**rolls blunt**
― Gulab jamun (Gulab Jamun) into the syrup please. (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:54 (thirteen years ago) link
**rolls 20 deep**
― max, Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:55 (thirteen years ago) link
*rmdb*
― *sets trend* (deej), Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:58 (thirteen years ago) link
how DOES one roll one's damn balls?
― Gulab jamun (Gulab Jamun) into the syrup please. (forksclovetofu), Monday, 13 September 2010 00:00 (thirteen years ago) link
**checks****achieves**
― Gulab jamun (Gulab Jamun) into the syrup please. (forksclovetofu), Monday, 13 September 2010 00:01 (thirteen years ago) link
*rollin rollin rollin*
― *sets trend* (deej), Monday, 13 September 2010 00:06 (thirteen years ago) link
saw her live last week. was surprised that her band was so tiny (keyboardist/bassist, guitarist and drummer, but hey it is a recession) and weirdly that they all looked like dre3000 doubles from the hey ya video. too much rocking out (or too much of the rockier numbers from the album) for my liking, with lots of widdly guitar soloing towards the end too. might just be my own tastes, but i find her rock songs a bit 'anonymous', so would have liked to heard more of the ballads from the album, or hear the band play around with the arrangments more (was surprised that even though she had about 3 dancers on stage, the backing vocals were from tape). but she herself was fantastic, both as a dancer and singer, and general interesting person to look at. i read some complaints that she is a cold performer (yawn) but thats exactly the point. and the cover of smile was sublime. was also surprised the audience was so white - i thought it would be more like 50/50 than 80/20.
xpost - cant listen to the album in one go either - its too all over the place.
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Monday, 13 September 2010 10:08 (thirteen years ago) link
For some reason this album only works for me in bite-sized segments... I can listen to almost any sequence of two or three songs from this and find something to enjoy but taken as a whole it's just irritating.― Matt DC, Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:30 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Matt DC, Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:30 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
well yeah i think the issue is that it's clear that the album's a chopshop of what was originally intended to be two separate ep suites, though i'd now argue that it's the additional haywire middle section in particular ('oh maker', awful awful awful 'come alive', 'mush & roses'), bisecting said suites, that ends up draping the catastrophically enervating pall over the rest as a whole. (and suites 2 & 3 would have already been awkward enough put together anyway.)
the charge follows i suppose as to why monae's magpie irritances over the course of an album would be any less magnified over the course of these would-be ep's - because from an objective perspective they're clearly not. perhaps the concision of the shorter format inherently suggests a kind of relieving self-awareness that implies more interest in creating something tangible for the listener than is currently been shown here with this; and again i have to return to the resulting loss of the archandroid "theme" which in its seriocomedy allowed a suspension and an immersion to happen concomitantly.
the "kitchen-sink-dj-mix" argument remains some bullshit sophistry.
― r|t|c, Monday, 13 September 2010 11:09 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually yeah I'd agree with that first para, that middle section is the bit that really annoys me.
― Matt DC, Monday, 13 September 2010 11:16 (thirteen years ago) link
i'd be interested to hear what the indifferent ppls thought of the suites (1-8, 12-18) as listened to independently - for me they hang together way way better, and retain the still-not-unflawed but nevertheless oddly forgiving x-factor i've been on about.
― r|t|c, Monday, 13 September 2010 11:53 (thirteen years ago) link
naw, this album is stronger for its blown-out, huge, all-over-the-placeness
(plus hating on "oh maker" = gtfo)
― markers garvey (The Reverend), Monday, 13 September 2010 12:21 (thirteen years ago) link
"the r&b album that dog latin likes" is in apt enough summation of this
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Sunday, 12 September 2010 23:44 (Yesterday) Bookmark
It's a gateway album, LOL!
But seriously, I'm also having a hard time classifying this as R'n'B necessarily
― village idiot (dog latin), Monday, 13 September 2010 18:18 (thirteen years ago) link
For a start, it's steeped in '60s pop and rock which isn't really a contemporary r'n'b trope is it? I've been enjoying Badu, Quadron and Solange recently too FWIW.
― village idiot (dog latin), Monday, 13 September 2010 18:20 (thirteen years ago) link
oh let's do this again
― k3vin k., Monday, 13 September 2010 18:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Don't do it dog latin!
― papa's got a brand new discrete strategy (_Rudipherous_), Tuesday, 14 September 2010 00:45 (thirteen years ago) link
okay, forgive me for not realising this was a squillion-post thread and that it had been done to death already.
― village idiot (dog latin), Tuesday, 14 September 2010 22:30 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm just warning you as one of the people who expressed "in a way this isn't really an R&B album" type sentiments earlier on the thread.
― papa's got a brand new discrete strategy (_Rudipherous_), Wednesday, 15 September 2010 00:36 (thirteen years ago) link
No mention of this at all so far?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xP9edv-RcA
http://www.jmonae.com/blog/janelle-monae-featured-on-the-for-colored-girls-soundtrack/
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 December 2010 17:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Not that I have anything to say about it on first listen, except that it's okay. I am interested in seeing the film. When I saw a broadcast of this play (okay, "chorepoem") on TV, it was pretty wrenching.
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 December 2010 17:09 (thirteen years ago) link
choreopoem, god, get it right.
There's something about "Without a Fight" that reminds me a bit of "Crazy."
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 25 December 2010 21:12 (thirteen years ago) link
There is just so much more music on this damn album than anything else this year.
― The Reverend, Sunday, 26 December 2010 00:34 (thirteen years ago) link
It feels like about 5 hours worth of music crammed into one and change.
"chorepoem" seems fine to me, idk
― r|t|c, Sunday, 26 December 2010 02:08 (thirteen years ago) link
Nah, it's actually pretty good, or that's how I remember it. It's been many years since I read it or saw that TV broadcast, so it's hard to say.
― _Rudipherous_, Sunday, 26 December 2010 02:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Oddly, despite making a big deal of the typo I didn't even register what it would actually mean.
― _Rudipherous_, Sunday, 26 December 2010 02:11 (thirteen years ago) link
haha, i have such a crush of shame on this album tbh (if it wasnt already obvious to everyone)
couldnt resist pulling its pigtails again
― r|t|c, Sunday, 26 December 2010 02:12 (thirteen years ago) link
interested in xgau's dislike for this he touched on in his essay
did he ever review it
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:45 (thirteen years ago) link
he said what a lot of ppl in this thread said
― J0rdan S., Monday, 17 January 2011 21:47 (thirteen years ago) link
this ended up being my record of 2010 fwiw
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:55 (thirteen years ago) link
xgau nailed it
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 January 2011 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
She's no Wussy.
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:08 (thirteen years ago) link
She's no Joy of Cooking
― Andy K, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:08 (thirteen years ago) link
she's no woman
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:14 (thirteen years ago) link
― J0rdan S., Monday, January 17, 2011 3:47 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
link?
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:14 (thirteen years ago) link
Janelle Monae
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:14 (thirteen years ago) link
smartass
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:15 (thirteen years ago) link
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, January 17, 2011 4:14 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark
i don't feel like searching for it but iirc there were a few ppl that thought that all the pizazz lacked strong songwriting behind it
― J0rdan S., Monday, 17 January 2011 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought he was asking for a link to xgau
― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
The Dean's 2010 essay (I have not read this myself): http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/Live-Albums/ba-p/4025
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:18 (thirteen years ago) link
im asking for a link to his writing about janelle that apparently echoed the haters in this thread
'faster' is still one of the best songs of the year imo
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I think the last link I posted is what people are talking about.
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
that was the essay that inspired my initial question
― *gets the power* (deej), Monday, 17 January 2011 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Okay now I've gone from attempting to be a smartass to being confused. Too bad in Christgau's world being a "technical singer" can't coexist with being expressive. Why can't Janelle Monae sound more like Corin Tucker?
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:24 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't know why I am letting myself get upset. The ArchAndroid never seemed like Christgau's sort of thing.
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 17 January 2011 22:27 (thirteen years ago) link
That pan inspired me to pull this out again for our MLK weekend family holiday, and I can't listen to "Wondaland" now without thinking of Christmas elves singing and dancing to it.
― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:34 (thirteen years ago) link
Bopped my head to "Wondaland" while standing in line for a coffee on Sunday morning.
― Pink Friday XIII (jaymc), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 17:44 (thirteen years ago) link
I think Xgau really misses what makes the album incredible, which isn't depth of feeling or great songwriting, but the vibrancy and colorful sound and just how fucking jam-packed it is. I honest to god feel like there is ten times more fucking music on this album than anything else released this year.
― The Reverend, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah but I think that kind of position now feels critically compromised by its constant linkage with maximal indie e.g. Flaming Lips or Animal Collective or Of Montreal (duh) or whatevs.
Which isn't to say that it's actually wrong in this case, but I can see why a lot of people who kneejerk against the Janelle hagiographies are quick to dismiss that kind of argument or (unfairly?) punish Janelle for "depth of feeling" et. al.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Like, I think the argument for this album that might actually sway sceptics or would-be sceptics probably would be one that talks in terms other than ambition or scope or breadth etc.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:13 (thirteen years ago) link