Janelle Monae aka The Electric Lady

[corianderstem]

https://soundcloud.com/e-lrc/simply-irresistible-cover-by-2

Dig it.

 

[No spoken words]

She's awesome.

 

[lazarus]

I've been listening to this album a lot.

 

[namkcuR]

I suppose I'm in the minority here, but 'Look Into My Eyes' is my favorite song on the album. Really pretty melody and a soft, soulful vocal.

 

[LemonMelon]

The time signature change halfway through What An Experience is awesome.

 

[Imperor]

Listen: Janelle Monáe covers David Bowie’s “Heroes” | Consequence of Sound

I'm half mast.

 

[corianderstem]

I'd say that as well, but I don't have a penis.

So I'll just say it's pretty great.

 

[cobl04]

I wasn't big on the production but it was still pretty good.

 

[Joey788]

New album alert! Dirty Computer out on April 27!

The two new songs are absolute fire.

 

[corianderstem]

Yessssssss

 

[lazarus]

So fucking hyped for this album.

 

[cobl04]

oh. my. god. fuck. yes.

 

[iron yuppie]

Good shit. Real good shit.

 

[LemonMelon]

One of the better rap performances you'll hear all year. She absolutely destroyed that beat.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Fuck I never even listened to Electric Lady. I looooooved ArchAndroid. It was one of my favorites of the year when it came out. And she was awesome when I saw her in support of that album.

 

[lazarus]

Fuck I never even listened to Electric Lady.

Get on that shit stat.

 

[Lancemc]

Honestly really glad this project seems only tangentially or not-at-all tied into the Metropolis stuff.

So fucking ready for this.

 

[lazarus]

Is it too early to proclaim Make Me Feel both Track Of The Year and Video Of The Year?

Unreal.

Also, if she is continuing her sci-fi story, more power to her. I think it’s great for a younger black woman to be promoting the genre (particularly the old school stuff), and it will still be better than the skits on 100% of all other hip-hop/R&B albums.

 

[namkcuR]

Not too crazy about either of these first two singles. Then again, I don't love most of the singles from Electric Lady(Primetime is best), but I do love a lot of the album outside of the singles. All that retro stuff she was doing, Look Into My Eyes, Ghetto Woman, It's Code, Can't Live Without Your Love, Dorothy Dandridge Eyes, etc, is gold. Hope the new album is in that vein outside the singles.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Finally catching up on the songs from the new album. Holy shit. This is the best new music I've heard all year. "Pynk" is gonna be a big hit. Parts of it are more overtly poppy than anything I've heard from her before. "Django Jane" is a great long verse, lyrical and clever and funny. And "Make Me Feel"...oh my goodness. So good, so Princey. I see the Purple One himself had a hand in writing this, does anybody know any more specifics on that? It sounds so much like him. Go for it, Janelle. Maybe a song like this could even introduce younger generations to Prince.

 

[lazarus]

Got two tix for the Greek Theatre show in Los Angeles.

Thank you, pre-sale gods.

 

[corianderstem]

Janelle Monae: Free-Ass Motherfucker

 

[lazarus]

Unfuckingbelievable.

She’s the high priestess of music at this point.

 

[cobl04]

Have you seen her response to Kanye's tweets? She's fucking incredible.

 

[gump]

This album is fantastic. More cohesive than her previous work. I’m pretty sure it will be a strong contender for AOTY. I can’t think of a better 1-2 punch than Pynk and Make Me Feel. Incredible stuff.

 

[lazarus]

That's a 1-2-3-4 punch with Screwed (probably my fav on there) and Django Jane.

 

[LemonMelon]

It's such a Prince album and Screwed in particular is the kind of sexual/political metaphor that he always liked and utilized, most notably on the 1999 and Controversy albums. Kinda surprised he hadn't already used it.

I've heard the record twice now, and the only track that lands with a thud for me is the closer, which is unfortunate because it takes musical inspiration from the always-amazing Let's Go Crazy (those keyboards!). The message and delivery feel very stiff and impersonal, odd for an album that very much feels like an artist becoming fully human after being an android for the longest time. 90% of this is incredibly well-crafted, sexy and overflowing with great musical ideas. I just really do not like the way it ends.

Also, Pynk won't get out of my head.

 

[gump]

Yeah, the Prince influences are all over this thing. Every time Make Me Feel starts I genuinely think it’s a Prince song from Parade.

The chorus in Pynk is so freaking addictive. My favorite part of the album.

 

[lazarus]

An insulting 7.7 (perhaps not coincidentally, the exact same score they gave Rihanna's also-brilliant Anti). There's barely a negative remark in the review, aside from generally saying the songwriting isn't perfect, and another comment about it being slightly distancing because of the social commentary.

Sorry, you have to make a harsher critique if you're going under 8.0 for something this fun and monumental. Meanwhile, Beyonce's Lemonade got an 8.5 (does it truly have anything as good as Screwed, Make Me Feel, or Pynk?) and Best New Music. These people can get fucked.

 

[LemonMelon]

Lemonade is a strange one to single out since an 8.5 isn't that high a score and it's actually worth it. Freedom and All Night are brilliant songs and there are number of other keepers on there as well.

Meanwhile, they dropped an 8.7 on Cardi B's album a few weeks ago, which is an OK album, but come on.