Janelle Monae

Funnily enough I finally heard Dr. Buzzard's Meets King Penett and Goes to Washington for the first time today. Brilliant albums both.

Are there any samples on the record at all? The Wiki credits list an insane number of musicians...

Pretty sure there aren't. You'll notice some of the muscians credited have names like Eanom Ellenaj, though. ;-)

Noone else getting a David

ehem.... I was about to say:

Noone else getting a David Axelrod influence on some of the orchestration? A song like 'Wondaland' for example sort of sounds, at least to my ears, like David Axelrod providing orchestration and choral work for some eurodisco diva like Sophie Ellis Bextor or something.

I just watched the letterman clip and she is a small little woman

I just got my copy of this imported from America. I am really in love with this album but the only thing that disappoints is the album version of Tightrope is no way near as good as the live version on Letterman. I love how the brass just builds and builds on that performance, so I'm disappointed it doesn't quite get there.

I think I'll probably start skipping the Of Montreal song soon.

I quite like the Of Montreal song, as someone mentioned upthread it has an 80s Bowie vibe to it. Interesting melodies. nb I have never heard Of Montreal before.

you'll probably like their last two albums, like i said the song is basically an outtake from their latest, Skeletal Lamping

I am really in love with this album but the only thing that disappoints is the album version of Tightrope is no way near as good as the live version on Letterman. I love how the brass just builds and builds on that performance, so I'm disappointed it doesn't quite get there.

I prefer the studio version, but then that's the one I heard first. Check out the ending of the studio version closely if you haven't already, because it gets pretty interesting and I missed most of that before a few listens. I think watching the video also boosted my appreciation for that single.

yeah, the last minute or two of "Tightrope" is absolutely nuts

i like this album... and the of montreal song... and i like of montreal in general. in fact i like it better than anything on their last album.

Listened a few more times and I still think she's better when she abandons the kitchen sink craziness and goes for the sort of ballad that really gives her voice space - Sir Greendown and Oh Maker are both lovely. In contrast things like Come Alive (War of the Roses) are spectacularly irritating.

I prefer the studio version, but then that's the one I heard first. Check out the ending of the studio version closely if you haven't already, because it gets pretty interesting and I missed most of that before a few listens. I think watching the video also boosted my appreciation for that single.

― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 1:35 AM (11 hours ago)

The letterman performance was the first song I'd heard of hers. I do still love the album version but the brass on the live one just seems really exciting, it sounds a bit lower in the mix on the album and fades out a bit too early.

I think overall Cold War is my favourite song on the album. Her vocal sounds especially great on that one and it kinda reminds me of Smiley Faces by Gnarls Barkley.

Despite what I said I think the Of Montreal one has grown on me quite a lot. I've only heard one of their earlier albums so don't know much about them, it does remind me of something from the new MGMT album a bit.

the song is basically an outtake from their latest, Skeletal Lamping

Probably a good thing I've avoided this, then.

I want to say the lines Just like a candle snuffed at dawn/You're here, you're near, you're there, and then you're gone strike me as really beautiful, especially as sung. (That is, assuming I am hearing the line correctly. I still don't have a lyrics sheet, since my CD copy came with a smashed up case and I am sending it back.) I also like the color imagery/symbolism in her lyrics, something I don't think I fully understand, which makes it interesting to me. We haven't talked so much about the lyrics, which may be a good thing since there are certainly some weaknesses, but I think at times they are pretty good.

I also like the little spoken segment in "Mushrooms & Roses." It sounds as if she is momentarily taking off her mask as a performer and actually talking the way Janelle Monae would, unveiling in the safety of all the distortion on that track.

I still don't know what she's saying right before "Take the Bus." It sounds like "confusion is a walrus," which I'm pretty sure is wrong (though it makes a nice Sonic Youth/Beatles mashup).

her lyrics can be sorta lol

the comment that oh maker sounds like the moz has become very distracting to my listening

her lyrics can be sorta lol

I still don't know what she's saying right before "Take the Bus." It sounds like "confusion is a walrus," which I'm pretty sure is wrong (though it makes a nice Sonic Youth/Beatles mashup).

― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, May 26, 2010 6:26 AM Bookmark

ha, I keep going o_O at that line everytime I hear it and then completely forgetting about it until the next time

are they really singing "take her back to wondaland, she thinks she left her undapants"?

the problem with the of montreal song is that they didn't seem to think they should tailor it to monae, this just sounds like an of montreal song stuck in the middle of the album

yeah, exactly

On the Letterman and Ellen performances, when she sings the "whether you're high or low" part it doesn't sound quite right to me. Is it off key, or does it maybe just not sound right to me because of my expectations based on the recorded version. Is there anything weird about it music theory wise (anybody)?

iirc it's just the vagaries of live performance; unless you are Celine Dion, you are not going to hit every single note that comes out of your mouth perfectly and she is pressing a lot on that phrase, making it sound simultaneously unsteady and awesome

Hmm, I dunno. There's something about that part of the song, and the chorus, that doesn't sound quite right. Like you want it to be a perfect pop song, but the "high or low" part doesn't quite hit the right notes. I would also like to hear from someone who knows music a little bit technically...

BUT having said that, love this album. Oh, Maker is genuinely pretty, and a great shift in tone. I also like the way the album is, on the whole, damn fast.

Dan knows music a lot a bit technically. She just didn't hit the notes, it happens sometimes.

Yeah, but I was talking bout the recorded version.

In which there's no problem?

Not trying to labor the point. Just saying: to my ears, that part of the song, on the recorded version, doesn't sound right. Maybe it's just me.

Again, she's jarringly out of tune on Locked Inside. It's painful.

xp I think it's just you.

It doesn't even sound like she's trying to hit the same notes (as she hits on the album version) on that high or low part ,in the two live performances. The fact that it's the same in both performances makes me wonder if it's just a mistake, like why would she make the same mistake twice (as if I've never made the same mistake twice). I don't hear anything wrong with "Locked Inside" but I don't think I'm particularly sensitive to things being out of tune to begin with.

I feel as though I am with this album where I would normally be after two or three months of listening to an album, because I've listened so much, and I'm not longer as completely absorbed as I was on the first many listens. I'm not saying I don't like it a lot, just that the initial spell is no longer there. Probably I should just take a break from it. I am thinking that the moderate weakness of some of the songs as songs (so yes, I'm agreeing with that view to some extent) could be an issue in the long run.

^^^dope display name imo

Thanks, I usually don't play with that stuff. What is she saying though?

that lyrics are lol

http://vimeo.com/11723505

Again, she's jarringly out of tune on Locked Inside. It's painful.

― silence is a rhythm too (Turangalila), Friday, May 28, 2010 3:38 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'm listening to this now and between this and the Kelis thread, I'm thinking autotune has completely ruined people's perceptions of what actual singing sounds like.

She is eclectic. Isn't that SunnO))) in the Tightrope video? Love this song.

Last minute and a half of Tightrope is straight-up amazing, like Curtis Mayfield amazing.

― rhythm fixated member (chap), Monday, 24 May 2010 01:08 (5 days ago)

I just watched Tightrope and while it was ok for the first three and a bit minutes, it REALLY takes off towards the end. Love the visuals of her being led away while everyone else cavorts too. If she pulls this shit throughout then I'll have to give this a good listen.

I think you would probably like this album. You seem to like a lot of albums with a big ambitious sweep to them. This has that and mostly makes good on its big ambitions. (Incidentally, I am not feeling disconnected from it the way I was the last few times I listened to it before my last set of posts--maybe I was just listening to it when I was too tired.)

My dabblings in R&B are not especially extensive but I did like that Badu album everyone went mental for. I'll give it a listen!

This definitely has huge crossover-appeal (even to a degree which may make some people unhappy).

Last minute and a half of Tightrope is straight-up amazing, like Curtis Mayfield amazing.

― rhythm fixated member (chap), Monday, 24 May 2010 01:08 (5 days ago)

i dunno i think it's bad, real bad, michael jackson

lol jk i just wanted to say that

loooooooool

I don't know anything about R&B as has been pointed out on here extensively but I own more records by James Brown/Flaming Flames/The J.B.s than any other artist and this ticks a lot of boxes for me. I can't wait to hear the album.

as someone who loved tightrope, i have to say that i don't think the rest of the album lives up to it.

The Reverend, seriously? Like I listen to much music with autotune or think the rest of the album is out of tune? It's just that song ffs.

ok i need to get around to hearing this