Meshell Ndegeocello: RFI

the parts you will be made uneasy by: the slightly sleepy songwriting at times (I thought there would be more hooks), and the consciousness schtick (there's a reason she was asked to contribute to lilith fair vol. 3 hahaha). let neither of those bother you though. it is a little sleepy, but that just means you should get comfy. and content-wise it sounds something like an underground 'conscious' rap album might if made by a woman. and with funk and soul instead of rap.

the bass sound is really fucking excellent. on some of the songs it was straining my fancy headphones almost the whole time! (even most of my rap isn't low enough to do that unless I turn them way way up). a tribe called quest said something on the love movement about how they wanted the sounds to love you, and this album reminds me of that only it does it lots more, and the beats are better. although the scenario remix is a million times better than the (good) red+missy remix here.

guys the new record is really good

ive never listened to her but i have a chance to see her for free. should i go

if you dig jazzy kinda jammy funky shit, yes. it's like ohio players directed by ornette with betty davis singing lead.

you think she sings like betty davis?

not saying i disagree, ive never really listened to her

can't wait to hear it despite being less than impressed with the last one.

you think she sings like betty davis?

-- deej, Friday, November 9, 2007 12:02 AM

Not in terms of vocal quality, just in terms of rawness.

I finally got The World Has Made Me the One Man of My Dreams (the title is kinda pretentious, but I wonder if it's meant to have queer connotations?), and it is pretty great! At first it sounded a bit formless, but now that I've listened to it more I really like the cosmic jamming and all the little intricate details. At the moment my favourite tune is probably "Elliptical". It somehow reminds me of "O Superman", maybe because of the vocal processing and the odd, evocative lyrics.

I really liked the jazz album Ndegeocello put out a few years ago too, but I completely missed Comfort Woman, and now I'm wondering if should get that one too. Does it sound anything similar to these two?

Yeah, I just heard this lately and "Elliptical", "Elliptical", oh holy shit "Elliptical".

wtf @ hoos comparing her to Betty Davis

You know, her upper register is gorgeous in it's own way and I never really knew she had it until I heard this album.

Why does the AMG review claim this album has a bonus track called "Soul Spaceship"? At least my copy hasn't.

ive never really liked her. the 'arent i saying something important' sanctimony of her delivery has always bugged me. and i was never a huge fan of 90s slap bass. but i love her cover of hendrixs may this be love.

theres nothing betty davis about her singing though.

worth seeing live though. saw her when she was doing her jazz album a few years back and then before that for the bitter tour, when she was going through her more serious joe henry ish phase.

I have nothing against "aren't I saying something important" attitude if it's well done. I do agree that she does get a bit self-important at times, but I also like how she deals with subjects that few others in her genre do. I can't imagine anyone else doing a song like "Barry Farms", for example.

Anyway, if you don't like her delivery you should check out the jazz album. She doesn't sing on it at all, and only 3 of the 8 tunes have vocals anyway. "Aquarium" (which is sung by Sabina Sciubba) on that album might be the best song she's ever written.

i think i find her a bit monotone too. but ive not heard her music in years so i might find it different now. agreed that she deserves credit for broaching subjects that not many others do. i need to dig out peace beyond passion.

I finally got Comfort Woman, and it's pretty great, though I think the more varied and experimental stuff on The World Has Made Me... makes it even better. Comfort Woman is much better sexing music though.

2:24 in this tune = one of my favourite moments in a pop song.

This one's like the "O Superman" of the 00s, totally brilliant!

i saw her london show, it was pretty great although utterly, utterly rammed. got chatted up by an incredibly drunk romanian woman who was on her second bottle of wine and kept complaining about the number of "dykes" in the audience. i was like well, you are at a meshell ndegeocello gig you know...

Hahaha!

So, apparently she has a new album called "Devil's Halo" coming out October 6th. I'm pretty excited about this, the more I've listened to The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, the more I feel it's her best album ever (and it's not like she's made too many bad albums). So my expectations are pretty high for this one.

That news release says the new album is "influenced by a wide breadth of sounds - from The Human League to Wu Tang to Yes". Sounds pretty cool, and something she could actually pull off.

any friend of my brother's is a friend of mine:

"another of the Bunnybrains’ famous fans is acclaimed pop singer and bassist Me’Shell Ndegeocello, who as of late has been collaborating with Seward on a soundscape project. “Being around Dan is experiential and insightful,” she says. “The Bunnybrains are a mind-child that opened the door to my courage.”

That's nice for your brother! She's so cool!

yeah, they live in the same town and hang out. she has played live with his crazy band too.

So, the new album came out this Tuesday, anyone heard it yet? My local music store only gets it next Tuesday, so I have to wait until that. I'm sorta tempted to to download it before that, but then again I like the old-school kind of feeling when you get the actual physical record in your hands, and it's still a mystery before you put it on your record player.

AMG gave it 4,5 stars, apparently it's a more stripped-down and conventional album than The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams. I really like the experimentalism on her previous few albums (especially on The World Has Made Me...), so it's interesting to hear how she pulls off this change of direction.

im totally out of touch with what shes doing these days. though the last thing i heard was a bit laswell-ian in all the base-covering.

fuck im out of town when shes in chi -- and shes playing literal blocks from my apt

New album is really good. Has a great cover of "Love You Down" (feminine nouns intact, of course). That's all I have to say about it at this point, as it seems to demand a good deal of unpacking, which is as I would expect from her.

Ooh, I can't wait until Tuesday to get to hear it!

"Lola" is so awesome, just keeps kicking into higher gears.

The album is very dynamic in general.

And brief! Only 36 minutes. And sexy, but never quite in the ways you expect.

its a weird record but good weird...so much stuff goin on and then seems like a wind is blowing too through it..its mostly trio and sum added geegaws..it was made fast and sweaty...shes gonna be a mother soon and portents are good for even more experimentations to ockurr

Wait. She does change the lyrics of "Love You Down"! She's lusting after a younger woman.

I love this album very much by the way.

does RFI at a fleeting glance look like RIP to anyone? was worried :(

Bitter and Devil's Halo are similar albums but the latter is better because Meshell is more confident in letting the music do the talking and doesn't let herself get tripped up on the confessional lyrics as much.

I'm starting to think she's one of the more criminally underrated artists of our time tbh.

"I'm starting to think she's one of the more criminally underrated artists of our time tbh."

^^^OTFM!

me'shell was incredible last night at the jazz cafe, urge anyone in london who likes that sort of thing to make an effort to see her tonight or tomorrow. she got a bit pissed off at the sound guy (under her breath) "fuck you jason" when he wouldn't sort out some booming they were getting on stage. she also had a cold and seemed a bit uncomfortable with some of her fangirls taking pictures every 10 seconds, but whatever, she was funny and witty and cool and she's just awess on the bass and i didn't realise how much i love some of her songs. if you get the chance to catch her live.. make sure you do!

oh and esp if you're a drum geek...

cuz deantoni parks was mind blowing, as you'd expect- if you like chris daddy dave, john blackwell, spanky etc then i think you'll like him. his schtick is being super tight and very strict with his dynamics, he can play *really* hard and straight and fast so it has this drum machine kind of vibe. did some amazing stuff during the NOIZEier bits of the songs too.

it is

this is kind of great: https://samgendel.bandcamp.com/track/anywhere-feat-meshell-ndegeocello

holy shit this album

holy shit is right

So excited. She was great the other night, though I think only played one song from this that hadn't been released yet. Lots of Plantation Lullabies, in a Ventriloquised mode, and an astounding Atomic Dog.

this is excellent, "Omnipuss" is such a total groove

Amazing album, up there with her very best IMO. Wild to think that it is 9 years since Comet, Come To Me, though listening to this it’s like she never went away.

On first few listens this feels like it manages to locate a sweet spot between her exploratory vibes and more comforting tendencies - it often sounds “far out” but never challenging, always warm and welcoming.

whoa I thought the title was just a lark and then HUMMM that first sound, the Omnichord! this is rad

holy shit yeah this is a legit masterpiece. last track such a perfect pocket

that's great to hear,been looking forward to this one

so this wasn't instantly one of my favorite albums of hers, but the live show was so incredible and beautiful. the fifth dimension didn't particularly stand out for me on the album but felt like the centerpiece live, levitated the whole place (and the set was levitate-y to begin with). her band is perfect and it makes me kinda sad that there were only a couple of hundred people, they should be playing for thousands. but it was really chill, with lots of cute queer couples half-dancing.thought i was gonna have to duck out a lil early to get to work but no support so they wrapped by 10!

She was great the other night, though I think only played one song from this that hadn't been released yet.

i think this is a Japan-only bonus track called The Atlantiques (it's great).

if you get a chance to see her drop everything srsly i feel transported in a way i haven't in a really long time.

okay, i am coming around to the idea that this is one of her best albums, which is saying a lot. because obviously, this would be anyone else's masterpiece.

the mix is too balanced and needs more extremes of contrast, it falls short in this area where her previous work excels (eg Cookie, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams). some of the textures that were bold, almost industrial live are a little blanded down. ultimately, that's what i'm unhappy with about the album, granted i haven't listened in full quality yet, or on anything better than kind of okay headphones (which is all i got atm).

at first i was a little disappointed that her personality doesn't dominate the record a little more, that it showcases her collaborative aspect instead, that she situates herself in the midst of the ensemble and doesn't play a ton of bass, and contributes something more like omnipresence than assertiveness. i love that about it now.

Anyone have full credits for this? I was trying to figure out who plays drums on 'ASR', and lo and behold the writing credits include Tony Allen. Wonder if she actually recorded with him before he passed, or wrote on top of a drum track that came from elsewhere?

there were only a couple of hundred people, they should be playing for thousands. but it was really chill, with lots of cute queer couples half-dancing

that sounds ideal, esp. compared to the dinner place she played here. I was stuck in a sightline where a cymbal obscured her face the whole time. pretending it was a cool mask, briefly raised when hit, didn't quite balance out the distancing effect.

also wow @ that song Justin Hicks performed, looks like it's still in their setlists? I swear that was as vulnerable a vocal and lyric as I've ever heard, if it never gets recorded/released I'll be devastated.

Yeah there was lots of room to move around, even at the front. it was totally sweet. Justin was great and got a lot of love from the crowd!

here's the song @ 1:31:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QksG8uGp1Tg

she is beyond amazing here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1R_Cn_L98

She looks great!

Never heard that Mark Hollis record, sounds good

<3

I love this record, top three record.

Is this an album track, or upcoming? Amazing band lineup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFAWrJ6EC8I

it's the japanese bonus track for the omnichord real book, but she's put it out as a single now

So her Sun Ra tribute album is up for preorder:

https://redhot.bandcamp.com/album/red-hot-ra-the-magic-city

It's so good!!!! And not Just cux I'm on it... it fibrillates the tribute genre in all the ticklespots!!

Oh cool. Congrats

Seeing her at University of Maryland, near DC , Thursday night

A good show but short - an hour plus 1 short encore. $40 some dollars for a ticket .

She and her band covered George Clinton Atomic Dog and Marvin Gaye “I Want You” nicely plus various songs from throughout her career. Justin Hicks opened and then sang well with Meshell. “Virgo ( they’re calling me back to the stars)” sounded great.

Nothing from her Sun Ra tribute and no mention of it

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/meshell-ndegeocello/2024/the-clarice-smith-performing-arts-center-college-park-md-5baacbac.html

It's out!!!! And I'm so humbled to have a teensy part on it. It's so good!!! Hope u all like it

https://open.spotify.com/album/0DasJUmo5vuNbhrMWehX5x?si=BTSRyE6FRaqHrRS9eMF4mQ

Got my preorder last night! Will give it a proper ear over the weekend for sure.

Ned if u have some of those psilocybin gummies in the cabinet it wouldn't hurt.

This Friday, GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello will unveil her groundbreaking and visionary album No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn

New album is out. It's emotionally heavy lyrically with both sung and spoken word vocals. Carefully crafted and effective musically and lyrically.

She and her band are at the Newport Jazz Fest Sunday. Wesley Morris interview with her for the NY Times here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/01/arts/music/meshell-ndegeocello-james-baldwin.html?unlocked_article_code=1._00.FxeI.rX4DWliM-6Yy&smid=url-share

Has Plantation Lullabies been bettered? The first three albums are perfect.

New album is totally brilliant.

One aspect that is notable to me: the use of ethereal, floating keyboard lines, which has been like this recurring recessive gene within Meshell’s output, really comes to the fore here, and frequently gives the music this sense of threatening to float off into the stratosphere.

Early days, but if I remain as enthusiastic about this as I am after two listens, it could be my favourite quasi-jazz album since Ancestral Recall.

The Omnichord Real Book also awes (still need to check xxxxpost bonus track),

For sure. It's great to have so much amazing material from her in such a short period of time after such a long gap.

I feel like I should clarify what I meant by the last line of my post, and "quasi-jazz" in particular: this album feels less obviously jazz-grounded than Omnichord and more explicitly "post-genre" - but in away that feels incredibly natural and organic rather than self-conscious and premeditated. If I squint, I guess the clearest prior precedent for this album from Meshell's prior work is The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams, but the flow of this feels more seamless, which perhaps reflects its origins as a theatre piece.

...this album feels less obviously jazz-grounded than Omnichord and more explicitly "post-genre" - but in away that feels incredibly natural and organic rather than self-conscious and premeditated.

I've kinda gotten this impression in going from The Hope Six Demolition Project toI Inside the Old Year Dying.

From the NY Times article/interview I linked to above--

Ndegeocello’s vocals aren’t always the most prominent in this configuration. That role goes to Justin Hicks, who can soar as high as Ndegeocello can luxuriate in her lower comfort zone. Kenita Miller-Hicks, his wife, fleshes out the harmonies. “My energy has changed,” Ndegeocello said, “and being up front doesn’t really appeal to me as much. I have here a lot of music in my head, things I can’t sing.” Hicks realizes her visions; now, she’s producing an album of his music.

Justin Hicks both opened for her, and sang with her band when I last saw Ndgeocello

his voice is gorgeous. this is a great album

This Friday, GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello will unveil her groundbreaking and visionary album No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn

FYI due to thunderstorms that show was cancelled at the last minute, but BRIC managed to reschedule for this Wednesday and it's still FREE:

Rain, rain, go away, “No More Water” is here to stay ☔️

Following our unfortunate show cancellation, we knew we had to bring back the incredible Meshell Ndegeocello! Experience her soul-stirring latest album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin—a powerful tribute marking Baldwin’s 100th birthday—live 🕊️ A musical chameleon, often blurring the boundaries of genre between jazz, soul, rock, hip-hop, and more, we’re thrilled to finally bring her masterful performance to the Bandshell stage.
Hope to see you there Wed, August 14! Doors open at 7PM.