Janelle Monae

ya my point is that this album is way closer to jazmine sullivan than andre 3k, but how many reviews are gonna mention the former and how many the latter

whoa, this is a disco musical. Erykah on Glee.
TONS of interpolations/ripoffs/homages throughout; this feels really personal
still can't tell if I'm enjoying it, but it's such a jittery puppy of an album in a lookatmeLOOKATME! way. I love tightrope tho' so willing to give this more than just one full listen to get me.

, PlantLife, YahZarah, Me'Shell Ndegéocello

My thoughts too.

I was totally smitten after the Letterman performance.

For those who haven't seen... Dan's assessment of "massively, scarily talented" is on full display here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys4GpR6v0TQ

She is gonna be HUGE. And the album's fantastic -- her debut was promising and this album delivers in all the right ways. Really pleased that the production isn't a detriment to the songs, it all sounds great. And for those considering it too *whatever* for a start-to-finish listen (read: 2010 music fans have ADHD), then why not start at track 7, then move to tracks 6-8, then 5-9 and just keep branching out? Start with what you know, then piece the rest together as you move outward in each direction.

For those on the fence, pay no attention to those saying her crossover fanbase is a warning sign. Music critics choosing to judge an artist by his/her/its fanbase is pretty much lowest-common-denominator music crit. Lex, Alfred, I respect both you guys' stuff more than most music crit I've read recently -- seriously, you're better than that.

i have a few hipsterish friends who normally dont touch pop/r&b who have been all over this

no 1 DING DING DING warning bell in my book - as a litmus test it's never wrong

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:13 (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

must have been so terrible 4 u being strongarmed into gushing reviews of solange/amerie/cecile/etc over the years, i had no idea

not to mention solange - but it's definitely something like jazmine sullivan's album that i'm thinking of. stylistically so diverse, much much more so than janelle monae, yet i don't think any of the buzz about it was for its "ambitious, genre-crossing" qualities - it was more about her wonderful soul voice,

cecile?!

why don't p4k reviews have comments

She reminds me a LOT of Raphael Saadiq.

things i immediately don't like here: broadway smile, jazz hands, you like me you really really like me!, heavily derivative to the point of occasional eyerolling, trippydippyhippy futurism
things i immediately do like: solid orchestration, taking a lot of chances, catchy tunes that run the genreblind gamut, janelle still sounds great

xp to lex: http://www.fluxblog.org/2004/05/587

was fluxblog really the first mp3 blog?

Then there's the Kevin Barnes collaboration.

The #1 thing I like is that her singing voice sounds EXACTLY like she sounds on the record. That girl is a force of nature; like she is approaching Celine-levels of technical excellence in the way that she sings.

coz: depends on your definition of an "mp3 blog" but by almost any estimation, fluxblog wasn't the first mp3 blog. He was certainly one of the earliest to get a lot of attention and grind out interesting regular material on a week by week basis though.

in a perfect world, tightrope would be the song of summer 2010

I must say, the more I play it the more I like it.

Yeah, in retrospect I underrated that one. "Cold War" is also terrific.

It's okay if this isn't the best album in the world; it's still pretty enjoyable and Janelle is like massively, scarily talented.

― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE)

OTM though I still think this is more pomp and guest stars than it should be.

this:

http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/05/the-joyful-noise-of-janelle-monae/56897/

might make u mad at this album.

It made me mad at the dude who wrote it, although I did lol at the last two lines.

The Killer of Sheep reference is kinda ummm?

Opening line: "I must confess that before I listened to one song off Janelle Monáe's new album, I had already decided that she was the most important pop artist out right now."

although I did lol at the last two lines.

HAHAHAHAHA just read these and yes, dear heavens, so lol worthy.

artists referenced in 6 paragraphs:

lady gaga, beyonce, kanye, jay-z, justin timberlake, lil wayne, toni morrison, janet jackson, prince, charles burnett, julie dash, parliament-funkadelic, samuel delaney, octavia butler, kid cudi, kanye again, lady gaga again, Arrested Development, Joi, TLC, Outkast, the Dungeon Family, Goodie MOB, Gnarls Barkley, Ursher, Lil' Jon, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, T.I., dionne farris, joi, badu, andre 3k, cee-lo, left eye, jermain dupri, fiona apple, ani difranco, lauryn hill, santigold, mia, j*davey, mars volt, and the entire genres of crunk, trap, sissybounce, and juke

"Ursher"

dionne farris!!

Honestly surprised there's only been one Nellie McKay comparison so far on this thread. (The difference for me being I don't like McKay much.)

don't know anything about her.

but damn that letterman clip....that band is fucking amazingly tight and awesome...like almost on some nu-school JBs type shit. damn.

listening to some on lala

this is good! i'm glad i clicked this thread!

"oh, maker" is a really nice paul simon type song in the verses, maybe a little morrissey in the la-da-da-da-da

yeah the band is nuts. i really want to see her live, but she doesn't seem to be coming to toronto any time soon.

i'm a bit confused by how many people are saying that musically, she's way too "attention-seeking."

yeah R&B vocalists should not seek attention, poor form IMO

One would think that seeking attention would be a positive attribute in a performer.

i think ppl mean in terms of the production tho rite?

I respect this album more than I like it. I tend to like albums that do one thing for forty minutes or so - I'm old-school like that. So under the broad umbrella of "soul"/"R&B"/"black women singers," my keepers this year are the Kelis album (which is 40-plus minutes of straight Euro dance) and the Sharon Jones album. Monáe is talented but I don't enjoy the record the way I enjoy those other two, more traditional/circumspect/choose-your-thinly-disguised-pejorative discs.

I keep meaning to pick up that Sharon Jones disc, she was straight fire on The Colbert Report

i have a couple sharon jones. they are those type of records you like but then i never find myself actually listening to that much.

live she is an absolute joy.

yeah the band is nuts. i really want to see her live, but she doesn't seem to be coming to toronto any time soon.

i'm a bit confused by how many people are saying that musically, she's way too "attention-seeking."

― borntohula, Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:20 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah R&B vocalists should not seek attention, poor form IMO

― you better check that sausage before you put it in the rofl (M@tt He1ges0n), Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:21 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

Same thing crossed my mind. I also wonder how often this is a negative for Lex.

I respect this album more than I like it. I tend to like albums that do one thing for forty minutes or so - I'm old-school like that. So under the broad umbrella of "soul"/"R&B"/"black women singers," my keepers this year are the Kelis album (which is 40-plus minutes of straight Euro dance) and the Sharon Jones album. Monáe is talented but I don't enjoy the record the way I enjoy those other two, more traditional/circumspect/choose-your-thinly-disguised-pejorative discs.

I think this is a very traditional approach, it just harks back more to a late 60s/70s model of some sort.

This album is great. Flawed, but definitely not failed.

album is great, but overlong and not sequenced that well. it doesnt start off with the bang it should do. shes def not attn seeking as a singer though - if anything shes very unlike yr trad Rnb singer as shes all about putting the song first, despite having 1 of the most capable voices of anyone out there...

Most trad R&B singers DO put the song first.

and god bless em for it

cuz if i could sing like that i would be all like "Yo song step the fuk bak i'mma do my thing right now"

*whole tone scat solo*

curious about this.

Letterman clip is okay - she's obviously got a good voice but it's basically a 100% straight JB homage/tribute act

I do kinda have a weakness for any and all afrofuturism tho

That one song is a total JB homage but the album zips all over the place.

Geir to thread?

The reaction from a couple of rockcrit buddies is: "I expected space/disco/future pop/eclecticism, not boilerplate R&B." I totally disagree the assumptions behind this statement (what's`boilerplate R&B' and what's wrong with it?)

r&b's been kinda boring for the last 5 years or so?

altho their definition of boilerplate may refer to a different era

Not according to my ears. Until a couple of years I thought so too, but I was being lazy, not testing my assumptions.

xpost