I like the way the similarly paced tracks flowing into one another kick off the beginning of the album. I think it works just fine.
― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 18:48 (thirteen years ago) link
i thought the performance was pretty great considering the lack of big boi. i was wondering how much his involvement effected my enjoyment, and its safe to say that i like it just as much without him. that rave up part was cool, and the nod to james brown (which one?!) was also great. there was lots of energy in the room, and it sounded great. i'm a bit surprised dave didn't ask her to play again, like he did with these folks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds3yl7YjVyM
― borntohula, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 19:51 (thirteen years ago) link
wow i said great a lot
its been interesting listening to this alongside FanMail (due to the listening club). for all the android next level future stuff, monae's album has a kinda of retroism to it. like right now im listening to 'locked inside' and that guitar line sounds like it could have been pulled off something from 35 years ago. whereas its the tlc album that obv has that real metalic sound that youd expect to hear on album about androids or whatever
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 04:46 (thirteen years ago) link
i gave up on the idea that i might like this album when i read this
Monáe describes The ArchAndroid as an "emotion picture,"
― jonathan blapelbon (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 20 May 2010 07:09 (thirteen years ago) link
also
Its most recent antecedent is André 3000's The Love Below
― jonathan blapelbon (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 20 May 2010 07:10 (thirteen years ago) link
only listened to it once so far but not really being moved to listen again. so busy and hyperactive, but in a kinda annoying attention-seeking way.
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 20 May 2010 08:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Here comes the flood:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14271-the-archandroid/
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Thursday, 20 May 2010 12:06 (thirteen years ago) link
somebody was just telling me last night that Matt loved this album; makes sense given his taste. I really need to give it a serious go.
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 12:36 (thirteen years ago) link
the occasional orchestral swoons and production idiosyncracies remind me somehow of st. vincent.
― establishment man cloggin up ur spills (Hunt3r), Tuesday, May 18, 2010 11:32 PM (2 days ago)
I was just listening to this album for the first time when Sir Greendown came on it made me think of St. Vincent so much, no bad thing at all.
Yeah I am really loving this album on first listen. I was totally smitten after the Letterman performance.
― Kitchen Person, Thursday, 20 May 2010 12:59 (thirteen years ago) link
ya i was curious what its pitchfork score would be...i have a few hipsterish friends who normally dont touch pop/r&b who have been all over this
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:04 (thirteen years ago) link
which is cool of course except when they tell me that janelle monae isn't pop/r&b
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:05 (thirteen years ago) link
basically the last opinion i'd ever look to read about this album would be coming from a fiery furnaces stan, so thanks 4 making that happen pitchfork.
― r|t|c, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh good lord no. I listened to the first two tracks and thought it kind of overwrought but promised to go back. I still will, but I find that whole approach massively offputting.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:07 (thirteen years ago) link
"Monáe's sci-fi mythology is an inspired addition to the rich canon of Afrofuturist art"
!!!!!!
― Matt DC, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:09 (thirteen years ago) link
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 13:13 (thirteen years ago) link
My first thought too. It's failed eclecticism.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh no. Oh no, I'm not gonna read a Pitchfork review which is gonna make me hate on something I would otherwise normally be all over.
Is this out? Or rather, is this out in the UK? HMV only had Metropolis when I went to look for it last night.
― The Curve Of Blinding Energy (Masonic Boom), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
xp i feel like for the next 25 years any time a black artist makes an ambitious, genre-crossing album its going to be compared with the The Love Below. perhaps not incorrectly in this case, but its a comparison thats not necessarily indicative of quality
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:16 (thirteen years ago) link
the comparisons are more due to monae's attention-seeking consciously kooky image, surely? black artists make "ambitious, genre-crossing" albums quite a lot - i don't even feel like sonically this album IS that ambitious or genre-crossing, as noted above it's really retro in a pretty straightforward way (general concept apart)
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Always a bad sign.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Eclecticism need not mean ambition.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:23 (thirteen years ago) link
So, this album isn't as immediately involving as I thought it would be, but I do feel like a lot of the naysaying is premature. 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), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:29 (thirteen years ago) link
― The Curve Of Blinding Energy (Masonic Boom), Thursday, May 20, 2010 1:15 PM (12 minutes ago)
Play has this listed as coming out on July 12th. I'm already searching for the cheapest way to import it.
― Kitchen Person, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Genre-bouncing antecedents released after The Love Below: albums by Jazmine Sullivan, VV Brown, Van Hunt, PlantLife, YahZarah, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, (maybe) the Rebel Yell, etc., etc., etc.
― Skank Bloc Polonia (Andy K), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:32 (thirteen years ago) link
ambition wasn't the right word (although i do think this album is ambitious). but this type of NEXT LEVEL r&b/hip-hop music is going to be compared to TLB whether its good or bad
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:33 (thirteen years ago) link
b.o.b's album being an example of the latter
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
― killahpriest (/\/K/\/\), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:38 (thirteen years ago) link
whoa, this is a disco musical. Erykah on Glee.TONS of interpolations/ripoffs/homages throughout; this feels really personalstill 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.
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:41 (thirteen years ago) link
, PlantLife, YahZarah, Me'Shell Ndegéocello
My thoughts too.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:44 (thirteen years ago) link
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 just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:46 (thirteen years ago) link
― 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
― r|t|c, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:47 (thirteen years ago) link
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,
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:49 (thirteen years ago) link
cecile?!
why don't p4k reviews have comments
― andrew g. vajna (cozen), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:50 (thirteen years ago) link
She reminds me a LOT of Raphael Saadiq.
― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:50 (thirteen years ago) link
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 futurismthings i immediately do like: solid orchestration, taking a lot of chances, catchy tunes that run the genreblind gamut, janelle still sounds great
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:52 (thirteen years ago) link
xp to lex: http://www.fluxblog.org/2004/05/587
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:53 (thirteen years ago) link
was fluxblog really the first mp3 blog?
― andrew g. vajna (cozen), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Then there's the Kevin Barnes collaboration.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE), Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:57 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:00 (thirteen years ago) link
in a perfect world, tightrope would be the song of summer 2010
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:01 (thirteen years ago) link
I must say, the more I play it the more I like it.
― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:04 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, in retrospect I underrated that one. "Cold War" is also terrific.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:04 (thirteen years ago) link
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.
― silence is a rhythm too (Turangalila), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:12 (thirteen years ago) link
this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/05/the-joyful-noise-of-janelle-monae/56897/
might make u mad at this album.
― NUDE. MAYNE. (s1ocki), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:42 (thirteen years ago) link
It made me mad at the dude who wrote it, although I did lol at the last two lines.
― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:46 (thirteen years ago) link
The Killer of Sheep reference is kinda ummm?
― forksclovetofu, Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:56 (thirteen years ago) link
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."
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:57 (thirteen years ago) link