I'm fortunate enough to belong to a group of similarly inclined people--many of them younger and with more energy to devote to searching--who scout things. Then we all get together periodically and listen. I find out about new music that way.
On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 2:35 PM, Martin Baxter <[email protected]>wrote: > > > Tracy, I stopped buying music back in 1990, aside from compilations of > favorite artists. It's all become too homogenized for my taste. > > On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:34 PM, Tracy Curtis <[email protected]>wrote: > >> >> >> I saw her perform a month or so ago. It was a great experience. She and >> the band gave it their all despite the fact that we were outdoors and it was >> rainy and cold. I'm starting to listen to the new album and like it. >> Lately it's been hard for me to find new albums, conceived as such rather >> than as a collection of singles, that I like. >> >> >> On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 11:05 AM, Martin Baxter >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> They kill VH1 Soul, but its decrepit sire staggers ever onward... [?] >>> >>> >>> On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 7:29 AM, Mr. Worf <[email protected]>wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I think I remember seeing some of her older stuff on VH1 Soul (may it >>>> rest in peace!) We really don't get to hear anything new in this country >>>> without filtering through the monopoly filter. There's a ton of American >>>> and >>>> UK R&B artists that are making good original stuff. :( >>>> >>>> I don't want to nitpick but the dance moves are James Brown. She's ok. >>>> >>>> On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 3:46 AM, Martin Baxter <[email protected] >>>> > wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I'm convinced. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, Brent! >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 11:05 PM, brent wodehouse < >>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/125708-janelle-monae-the-archandroid >>>>>> >>>>>> Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid >>>>>> >>>>>> By Quentin B. Huff 21 May 2010 >>>>>> >>>>>> Lady Stardust >>>>>> >>>>>> There’s a perfectly good reason why I never thought of Michael Jackson >>>>>> as >>>>>> the “King of Pop”. It’s not because I’m a hater. It’s not that I >>>>>> thought >>>>>> he was undeserving of the title. It’s that I always thought of Michael >>>>>> Jackson as an entire category unto himself. How, I wondered, could he >>>>>> be >>>>>> “of” anything? He was his own genre. Same thing with the Beatles. >>>>>> James >>>>>> Brown. Ella Fitzgerald. Aretha. >>>>>> >>>>>> I’m not saying Janelle Monáe Robinson has reached the status of >>>>>> Michael >>>>>> Jackson. Nor am I suggesting that she can lay claim to an entire genre >>>>>> - >>>>>> at least not yet. If, however, you’re looking for the “total package”, >>>>>> this little lady from the state of Kansas comes awfully close. Perhaps >>>>>> more importantly, she’s got all the makings of a genuine ‘70s and ‘80s >>>>>> rock star, and they sure don’t make a lot of those anymore. These >>>>>> days, >>>>>> it’s about the everyman and everywoman singing relatable tunes, not >>>>>> some >>>>>> rock god or goddess belting out larger-than-life stadium anthems. This >>>>>> is >>>>>> the age of the familiar, not the foreign. >>>>>> >>>>>> Janelle Monáe’s rock star bona fides are all intact. She’s got vocals >>>>>> for >>>>>> days, wielding a voice that can be as gentle as a ballad in a Disney >>>>>> movie >>>>>> or so big and thunderous her five foot (1.524 meter) frame hardly >>>>>> seems >>>>>> fit to contain it. A rock star needs an iconic look, and her outfit of >>>>>> choice is timeless and appropriate: a tuxedo, black and perfectly >>>>>> pressed. >>>>>> Her hairstyle includes a gravity-defying pompadour. She makes songs >>>>>> like >>>>>> “Neon Gumbo”, composed with backwards lyrics and a reversed sample of >>>>>> her >>>>>> older tune “Many Moons”, like the stuff Prince added to the end of >>>>>> Darling >>>>>> Nikki. Like any self-respecting rock star, she’s fabulous and glam and >>>>>> entertainingly weird, traits you could easily pick up from her >>>>>> interviews. >>>>>> When it comes to music, though, she’s focused, message-oriented, and >>>>>> dedicated to uplifting her listeners. >>>>>> >>>>>> Better still, she absolutely brings the hotness to her live show. >>>>>> Hyperactive, to the point of appearing possessed, Janelle Monáe is a >>>>>> firecracker, a combination of James Brown and David Bowie, among >>>>>> others. >>>>>> She’s undulating, twisting, gyrating, the embodiment of constant >>>>>> motion. >>>>>> There’s no lip synching here, folks, and did I mention that she >>>>>> moonwalks >>>>>> like nobody’s business? The sista can dance. >>>>>> >>>>>> Musically, she’s a live wire, a genre-hopper who touches R&B and prog >>>>>> rock >>>>>> with as much verve as she handles jazz, cabaret, rap, doo-wop, and >>>>>> disco. >>>>>> She’s chic with a rockabilly lean, smart yet fun, and a gleeful >>>>>> student of >>>>>> Pink Floyd, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, >>>>>> and >>>>>> Grace Jones. She ought to be a member of OutKast, but instead of >>>>>> shaking >>>>>> it “like a Polaroid picture”, she shakes it “like a schizo”. She’s the >>>>>> daughter of George Clinton and Parliament’s “Star Child” who >>>>>> occasionally >>>>>> borrows the “mothership” and takes it out for a spin. She’s >>>>>> Cinderella, >>>>>> but she wears James Brown’s dress shoes (without socks!) in lieu of >>>>>> slippers. She’s Lady Stardust. >>>>>> >>>>>> She is, quite honestly, the best signee to Sean “Diddy” Combs’s Bad >>>>>> Boy >>>>>> label since the Notorious B.I.G., and signing her was certainly >>>>>> Diddy’s >>>>>> most interesting choice since he made those kids on Making the Band >>>>>> walk >>>>>> all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn, New York to secure him some >>>>>> cheesecake. >>>>>> >>>>>> Still not convinced? Nothing gives you rock star cred like having the >>>>>> necessary self-indulgence to craft a concept album or rock opera. Pink >>>>>> Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger, >>>>>> Green >>>>>> Day’s American Idiot, and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On are among >>>>>> those >>>>>> often cited as examples of the concept album phenomenon. Throw your >>>>>> favorite album by the Who in there somewhere too (I pick Tommy), and >>>>>> I’ll >>>>>> add MF Doom’s Mm..Food. Such albums are exciting, sprawling, and >>>>>> ambitious, but also given to excess. Where there’s a concept, it seems >>>>>> that metaphor and symbolism cannot be far behind. No wonder the >>>>>> English >>>>>> word “conceit” means “vanity” or “arrogance” and, in literary circles, >>>>>> also refers to an “extended metaphor”. >>>>>> >>>>>> Janelle Monáe’s concept began with Suite I of a IV-suite series in >>>>>> 2007’s >>>>>> Metropolis: The Chase Suite. There, Ms. Monáe was an “alien from outer >>>>>> space”, inhabiting the persona of Cindi Mayweather, female android >>>>>> #57821 >>>>>> living in the year 2719. Mayweather falls in love with a human named >>>>>> Anthony Greendown. Unfortunately, such fraternizing with humans is a >>>>>> major >>>>>> faux pas, so the powers that be have designated Android #57821 for >>>>>> immediately disassembly. It’s a little like the 1986 film Short >>>>>> Circuit, >>>>>> except this robot is an unbelievable singer, dancer, and performer. >>>>>> Likewise, Janelle Monáe’s fictional world of 2719 owes a few nods to >>>>>> Fritz >>>>>> Lang’s 1927 sci-fi dystopian film, Metropolis. With smooth crooning, >>>>>> and >>>>>> music that could’ve come straight out of a James Bond flick, Suite I >>>>>> chronicled Cindi Mayweather’s plight and her experience on the lam. >>>>>> >>>>>> The year 2010 sees the release of the sequel to Suite I, The >>>>>> ArchAndroid. >>>>>> Actually, it’s two sequels, Suite II (11 songs) and Suite III (seven >>>>>> songs), and both parts add substantial pathos to the Mayweather saga. >>>>>> The >>>>>> ArchAndroid isn’t like Prince Paul’s Prince Among Thieves, which >>>>>> offers a >>>>>> straightforward narrative. Nor is it as thematically unified as Marvin >>>>>> Gaye’s What’s Going On or even Hear, My Dear. It is, nevertheless, >>>>>> close >>>>>> to being cousins with David Bowie’s The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust, >>>>>> except where Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust succumbed to self-destruction and >>>>>> Rock >>>>>> & Roll suicide, The ArchAndroid trumpets the awakening and ascension >>>>>> of >>>>>> Cindi Mayweather. As the boundaries between Bowie and his alter ego >>>>>> were >>>>>> often blurred, the divisions between Monáe and Mayweather are >>>>>> similarly >>>>>> difficult to discern. >>>>>> >>>>>> Suites II and III, then, are touted as an “emotion picture”, painted >>>>>> in >>>>>> the style of a French impressionist, and positioning Cindi Mayweather >>>>>> as a >>>>>> messiah to androids, ready to unleash her superpowers. It’s her very >>>>>> own >>>>>> fairytale, not unlike St. Vincent scoring Disney films on mute for her >>>>>> Actor album, Natalie Merchant setting poetry and lullabies to music >>>>>> for >>>>>> her Leave Your Sleep double album, or even writer Anne Sexton >>>>>> embellishing >>>>>> classic tales in her Transformations book of poetry. >>>>>> >>>>>> The usual comparison is to Keanu Reeves’s “Neo” character in The >>>>>> Matrix >>>>>> trilogy, but that’s not quite right, is it? That downplays the >>>>>> significance of Cindi Mayweather’s gender, a female messiah. How about >>>>>> this: keep the reference to The Matrix but look at it as if >>>>>> Carrie-Anne >>>>>> Moss’s leather-clad (and somewhat robotic-moving) “Trinity” is really >>>>>> The >>>>>> One, or at least as crucial to the story as Neo. They could be the >>>>>> Wonder >>>>>> Twins of their messianic tale. That’s the only way the films ever made >>>>>> any >>>>>> sense to me. In the original film, Trinity found Neo, helped him >>>>>> unplug >>>>>> from the machine-created matrix hallucination, and resurrected him >>>>>> like >>>>>> Isis bringing Osiris back to life. She was herself resurrected in the >>>>>> second film, The Matrix: Reloaded, and she sacrificed herself somewhat >>>>>> thanklessly for the good of humankind in The Matrix: Revolutions. They >>>>>> wouldn’t have made it through the first movie without Trinity, let >>>>>> alone >>>>>> completing a series. >>>>>> >>>>>> In Janelle Monáe’s musical tale, The ArchAndroid is not your average >>>>>> concept album, or even a typical album for that matter. The fact that >>>>>> it’s >>>>>> a combo of two Suites, a mega-suite, admits as much. Suite II boasts a >>>>>> range of moods and musical styles that could be released on its own. >>>>>> Suite >>>>>> III, while maintaining the quality of the other Suites, wouldn’t be my >>>>>> choice for a standalone release - largely because it’s really strange. >>>>>> >>>>>> Both Suites present a series of surprising moments, as both begin with >>>>>> classical music overtures. Across Suite II’s heady mixture, the lyrics >>>>>> are >>>>>> concerned with dreams, freedom, light, and liberation. Here, Cindi >>>>>> Mayweather is awakened to the possibilities implicated by her love and >>>>>> passion. Her wish for a free society shines through in “Dance or Die”, >>>>>> a >>>>>> rhythmically tribal jam that sounds amazingly similar to Vanessa >>>>>> Williams’s “Freedom Dance (Get Free!)”. As underrated as I think >>>>>> Williams’s Comfort Zone album is, this is not a comparison I expected >>>>>> to >>>>>> make based on Monáe’s earlier work, her appearances on OutKast’s >>>>>> Idlewild >>>>>> soundtrack, and her cameo on B.o.B.‘s “The Kids”. The reggae-tinged >>>>>> rap of >>>>>> “Dance or Die” gives the song an unexpected and refreshing quality. >>>>>> >>>>>> The next track, “Faster”, sways to a textured wall of guitar strumming >>>>>> while “Locked Inside” pays homage to Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson, >>>>>> borrowing the drum roll from “Rock With You” to great effect. Two >>>>>> up-tempo >>>>>> rock joints, the anthemic “Cold War” and the blistering “Come Alive >>>>>> (The >>>>>> War of the Roses)”, join the James Brown workout of “Tight Rope” as >>>>>> Suite >>>>>> II’s ultimate highs. “Tight Rope” champions the virtues of emotional >>>>>> balance and self-reliance, advising us to “dance up on them haters”, >>>>>> never >>>>>> allowing them “take all of your dreams”. Big Boi’s nimble guest spot >>>>>> again >>>>>> obscures the division between Monáe and Mayweather as he introduces >>>>>> the >>>>>> jam with an offhand, “Monáe and Left Foot”, using her real name but >>>>>> referring to his own alter ego Sir Luscious Left Foot. Monáe also >>>>>> describes herself as “another flavor, somethin’ like a Terminator,” >>>>>> which >>>>>> makes sense from an android angle, but is confounding from the human >>>>>> side. >>>>>> In the movies, the Terminator was not a friend of the people. >>>>>> >>>>>> Songs like Suite II’s tender “Sir Greendown” and the Pink Floyd-style >>>>>> “Oh, >>>>>> Maker”, along with Suite III’s “57821”, explicitly give voice to >>>>>> Monáe’s >>>>>> sci-fi story. Others, like the searing Prince-like “Mushrooms & >>>>>> Roses”, >>>>>> stay in character but are more suggestive of the plot. You can tell >>>>>> the >>>>>> overall story is there. All it needs is the exposition you’d get from >>>>>> the >>>>>> dialogue in a musical, something to tie the songs together. Videos for >>>>>> the >>>>>> songs will help, and I could easily see this as a stage production. >>>>>> Without narration, what remains is a smorgasbord of music, >>>>>> well-executed >>>>>> if not readily identifiable as having a common sound, and, most >>>>>> importantly, sincerely rendered. >>>>>> >>>>>> Act III goes a bit further, calling Cindi Mayweather’s followers in >>>>>> “Neon >>>>>> Valley Street” and gathering them under the fellowship of her music >>>>>> (“Every note, every chord / I’ve arranged them for you and for me”). >>>>>> Vocally, Janelle Monáe experiments with a diverse array of deliveries, >>>>>> sometimes pure and unencumbered, at other times relying on special >>>>>> effects. In “Neon Valley Street”, her voice is perfection, offering a >>>>>> sense of peace through song and the love of the journey. The theme for >>>>>> Suite III is paradise, or “nirvana”, as it is referred to in “Say >>>>>> You’ll >>>>>> Go”, and Mayweather’s beau Anthony Greendown continues in prominence. >>>>>> Strange was my description of Suite III, as the proceedings bounce >>>>>> from >>>>>> the George Clinton-style funkiness of “Make the Bus”, featuring Of >>>>>> Montreal, to the playful longing of “Wondaland”, the kind of song that >>>>>> would’ve fit nicely on Kelis’s Wanderland album. >>>>>> >>>>>> “Say You’ll Go” hits like a tribute to Stevie Wonder’s sound and vocal >>>>>> arrangement, which Monáe and company do so well over the course of >>>>>> both >>>>>> Suites. This leads to the wonderfully epic finale, the awkwardly >>>>>> titled >>>>>> “BaBopByeYa”. Over eight minutes, “BaBopByeYa” smoothly transitions >>>>>> through a set of movements that showcase melody, sublime vocals, and >>>>>> luscious strings. >>>>>> >>>>>> Welcome to Metropolis, folks. The year is 2719, even though the music >>>>>> is >>>>>> being released in 2010. It’s funky and fantastic, futuristic but >>>>>> retro. >>>>>> It’s in a category of its own. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >>>>> hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant >>>>> >>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >>>> Mahogany at: >>>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >>> hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant >>> >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >>> >> >> > > > -- > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > >
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