (six years ago) link
Maybe? Nobody really knows anything yet, or aren't say if they, in fact, do.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 16 February 2018 16:16 (six years ago) link
Wouldn't be too surprised if she wanted to dump that trilogy tbh
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Friday, 16 February 2018 16:26 (six years ago) link
hope theres some more mambo #5 sounding tracks on here
― kurt schwitterz, Friday, 16 February 2018 19:22 (six years ago) link
OOOH SHIT
i mean i don't begrudge her the acting stuff because she was good at it and had done acting and drama since before her music career (rather than the usual 'musician wandering into hollywood' process) but whether or not she's still doing the metropolis suite concept with DC it is nice to here something after 5 years since her last one
― heliogabberlus, Friday, 16 February 2018 20:32 (six years ago) link
The most otm comment I read about her last one is that it sounded like the menu music from marvel vs capcom
― kolakube (Ross), Friday, 16 February 2018 20:34 (six years ago) link
GONNA TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE
― kurt schwitterz, Friday, 16 February 2018 20:38 (six years ago) link
^ haha yeah!
― kolakube (Ross), Friday, 16 February 2018 20:42 (six years ago) link
The arch android is one of my fave albums of the respective year, excited about this new one
― kolakube (Ross), Friday, 16 February 2018 20:50 (six years ago) link
I presume this is the one Scott Stereogum was hinting at...hints of Kiss are there, but not at a distracting level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGRzz0oqgUE
And then there's this one, which seems...clumsy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTjQq5rMlEY
More curious now than before to see/hear how this all weaves together.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 22 February 2018 22:17 (six years ago) link
hard to compare something at first listen to stuff i've been playing for years, but "make me feel" is exciting: another killer piece in her "working-in-the-same-vein-as-past-black-pop-auteurs-but-still-being-individual-rather-than-imitating" mode
django jane doesn't soar quite as high, but still solid and enjoyable, and y'all gotta admit she got bars. little disappointed at her for namechecking her involvement with fem the future and then turning around and tossing in a handful of cis pussy power cliches but that's the way the cookie crumbles i guess
― heliogabberlus, Thursday, 22 February 2018 22:37 (six years ago) link
What is fem the future? What are "cis pussy power cliches"? And why does this disappoint you?
― how's life, Friday, 23 February 2018 00:02 (six years ago) link
Yeah, I didn't reaelly get that. I didn't pick up on anything particularly offensive, but then again, cis white male talking, so....
― Moodles, Friday, 23 February 2018 00:15 (six years ago) link
fem the future is a grassroots movement for "women and those who identify as women" (in other words, women) janelle's worked with and attended events by
"cis pussy power cliches" is in reference to the multitude of variations upon framing the vagina as the center of/some magical beacon of feminine essence
not surprised the same person who played the "having (and potentially mistreating or dehumanising) disabled family members entitles me to speak over actual disabled people and act like i have a better understanding of their experiences" card is having a hard time sympathizing with another socially marginalized viewpoint
(and @ moodles, it's not "offensive" insomuch as it's just a little tiring to see it coming in this day and age from someone who frames herself as an ally)
― heliogabberlus, Friday, 23 February 2018 00:18 (six years ago) link
Why can't women celebrate being women and be trans allies at the same time?
― how's life, Friday, 23 February 2018 00:36 (six years ago) link
Django Jane is fine but Make Me Feel is fantastic, probably her best single yet
― ufo, Friday, 23 February 2018 00:57 (six years ago) link
Make Me Feel is fantastic, probably her best single yet
I might still put it behind Q.U.E.E.N., but it's way up here.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 23 February 2018 01:17 (six years ago) link
i guess my opinion could change with further listens but so far i like it better than "q.u.e.e.n."
― dyl, Friday, 23 February 2018 02:23 (six years ago) link
musically i still love her Archandroid I/II stuff the most, but she's definitely gotten better and better as a visual and dance artist
― Nhex, Friday, 23 February 2018 06:11 (six years ago) link
the way Make Me Feel builds and builds and then explodes in the bridge is so good and the video is incredible too
― ufo, Friday, 23 February 2018 07:03 (six years ago) link
Well, the pussy *is* pretty powerful, afaict.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 23 February 2018 08:01 (six years ago) link
Not feeling "Make Me Feel". Sounds too much like "Kiss".
― daavid, Friday, 23 February 2018 20:15 (six years ago) link
― how's life, Friday, February 23, 2018 1:36 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
framing womanhood and the vagina as inherently linked is kinda.... the opposite of being a trans ally....
since i haven't seen it come up here yet, anyone got any feelings on the april 28 release date?
― heliogabberlus, Friday, 23 February 2018 22:35 (six years ago) link
jesus did Drake ghostwrite "Django Jane"? soooo Drake
Make Me Feel is p good but I think they went one too far bringing in the guitar lick on verse two, just brings the "Kiss" comparison a little too in focus
― It's not delivery, it's Adorno! (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 23 February 2018 23:14 (six years ago) link
xp
Is it inherently anti-trans for a woman to mention vaginas in the context of a song about feminism?
― Moodles, Friday, 23 February 2018 23:27 (six years ago) link
cis male here, so while acknowledging this music isnt really for me, i fell that the "funky" one is really unfunky.
― kurt schwitterz, Friday, 23 February 2018 23:50 (six years ago) link
"Not feeling "Make Me Feel". Sounds too much like "Kiss"."
not feeling your comment, don't understand something sounding "too much" like "Kiss"
― akm, Saturday, 24 February 2018 00:36 (six years ago) link
as an afab woman i feel like 'acknowledging a body part that has been a major part of my life since my first period and especially since the first time i bled through my peach cotton capris' is by no means ignoring the trans experience. (also... why don't dick references get called anti-trans male?)
also i'm glad the men have weighed in. 'so drake' huh? lol
― maura, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:23 (six years ago) link
like i think there has to be a way to acknowledge the trans female experience while also acknowledging that having a vagina needs to be transmuted from a situation that is often a pain in the ass (feel free to figure out a tampon/pad/liner/cup budget every month, or even to find one when you're desperately in need of one and have run out, those of you who never have had to) into a situation that is powerful
― maura, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:26 (six years ago) link
i feel like i'm treading on touchy ground here and i'm sorry but i also feel like it's weird that trans men rarely speak up for their rights as vociferously and i wonder if it's at least partially because of socialization
― maura, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:27 (six years ago) link
Glad you jumped in, maura. I wasn't feeling great about piling into this argument, but also felt Janelle was being unfairly called out.
― Moodles, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:31 (six years ago) link
it's really frustrating because obviously transphobia is a big problem! but the erasure of afab women's experience – which has its own HOST of societal stigmas, like i have lived in so much fear of bleeding through my various menstrual supplies that my life is markedly different now that i have an apparatus to stop my period, because i have often been confronted with zero supplies – isn't the answer
― maura, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:34 (six years ago) link
anyway these songs are both great
(and i know gloria steinem's 'if men could menstruate' is problematic in the lexicon of the times but seriously, if amab men could menstruate, things would be REALLY FUCKIN DIFFERENT in public bathrooms)
(ok maybe not in gas station ones but most others)
― maura, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:36 (six years ago) link
but then again, cis white male talking, so....
Moodles is so close to having a breakthrough right here
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Saturday, 24 February 2018 02:36 (six years ago) link
Haha, don't hold your breath, I'm rapidly turning into old man yells at cloud.
― Moodles, Saturday, 24 February 2018 03:08 (six years ago) link
― heliogabberlus, vendredi 23 février 2018 17:35 (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
God forbid the idea that someone with a different sexual/racial/gender experience can't identify with something different.
― Van Horn Street, Saturday, 24 February 2018 03:29 (six years ago) link
My brain keeps mixing up "Make Me Feel" with "Kiss", except not the Prince version. The Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones version.
― MarkoP, Saturday, 24 February 2018 15:48 (six years ago) link
xpost hey maura the drake thing was me and to me her flow sounds exactly like drake, which may be more a testament to how influential he has become and how far his flow has really been incorporated into rap at this point.I personally can't hear that flow and not think Drake but maybe others hear it different.
― It's not delivery, it's Adorno! (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 24 February 2018 15:56 (six years ago) link
i blame Drake for everything
― Nhex, Saturday, 24 February 2018 16:06 (six years ago) link
― Van Horn Street, Saturday, February 24, 2018 3:29 AM (thirteen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
maura's otm but trans women shouldn't have the burden put on them to identify w afab women
― lowercase (eric), Saturday, 24 February 2018 17:21 (six years ago) link
Prince connection is legit, guys:
So it turns out that Prince did the music on the new Janelle Monae track, "Make Me Feel", according to his DJ, Lenka Paris :) pic.twitter.com/FqosHWK5MZ— Casey Rain | S-Endz | The Neosoulja (@CaseyRain) February 24, 2018
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 25 February 2018 07:40 (six years ago) link
:O
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 25 February 2018 13:26 (six years ago) link
I heard this for the first time at the weekend and had to go hunting for what it was later, thought it might be her but wasn't sure. Think it's terrific, who cares if it sounds like 'Kiss'? The vocal line in the bridge is what really makes it, and that's new.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:03 (six years ago) link
I’m sorry but I think it’s terrible...kinda has the same effect on me as Uptown Funk...leaves me cold...can’t hear the Kiss comparisons either...
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:12 (six years ago) link
c'mon
― Number None, Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:19 (six years ago) link
I'm not a fan either, but it's clearly heavily indebted to Kiss
― Number None, Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:20 (six years ago) link
It might be but I haven’t been able to get to the end...
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Wednesday, 28 February 2018 23:24 (six years ago) link
so is this going to be a lock for pazz & jop #1 once it becomes her first mainstream hit? lol
― dyl, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 02:51 (six years ago) link
Well Carly Rae Jepsen does have a new album planned for this year...
― MarkoP, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 03:43 (six years ago) link
That's ILM's #1
― Dangleballs and the Ballerina (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 6 March 2018 03:47 (six years ago) link
Maybe we'll see a tie.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 6 March 2018 03:59 (six years ago) link
like Django Jane
― fuck the NRA (Neanderthal), Saturday, 24 March 2018 03:43 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYvlVR_BEc
collab with grimes(?), really great i think
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 16:19 (five years ago) link
I don't love it. So far "Make Me Feel" is the only single from this record that's really worked for me. It's the guitars that ruin it.
But it could have been worse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfbBqBOSXlU
― grawlix (unperson), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 16:27 (five years ago) link
thanks for that
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 16:31 (five years ago) link
it's like red but not quite
― like æ duce says, smell my anvil vapre (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 16:38 (five years ago) link
I like this one a lot.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 17:21 (five years ago) link
Well as much as I like this new song, it certainly doesn't extenuate the critique heliogabberlus offered up-thread.
― fragglerock, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 19:51 (five years ago) link
I like the song, but the video is a masterpiece of queer art.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 22:00 (five years ago) link
This is fantastic, and the vid is A+++ too <3
― lilcraigyboi (Craigo Boingo), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 22:17 (five years ago) link
This is my least favorite of the new ones, a little too cutesy for me.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 22:20 (five years ago) link
videos are all better than the songs, which makes sense i guess
― Nhex, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 23:35 (five years ago) link
this is so great
― ufo, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 00:21 (five years ago) link
just read a funny Grace Jones dis of JM that i'll link later if i'm really bored
― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 April 2018 02:27 (five years ago) link
Video is A+ but something about the car/boulevard line that makes me think of Rebecca Black's "Friday".
― Yerac, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 02:34 (five years ago) link
lol Aerosmith got writing credits for this
― ufo, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 16:38 (five years ago) link
the song isn't great tbh
― imago, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 16:46 (five years ago) link
but all for this further-out-and-prouder vibe
― imago, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 16:48 (five years ago) link
Ha ha, holy shit, I had no idea it was actually borrowed from the Aerosmith song. I just heard the similarities and made the joke.
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 11 April 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
surely that's a "getting ahead of ourselves" song credit. the verse melodies aren't dissimilar
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 11 April 2018 17:23 (five years ago) link
The vocal line in the bridge is what really makes it, and that's new.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, February 28, 2018 5:03 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Exactly! The "little bit of tender" line is one of the most awesome uses of a descending chromatic scale since the Yes song "Then" from "Time and a Word".
― Prefecture, Friday, 13 April 2018 00:06 (five years ago) link
I hope Janelle and Tessa never announce they're dating and just keep making more elaborate music videos until they accidentally shoot Jodorosky's Dune— rachel jane andelman (@rajandelman) April 11, 2018
^Gets it
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 13 April 2018 17:26 (five years ago) link
I would be ok with hearing this everywhere this summer.
― Yerac, Friday, 13 April 2018 18:03 (five years ago) link
This song is super easy breezy
Love it
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Friday, 13 April 2018 18:35 (five years ago) link
I am going back and looking at the video for Make Me Feel and holy holy, JM is such perfection.
― Yerac, Friday, 13 April 2018 22:19 (five years ago) link
maura otm xposts ago. I was wearing peach shorts.
― Yerac, Friday, 13 April 2018 22:22 (five years ago) link
On relistening aside from Django Jane these two other singles are mediocre imo
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Saturday, 14 April 2018 15:11 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xAMnJgc3oA
this one's not on the same level as Make Me Feel or Pynk but still very nice
― ufo, Monday, 16 April 2018 06:45 (five years ago) link
Yeah, this song just sounds like the bridge between two better songs on the album.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 16 April 2018 12:12 (five years ago) link
(I don't know for sure that it is, but I hope it is.)
Arch android is still her best work but I remain optimistic
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Monday, 16 April 2018 18:08 (five years ago) link
i like that
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 16 April 2018 18:12 (five years ago) link
into it
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Monday, 16 April 2018 18:24 (five years ago) link
this is my favourite one from this campaign so far - understated and sexy
― boxedjoy, Monday, 16 April 2018 20:59 (five years ago) link
"pynk" is by far the best of these to me... the verses feel a little too understated to me which i assume is intentional given the chorus, but the payoff is really there i think
― J0rdan S., Monday, 16 April 2018 21:44 (five years ago) link
the understatement really works with the lyrics imo. i like how the chorus guitar feels p breezy indie-pop-ish the first time but when it returns in the next chorus it becomes feels v different tonally in the more filled-up mix despite not changing itself
― lowercase (eric), Monday, 16 April 2018 21:52 (five years ago) link
Dawn Richard covered/remixed "Pynk": https://soundcloud.com/dawn_richard/dark-pynk-cover
― monotony, Tuesday, 17 April 2018 01:50 (five years ago) link
^you'd have thought that would have broken ILM :)
Janelle likes it anyway: https://www.stereogum.com/1992145/janelle-monae-pynk-d∆wn-remix/music/
― Jeff W, Wednesday, 18 April 2018 20:06 (five years ago) link
it's nice!
― Simon H., Wednesday, 18 April 2018 20:11 (five years ago) link
Thinking on holding out until the film now _ might make sense of these tracks
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Wednesday, 18 April 2018 20:35 (five years ago) link
Dawn version kills it
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Thursday, 19 April 2018 07:02 (five years ago) link
But part of the reason she was slow to return, she told me, is that her mentor, Prince, died unexpectedly. They were working together closely on what would become “Dirty Computer.” “This was the person that I would literally call and talk to about sounds or: ‘How should I say this? Is this saying too much?’ I just never could imagine a time where I couldn’t pick up the phone or email him, and he’d contact me right back and we’d talk about all these things that I was unsure of.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/magazine/how-janelle-monae-found-her-voice.html?action=click&contentCollection=Music&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 19 April 2018 18:33 (five years ago) link
<3 Janelle
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Thursday, 19 April 2018 19:21 (five years ago) link
For my fANDROIDS, friends, & fam who have supported from day 1, the broadcast premiere of #DIRTYCOMPUTER (the emotion picture) starring the brilliant @TessaThompson_x will air Thurs 4.26 on @MTV & @BET! Check your local listings for times. #DirtyComputer (album) out Fri 4.27 ! pic.twitter.com/JoxDySSgrf— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) April 20, 2018
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 21 April 2018 04:26 (five years ago) link
damn! ^
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Sunday, 22 April 2018 20:40 (five years ago) link
rumoured tracklist
1. Dirty Computer (feat. Brian Wilson) 2. Crazy, Classic, Life 3. Take a Byte 4. Pussy Poppin’ (feat. Kamasi Washington) 5. Screwed (feat. Zoë Kravitz) 6. Django Jane 7. Pynk (feat. Grimes) 8. Make Me Feel 9. I Got the Juice (feat. Pharrell Williams) 10. I Like That 11. Don't Judge Me 12. Stevie's Dream 13. So Afraid 14. Americans
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Sunday, 22 April 2018 20:50 (five years ago) link
I got Zoe Kravitz mixed up with Nina Kraviz when I first read this and got really intrigued
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 23:24 (five years ago) link
I really hope Wilson's contribution to the first track is just him mumbling "What's for lunch?...I like ice cream...Are we done...Can I go home now?...My favorite movie is Norbit..."
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 25 April 2018 01:50 (five years ago) link
same here josh, followed by a "meh" in my case
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Wednesday, 25 April 2018 04:43 (five years ago) link
i love this album! easily my favourite of hers
― ufo, Thursday, 26 April 2018 06:57 (five years ago) link
really ufo? can't imagine this being better than her debut which was one of the best debuts in my mind
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 26 April 2018 09:11 (five years ago) link
it's a disappointment to me. the songs we've heard so far are the best of the bunch and a lot of the other tracks aren't terribly exciting, music-wise or lyrically. Half of the record feels like the generic filler-material on a pop record right now.But that's just my opinion, maybe it'll appeal to y'all more. Hopefully it'll grow on me, maybe.
― fragglerock, Thursday, 26 April 2018 09:27 (five years ago) link
Holy shit at Screwed! How is that not exciting lyrics?
I love how happy and major-key it all sounds, even though it's obviously coming from a place of fight and frustration.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 26 April 2018 10:31 (five years ago) link
i can imagine this easily besting her debut but i’ve always thought archandroid was just so fucking long
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 26 April 2018 11:06 (five years ago) link
i'm saying that having never really been into her previous albums beyond the singles though and yeah as Brad says they're so long. so many great tracks on this one and Americans is a fantastic closer especially
― ufo, Thursday, 26 April 2018 11:12 (five years ago) link
I haven’t heard the record yet (not sure where you all heard it) but I pray to god none of it sounds like yoga
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 26 April 2018 16:06 (five years ago) link
She's going for an early '90s Madonnna vibe on "Screwed."
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 April 2018 16:19 (five years ago) link
"But I go sex crazy, but I feel so screwedSex, body, we're gonna crash your partyLet's get screwed, I don't careYou fucked the world up now, we'll fuck it all back downLet's get, let's get screwedI, I don't careWe'll put water in your gunsWe'll do it all for fun"
Look, if that's your kind of bag, more power to you! Just looking at the lyrics it could just as well be a Charli XCX track - which usually make for good poppy entertainment, don't get me wrong, but they rarely "excite" me.
ArchAndroid is still my favorite - the length is a feature, not a bug.
― fragglerock, Thursday, 26 April 2018 18:44 (five years ago) link
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 00:23 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uovntV3ZMDc
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 00:25 (five years ago) link
there's nothing that sounds like Yoga but plenty of tracks that sound very very Prince
― ufo, Friday, 27 April 2018 00:32 (five years ago) link
nothing that sounds like yoga is a plus
― dyl, Friday, 27 April 2018 02:14 (five years ago) link
what song is take a byte referencing
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 02:34 (five years ago) link
I've enjoyed her previous two albums a lot, but they both had things I'd change about them. I'd lose BaBopBye Ya, Mushrooms & Roses and Make The Bus from The ArchAndroid. I'd remove the skits and Dance Apocalyptic from Electric Lady. My first impression is that there's nothing I'd change about Dirty Computer. She's finally made that concise masterpiece I knew she had in her. The way the songs flow into each other is just stunning.
― kitchen person, Friday, 27 April 2018 04:51 (five years ago) link
'I live my life in a magazineI live my life on a TV screenI live my life on birth controlI lost my mind to rock and roll'
A lot of the lyrics are like this, 75% klichés, but those last 25% makes the whole thing come alive.
― Frederik B, Friday, 27 April 2018 05:29 (five years ago) link
it would be nice if the film was included in the download or at an additional price, but it's not
same thing with ionnalee's record - not sure why they don't just do what beyonce did with lemonade and bundle it
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 12:54 (five years ago) link
i'm assuming views on youtube are more important
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 12:55 (five years ago) link
god this rules
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 27 April 2018 13:57 (five years ago) link
I feel like it’s gonna take me a few listens to get into it, but of the non-singles “Crazy, Classic, Life” and “Americans” are the most immediately striking.
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:12 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdH2Sy-BlNE
here's the film!
― ufo, Friday, 27 April 2018 14:14 (five years ago) link
album slays
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:20 (five years ago) link
it's lithe!
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:35 (five years ago) link
"Don't Judge Me" is magnificent
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:49 (five years ago) link
Love this album
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:49 (five years ago) link
Damm love how much of her gospel upbringing she brings into this
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 14:50 (five years ago) link
film is good too, all the videos for the songs are great
― ufo, Friday, 27 April 2018 15:01 (five years ago) link
"americans" is the only hat-tip toward archandroid/electric lady on this record i think
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:06 (five years ago) link
it's also real good
man, and it feels so much less fussy; it's got a grace to it.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:09 (five years ago) link
don't judge me sounds like electric lady to me
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:22 (five years ago) link
oh yeah that's not wrong
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:23 (five years ago) link
"Stevie's Dream"!
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:35 (five years ago) link
Even though I only really liked one pre-release track out of four, I listened to the whole thing front to back this morning. The only thing that really surprised me was the prog synth on "So Afraid." The album's good and all, and the advance tracks I thought were bland worked a little better in the context of the album (meanwhile, the one I liked a lot kinda got shoved down to the level of everything else), but it's good in an earnest, try-hard, theater-kid-who-likes-Prince way, like everything else she's done. I don't think I'll be listening to it again. On the other hand, it's made me want to pull out Erykah Badu's New Amerykah albums again. So there's that.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 27 April 2018 15:38 (five years ago) link
i'm addicted to this record
love the TLC reference to crazy,sexy cool
juice sounds like hollaback girl
and love that killer stevie wonder esque synth on i'm afraid
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 27 April 2018 16:47 (five years ago) link
Album good, song good, bought tickets.
― rb (soda), Friday, 27 April 2018 19:49 (five years ago) link
This album rules, much like her other albums
― Embalming is a flirty business (DJP), Friday, 27 April 2018 20:58 (five years ago) link
I like it when "Screwed" shifts into slow jam mode
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 27 April 2018 21:21 (five years ago) link
"and love that killer stevie wonder esque synth on i'm afraid"
I saw a mention that this might actually be him? not sure.
anyway I think this is probably her best album, improved immensely by the absence of skits, which I hate.
― akm, Friday, 27 April 2018 21:53 (five years ago) link
This is clearly the record of the summer if not the year
― Οὖτις, Friday, 27 April 2018 23:45 (five years ago) link
The film is decent, but I'm not sure I needed these (frequently awesome) videos with an underfed Handmaid's Tale wraparound narrative.
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Friday, 27 April 2018 23:49 (five years ago) link
bummer "so afraid" doesn't appear in the film at all
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 28 April 2018 01:00 (five years ago) link
akm - sounds like him
the film's OK but it neglects so much of the album it doesn't feel too relevant to the record
the ionnalee film this year excelled in merging the clips with the album but this seems like an afterthought
― done and dusted (Ross), Saturday, 28 April 2018 01:47 (five years ago) link
the film looks good but it doesn't do a good job in filling in the story
this album seems disconnected from the last two narrative wise
but the video just sells beautiful images and scenes without a lot of conviction narrative wise
― done and dusted (Ross), Saturday, 28 April 2018 01:53 (five years ago) link
This is clearly destined to win pazz & jop and lose all the grammies to Taylor Swift.
― Frederik B, Saturday, 28 April 2018 07:39 (five years ago) link
It's almost as if we've become spoiled with political pop these last few years, but wow, take a step back and consider how incredible the existence of something like 'Americans' is.
― Frederik B, Saturday, 28 April 2018 08:02 (five years ago) link
Virtually every second of this is a delight, and when I got to the end of Americans I felt like applauding.
― Matt DC, Saturday, 28 April 2018 10:35 (five years ago) link
Americans is great, ain’t gonna lie it made me tear up
― done and dusted (Ross), Saturday, 28 April 2018 14:24 (five years ago) link
Virtually every second of this is a delight
― Matt DC, Saturday, April 28, 2018 3:35 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
undelightful seconds of this record occupied by pharrell
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Sunday, 29 April 2018 17:41 (five years ago) link
Well -intentioned , sometimes great but flawed. HerPrince homages are too studied.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 29 April 2018 19:21 (five years ago) link
I haven't even heard the Pharrell track because I'm scared.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 29 April 2018 19:28 (five years ago) link
xp taylor swift's album will definitely not be grammybait
excited to listen to this + watch the film!
― dyl, Sunday, 29 April 2018 19:40 (five years ago) link
I love how smoothly this flows from one track to the next.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 29 April 2018 19:43 (five years ago) link
The Pharrell track is fine.
― Embalming is a flirty business (DJP), Sunday, 29 April 2018 20:02 (five years ago) link
Her Prince homages are too studied.
this is a bad take, I propose this take instead: her Prince homages are fun & good
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Sunday, 29 April 2018 20:15 (five years ago) link
Last two posts otm
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 29 April 2018 20:22 (five years ago) link
I found her previous james brown homages much less fun tbh
pharrell's verse is good
― J0rdan S., Sunday, 29 April 2018 20:33 (five years ago) link
Screwed/Make Me Feel/Americans already all-time for me. Still working on the rest.
― it was stale, and I did not like it, as the man said, &c (seandalai), Sunday, 29 April 2018 20:43 (five years ago) link
the whole record rules. incredibly happy with this record
chill out N co-exist
― done and dusted (Ross), Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:16 (five years ago) link
"screwed" has been running through my head all weekend
― geoffreyess, Monday, 30 April 2018 02:49 (five years ago) link
Pynk is a such great late-night-driving-through-the-city song current fave is I Like That
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 30 April 2018 03:27 (five years ago) link
was kinda cool to this until "django jane" and then it started to click for me emotionally.
― 21st savagery fox (m bison), Monday, 30 April 2018 04:17 (five years ago) link
Her "Americans" >> Prince's "America"
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, 30 April 2018 13:56 (five years ago) link
I like most of this but I find her rapping cringey for some reason I can't quite place (it might be the perceived Drakeness)
― Simon H., Monday, 30 April 2018 14:57 (five years ago) link
closing stretch is the strongest despite some mild corniness
― Simon H., Monday, 30 April 2018 15:06 (five years ago) link
not crazy about this after first listen, but i was only half-paying attention.
― 808s & Deep States (voodoo chili), Monday, 30 April 2018 16:19 (five years ago) link
It really does!
I like some of the grooves, not the lyrics so much. Do *not* care for the rapping.
― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Monday, 30 April 2018 18:17 (five years ago) link
Ctrl+F "Miguel". Esp "Afraid" but also in parts of Pynk and elsewhere I hear a clear Wildheart connection...
― it was stale, and I did not like it, as the man said, &c (seandalai), Monday, 30 April 2018 23:00 (five years ago) link
well it's a very Prince influenced R&B album with prominent guitars so it does sound a lot like Wildheart
― ufo, Monday, 30 April 2018 23:14 (five years ago) link
yeah obv there is all that Prince in there and maybe it's just recency bias but there are specific inflections that are easier for me to connect to Miguel
― it was stale, and I did not like it, as the man said, &c (seandalai), Monday, 30 April 2018 23:22 (five years ago) link
love 2 listen to janelle rap
― 21st savagery fox (m bison), Tuesday, 1 May 2018 00:08 (five years ago) link
will take janelle rapping over tony m rapping any day of the week
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Tuesday, 1 May 2018 01:30 (five years ago) link
Thanks. Now I've got Monae rapping "Jughead" on the brain.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 1 May 2018 01:49 (five years ago) link
nothing original to add but gosh do i love this album
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 1 May 2018 04:38 (five years ago) link
dang this DOES sound like a recent Prince protege album so yah not good haha
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 1 May 2018 23:47 (five years ago) link
her rapping on crazy sounds like RHCP
predict this will easily be a 1-4 place record overall
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 3 May 2018 04:29 (five years ago) link
Pretty big disappointment to me. Much middle of the road pop backing tracks, Nile Rodgers guitars and highly digital sounding drums. No swagger... Her lyrics are a little embarrassing in parts too.
My guess is that people tied to album no. 1 felt... OK about no. 2, and will get off the train at this point.
― paulhw, Thursday, 3 May 2018 06:48 (five years ago) link
I have never been particularly interested in her so I'm not an expert but after listening to this album a couple of times, I like it but don't find it great.There are some nice moments which may grow on me but also some corny lyrics and songs (I suppose "Americans" might work better if you're american but to me it sounds like an 80s big american movie's closing song !).That said "Screwed" is so great and fun ! It would deserve to be this summer's ubiquitous jam.
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 3 May 2018 07:59 (five years ago) link
(I suppose "Americans" might work better if you're american but to me it sounds like an 80s big american movie's closing song !)
People in America are very traumatized by Trump right now so this kind of corny bullshit works really well on them. Plus, never forget the Santayana quote "Americans love junk. It's not the junk that bothers me, it's the love."
― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, 3 May 2018 10:00 (five years ago) link
Americans has very corny lyrics but the music is great as an album closer
there's been so much of corny protest lyrics everywhere lately that i just tune it out now
― ufo, Thursday, 3 May 2018 10:42 (five years ago) link
The pop and cornyness is a feature, not a bug, though. There's no accounting for taste, but it is really explicit on the album, the second song quotes the declaration of independence and makes a little pause before 'the pursuit of happiness'. The whole point of the album is Monae insisting on being a black queer woman. And HAPPY about it. Which is quite radical in and of itself. I mean, the relentless poppiness of the album does at times tire me out as well, and '80s big american movie's closing song' is not wrong at all, lol. I do get a bit sad by the critical reaction, though. There is of course also a subtext to a queer artist insisting on making a positive story about being queer instead of a sad and weary one, and it being rejected by tastemakers for not being serious enough.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 11:00 (five years ago) link
other examples plz of corny protest lyrics. i want to make a playlist.
― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 3 May 2018 11:01 (five years ago) link
I don't really know how more explicit she could make it that she was going for happiness, and that is what's supposed to be political about it. There's like, a speech about it on the second track. It's almost too obvious, like, I expected reviewers to all note it, and then saying she was wrong. But no.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 11:02 (five years ago) link
There is of course also a subtext to a queer artist insisting on making a positive story about being queer instead of a sad and weary one, and it being rejected by tastemakers for not being serious enough.
oh, come on. the praise has been almost completely universal outside of a few people itt
― Simon H., Thursday, 3 May 2018 12:32 (five years ago) link
it's literally tied for the top spot of 2018 on metacritic rn
Which is as it should be. But if you read those metacritic reviews, it's a common theme in the less enthusiastic ones.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 12:51 (five years ago) link
And, I mean, it's not that it shouldn't be criticized, a song like Screwed is almost like a parody of politics-less liberal identity politics. But ignoring it is annoying.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 12:52 (five years ago) link
I also find yr conflation of "pop" and "happy" and "cornball" to be weird but I don't want to turn this into another fred b struggle session so I'm gonna peace out here
― Simon H., Thursday, 3 May 2018 13:20 (five years ago) link
I'd love to hear you de-conflate it, because for me, yeah, it's conflated. The unique thing about the record is the bright sounds, major chords, and sloganistic/kliché ridden lyrics, so pop, happy and cornball are in this case the same thing.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 13:37 (five years ago) link
You are accurately describing what I'm saying instead of yelling at me about something I've never said, so so far it's not turning into any kind of session.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 13:39 (five years ago) link
It's sunny, 20 degrees out, cool breeze and this album is everything rn.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 3 May 2018 13:55 (five years ago) link
i’ve had “crazy classic life” and “screwed” in my head all week
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 May 2018 13:58 (five years ago) link
I like most of this but I find her rapping cringey for some reason I can't quite place (it might be the perceived Drakeness)― Simon H., Monday, April 30, 2018 10:57 AM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Simon H., Monday, April 30, 2018 10:57 AM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Have you ever had the experience of really enjoying something (a movie, a tv show, a meal, etc), only to have someone break the spell by loudly complaining how much it sucks.
― enochroot, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:25 (five years ago) link
every time I log on ILM yeah
― Van Horn Street, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:28 (five years ago) link
otm enoch
i love this record and you're all harshing my mellow
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:38 (five years ago) link
sorry everyone
― Simon H., Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:42 (five years ago) link
(i'm w simon re drakeness)
― lowercase (eric), Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:45 (five years ago) link
Janelle I love u but you've chosen drakeness
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 3 May 2018 21:19 (five years ago) link
During this record I’ve thought of chill peppers, Aqua, Gwen and toto on take a byte
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 3 May 2018 22:11 (five years ago) link
Sorry only Toto on take a byte, does anyone know what that reference is?
― done and dusted (Ross), Thursday, 3 May 2018 22:13 (five years ago) link
It's the serpent and the fall of man. Y'know: Sex.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 3 May 2018 22:31 (five years ago) link
I may have misunderstood you're question.
Really into that forever ever vocal on the intro track
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 05:21 (five years ago) link
Fred I’m looking for the musical ref
― done and dusted (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 05:22 (five years ago) link
Carl Wilson's review
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:30 (five years ago) link
Symphony to god! Damn. Isn’t that musics gift??
― Tosser full of secrets (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:31 (five years ago) link
We are all reaching for something unattainable. The thing about reviews is I know why the record tastes good - don’t need a calorie and ingredient spreadsheet
Music is for enjoying not quantifying
― Tosser full of secrets (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:35 (five years ago) link
I know this is really not the point to be drawn out, but as a Canadian, Wilson has no business calling the American left "despairing."
― Simon H., Friday, 4 May 2018 15:37 (five years ago) link
I’m Canadian man
Love to Simon
― Tosser full of secrets (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:38 (five years ago) link
Sorry Simon what do you mean?
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:50 (five years ago) link
oh just that the canadian left is an incredibly dismal, pathetic state at the moment compared to the States where there's been quite a bit of energy and potential for momentum by comparison
― Simon H., Friday, 4 May 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
LBI otm
Treating a record like a jigsaw - take a load off n enjoy
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
Simon I’m sad to say I don’t know much about Canadian politics
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:56 (five years ago) link
― incel elgort (cryptosicko), Friday, May 4, 2018 10:30 AM (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
kinda looks at first like he's giving the album a 0
― frogbs, Friday, 4 May 2018 15:56 (five years ago) link
I do find it kind of funny that Wilson alleges the album is being slightly overrated for its positive vision while Fred alleges more or less the opposite is true
― Simon H., Friday, 4 May 2018 15:56 (five years ago) link
Can’t figure out wtf Fred is on about
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 15:57 (five years ago) link
Back in arch days Janelle added me to MySpace and man that made my day. Her happiness on this record and gospel upbringing rings hard for me. Janelles happy = I’m happt
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 16:00 (five years ago) link
Happy
I like that
― Main man (Ross), Friday, 4 May 2018 16:39 (five years ago) link
the jubilance + strength combo is so addictive, cannot stop listening.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 4 May 2018 17:00 (five years ago) link
― breastcrawl, Friday, 4 May 2018 21:34 (five years ago) link
Not hearing any drakeness I’m confused.
Enjoying the record but I still prefer the first two she did.
― Van Horn Street, Friday, 4 May 2018 21:38 (five years ago) link
drake flow has been so pervasive in pop i barely hear it anymore. genuinely think janelle’s raps are better lyrically than what she sings on this record
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 4 May 2018 21:51 (five years ago) link
but also i can handle a lotta corniness especially when it’s gay as hell
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 4 May 2018 21:52 (five years ago) link
― grawlix (unperson)
so ever since tom pepinsky briefly went viral way back in early 2017, i've been following his blog. and his latest post - hey this board could have something to say about it! it's called "glam, metal, and regime change". (link: https://tompepinsky.com/2018/04/27/glam-metal-and-regime-change/ ) i clicked through to the slides. i clicked through to his example of a video from the "arab spring":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgw_zfLLvh8
okay, now this is what the music of regime change sounds like. resistance depends on manufacturing a viable alternative, on manufacturing _hope_. i understand that's a discredited neoliberal concept right now, but it will need to be rehabilitated.
― Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Saturday, 5 May 2018 00:24 (five years ago) link
To clarify my not-really-liking-it statement upthread. It's the combination of:- Janelle having an OK voice, not great, but in the past having interesting melodies that carry her average voice. Not to be all Geir Hongro, but this has some pretty average tunes.- It used to feel, lyrically, like she was a little less of open book. Now the sexual references, social media references, political references are more obvious, even simple. I won't argue the sexual politics of this though - I have a lot of respect for what people have said upthread about what it means to them. - The beats kind of suck. Actually, for me this a big thing. There was so much exciting music on vol. 1, and a good amount on vol. 2. No track on here has me all "shit!" and searching for production credits the way the first 2 albums did. For me, this album has become the Janelle Monae show "as personality," and not the Janelle Monae show "as musical prodigy."
― paulhw, Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:12 (five years ago) link
mmmm. i didn't take it as "average" at all. i do think it's simpler and more straightforward than her past work, and that's really what i like about it. it's the sort of thing that's difficult to do well, and she does it well.
― Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:32 (five years ago) link
Forgive the comparison in advance, because it just popped into my head, but this seems like her 90125. After a career of concepts and overkill, I really appreciate the straightforwardness of Dirty Computer.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:35 (five years ago) link
To further clarify - and this may seem rockist, if that's still a thing - but it now sounds like she's singing over beats, whereas on the earlier stuff it felt like the music was coming out of her, if that makes sense.
― paulhw, Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:37 (five years ago) link
it felt like the music was coming out of her, if that makes sense.
I've felt that way before (re: a number of artists), but not with this album. idk
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:39 (five years ago) link
what
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:44 (five years ago) link
― paulhw
like in this sense?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig-ZoUQKst4
― Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:46 (five years ago) link
No.
― paulhw, Sunday, 6 May 2018 01:49 (five years ago) link
gross
― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Sunday, 6 May 2018 02:13 (five years ago) link
Oh me oh me oh me oh my
― Peak redundacy (Ross), Sunday, 6 May 2018 09:59 (five years ago) link
Read (most) of the Wilson review and I left it thinking this album (which I haven't gotten to yet) must sound like St. Vincent making Prince's symbol album. I did see her play a club show with Prince once, and I felt that he (or probably more specifically/fairly, the situation) was bringing something different out of her, compared to when I'd seen her before. Curious!
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 6 May 2018 12:27 (five years ago) link
wait hold up "the beats kinda suck"? out of all the criticisms, this is what i'd least expect, the production is so lush and limber. (not to mention that one of the first things that struck me is how flexibly her voice moves w/in the songs' landscapes; even phrasing aside "singing over beats" is such a wrong take)
― lowercase (eric), Sunday, 6 May 2018 12:42 (five years ago) link
eric otm
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Sunday, 6 May 2018 13:09 (five years ago) link
That stretch from Crazy, Classic Life to Django Jane just flows so nicely. Even after listening to the album like 10 times, I'm still surprised when each song in that sequence is actually better than the last one.
Also, it never occurred to me that she has only an average voice until I read it on this thread (but as a fan of Astrud Gilberto and Neutral Milk Hotel, you'd have a hard time convincing me that's a real limitation). I listened again after reading that, and her voice still sounds better than 95% of the other stuff I listen to.
― enochroot, Monday, 7 May 2018 13:30 (five years ago) link
Do you also think Dionne Warwick only had an okay voice?
― Embalming is a flirty business (DJP), Monday, 7 May 2018 13:36 (five years ago) link
Yeah that's crazy, Always felt like there was an obvious gulf between the range of things she can do with her voice and what she's trying to do in her music.
On a lot of songs her singing is often clipped and tense (best word I can think of to describe it) because of the density and occasional clunkiness of her lyrics, and her pastiching ways but I didn't imagine that the underlying quality of her voice would be obscured by that.
Like if she made a career of singing like this it wouldn't cross anybodies mind to question her voice.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoJz8yWNbNg
― tsrobodo, Tuesday, 8 May 2018 06:11 (five years ago) link
Janelle has an amazing voice
― Dyslexicon (Ross), Tuesday, 8 May 2018 06:15 (five years ago) link
I wish I could love Janelle like you guys love Janelle. It all sounds flat to me.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 8 May 2018 08:00 (five years ago) link
I think her voice is great, which is why the autotune on this disc sorta irks me
so far I like this a lot. I'm glad it's not ultra long like the last two. ArchAndroid probably had better tunes but I think this is her most solid offering so far.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 16:24 (five years ago) link
Excellent article (cover story) of recent rolling stone
― don piano (Ross), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 18:12 (five years ago) link
Confirmed how pivotal religious music and culture was to her growing up which is all over this record but in monae’s unique spin
― don piano (Ross), Wednesday, 23 May 2018 18:14 (five years ago) link
my favourite record this year
― Y'all (Ross), Saturday, 30 June 2018 05:11 (five years ago) link
Saw her live for the first time this past Friday. Great show- strong vocals, dancing, backing visuals, good band and dancers. A fair amount of social and political commentary. While I have nitpicked her songwriting and vocal delivery in the past, those items didn’t bother me too much Friday. Had me reconsidering a bit.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 24 July 2018 12:45 (five years ago) link
she is excellent live
― Ross, Friday, 27 July 2018 17:13 (five years ago) link
She makes a couple appearances on the just-released Sorry to Bother You OST.
― wayne trotsky (Simon H.), Friday, 27 July 2018 17:19 (five years ago) link
Saw her on Colbert last week too
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 28 July 2018 04:16 (five years ago) link
thanks for the tip Simon
― baby bird (Ross), Monday, 30 July 2018 15:54 (five years ago) link
man the Pharrell track really sounds like she's trying to do Fergie doesn't it
idk it might be my favorite song on here
― frogbs, Tuesday, 7 August 2018 20:36 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ivqFkLYxp8
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Ui5QKq4yA
― Police, Academy (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 22 August 2018 15:51 (five years ago) link
Yes! Saw those. I think they first aired the night I was seeing her live
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 26 August 2018 01:07 (five years ago) link
Anyone read this?
https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/the-memory-librarian
― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Sunday, 17 July 2022 18:04 (one year ago) link
back with some slightly reggae-ish afrobeat-trap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xf28VXMB2wJanelle Monáe feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 • Float
― let us now celebrate ama ‘piano’ smith & the clowns (breastcrawl), Saturday, 18 February 2023 11:18 (one year ago) link
really underwhelming
― ufo, Saturday, 18 February 2023 11:23 (one year ago) link
Yeah I got really excited at the prospect of Janelle Monae doing afrobeat when I saw the artwork and Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 involved but then the actual song isn’t really interesting.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 18 February 2023 14:53 (one year ago) link