Janelle Monae

and right on cue:
http://www.vulture.com/2013/09/jody-rosen-on-janelle-monae-the-electric-lady.html

i kinda sadly agree with the article; none of her later songs has thrilled me quite so much as the first two tracks of the ArchAndroid EP. but damn, she is a lovable spirit and the ideas are super cool. the singles off the new album posted in this thread are OK but don't give me a ton of hope, though I'll definitely pick up Electric Lady next week.

prob my fave janelle monae song is the first one i ever heard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9HqrPj7yqM

even before "ghetto woman" hits the nail on the head, this has a new amerykah 2 vibe to it (while obv still sounding like monae)

rap breakdown on 'ghetto woman' is \m/ tbh

The "It's Code"/"Ghetto Woman" twofer is Stevie as all getout

"q.u.e.e.n." remains awesome and i like "primetime" too but this album reeeeally didn't hit the spot for me, it's still too...busy

the rap breakdown on "ghetto woman" is awesome but i find the song's entire sentiment a bit off-putting, it's like...why would janelle play the #nicewhitelady role?

like it's just so patronising

This is so much better than her previous album.

why would janelle play the #nicewhitelady role?

Not sure where you're getting this from? Esp. since she said she wrote it in tribute to her mom.

Really, it's her version of "Black Man".

are any of these songs as good as "many moons"

I p much love everything she's done except that song :/

>:|

guess u hate dancing

I do.

dance apocalyptic is pretty great, imagine it might be on the radio all over the place the way Hey Ya was a few years ago, but maybe not.

Wow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_0gMYq6Odw

well that's way better than the studio version

and it sounds way less busy

I love how she slaps her own ass at the end after Letterman's "Hardest working woman in show business" line

that song in the studio version has the same problem i have with 'tightrope' -- its catchy as heck but its so efficient it feels basically done by 1:30 in and then it just goes and does it two more times to hit the single-length mark.

monae would be even more amazing if she had lots of pink-flag era wire funk busts.

bursts, rather.

This starts off really really great, far more coherent and seemingly well thought-through than Archandroid. Have to admit my attention wavers massively after Suite V Overture - the first ten tracks work brilliantly as a short album, nothing after has grabbed me yet.

Probably too long, but take out the skits and the overtures, and I find that this drags less than The ArchAndroid tended to, particularly towards the end. I'm only one listen in, but I expect that I'll end up liking this one a lot.

man that Letterman performance made do a complete 180 on "Dance Apocalyptic"

it's a real good song but the instrumentation means i prob will never shake the feeling that i'm listening to a jingle for royal caribbean

http://i.imgur.com/YQgbMPV.gif

I'm very fond of the Prince collaboration – he still sounds great! It's the only song I kept.

'can't live without your love' is my lone abider... not particularly sure why

Janelle is super-Broadway; I hear her in the same vein as Heather Hadley and Anika Noni Rose with a 70s sci-fi funk veneer

it's a real good song but the instrumentation means i prob will never shake the feeling that i'm listening to a jingle for royal caribbean

Yeah, kind of. Then you listen for a bit more and realize it's a Bo Diddley song underneath!

http://persephonemagazine.com/2013/09/the-electric-lady-is-the-droid-youre-looking-for/

"I want a queer R&B canon so established that it has its own stereotypes, that the next generation of queer brown kids can scoff at and take for granted the way queer white kids often do with the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge"

So Primetime is officially going to be the next single, which is a great decision. It totally deserves to be a huge hit for them both.

Really nice video, they really are both very watchable

http://youtu.be/Oxls2xX0Clg

"I want a queer R&B canon so established that it has its own stereotypes, that the next generation of queer brown kids can scoff at and take for granted the way queer white kids often do with the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge"

lol – excellent

i like the last song

Man, if her albums could sound even remotely as electrifying as she does live, there would be no question about who rules all. She's astonishing in concert!

i agree - must as said up there "Many Moons" might be the best case

forks, where is "letting go" from?

i like the last song

― rap steve gadd (D-40), Friday, October 11, 2013 10:58 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

best track

lettin' go was on monae's (self published i think?) debut ep but first made the rounds on the purple ribbon all-stars second mixtape which is fucking great.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Got_Purp%3F_Vol._2

I love "Prime Time" now. Unconditionally.

From the same debut/Got Purp, I highly recommend her cover of DeBarge's Time Will Reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ffFtQrCnY

i like the last song

― rap steve gadd (D-40), Friday, October 11, 2013 10:58 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

best track

What even

Interesting that Miguel is the only one of the collaborators on this album with a cowriting credit.

I was a bit disappointed how superficial the Prince collab is; he only sings on one verse and does a bit of backing vocals and some extra guitar lines. The song is not bad, but it doesn't sound like a true Prince/Monae collaboration, more like Prince wanted to be on the album, but for whatever reason he couldn't really work with JM on a new tune, so they added his contributions to a pre-existing one. (And since he doesn't get a cowriting credit, the truth is probably not far from that.)

The last song is a jam, yeah. Reminds me of the best tune from the previous album, "Wondaland". I wish the new one would've had more synth-drive android dance tracks like that one, and less tunes with traditional instruments and arrangements. I don't think trad soul is where Janelle Monae's true strengths lie.

naw, the best songs on this album are the gritty funk jams, including the Prince one. I for one am glad he subsumes himself to her whim rather than vice versa. That's actually prob my favorite song on the album.

It's all about "Ghetto Woman" for me.

the denouement of "Givin' Em What They Love" is what pushes it completely over the top for me.

yes yes yes