How Janelle Monáe Found Her Voice
April 19, 2018 6:26 PM   Subscribe

 
In case y'all missed any....

I Like That
PYNK
Django Jane
Make Me Feel
posted by WidgetAlley at 6:48 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


Thank you. This was exactly the article that I needed to read right now building up toward the release of this album. I'm so so very eager.
posted by hippybear at 8:01 PM on April 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


She's so ridiculously talented - I'm excited to hear the new album. Thanks for sharing!
posted by bunderful at 9:11 PM on April 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


I am waiting for her one-woman shows. For starters, I'm thinking she should talk to Hal Holbrook (and soon!) about using that Mark Twain schtick he just retired. It's dark. You just hear a cranky old voice. "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. However, all this talk about vagina pants...” -- spotlight on Janelle Monáe as Mark Twain in vagina pants -- "...is spot on."
posted by pracowity at 5:33 AM on April 20, 2018


Does this mean it's not a part of Metropolis? That's a bit disappointing, though I'm super jazzed for the album in general.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:17 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


My favorite artist of the moment. When she first emerged, I thought of her as "the female version of Prince and James Brown rolled into one," before I realized how denigrating the "female version of..." construction is.

Anyway, point being, Janelle is the shit.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:26 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


Only a monosexual could watch "Make Me Feel" and immediately send the text “omg janelle might really be gay.” Don't put my Q.U.E.E.N. in a box like that.
posted by hollyholly at 7:34 AM on April 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


I wouldn't jump to that assumption tbh. I know I am not the only person in the world who 1. feels attraction to more than one gender and 2. still uses "gay" and "queer" semi-interchangeably in casual/humorous contexts. You can object to it strenuously, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
posted by inconstant at 7:58 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]




The videos are very striking. If Monae and Thompson are actually together, they'd be a damn cute couple, and I'd be in favor. On the other hand, I'm always hesitant to read performed texts as necessarily autobiographical, especially from a performer who explicitly uses personas in her work. And especially from people of color, when white critics have tended to deny them the sophistication of a separation between self and narrator (like, no, 90s gangsta rappers weren't actually just retelling their actual crimes, any more than Nabokov was a pedophile). So I don't know if Monae is being coy/evasive in her interviews, as the reporter suggests, or if she's just maintaining that separation.
posted by praemunire at 8:47 AM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


The production on these songs is astonishing. The way that percussive "clok" sound at the beginning of "Make Me Feel" jumps right into the room with you. Or similarly the way she seems to step out of the speakers to talk right next to you on the rap section toward the end of "I Like That" with those gorgeous a capella vocals behind her (and briefly adds that great bit of melody into her verse on "rated me a...six?!?" after which the rest of the spoken part seems even more present and conversational).

I mean, her earlier songs also had such exceptional production and it's kind of a minor thing compared to all the other great musical and lyrical stuff she's doing, but still it's just, wow.
posted by straight at 8:52 AM on April 20, 2018


On the other hand, I'm always hesitant to read performed texts as necessarily autobiographical

On the third hand, AFAIK the rumours and speculation started before any of the Dirty Computer stuff was released, because Monáe and Thompson had been seen hanging out a lot in real life.

On the fourth hand, it's obviously totally possible for two women to hang out because they're, like, friends rather than lovers.

Personally, I find gossip of this kind to be fairly gauche. But I also get why queer women would be so eager to find... is validation the right word? in learning that a performer they love is in a relationship like the ones they have or aspire to. So I can't hate when a lot of the gossip is coming from that angle as opposed to a salacious tabloid one.
posted by tobascodagama at 9:00 AM on April 20, 2018


I just got to see an advance screening of Sorry to Bother You yesterday which Thompson stars in and I don't really have much to add to the discussion other than: 1) movie is absolutely bonkers and I can't wait for it to come out in July so I can talk about it 2) Christ, that woman is very beautiful and awesome.

I've been driving around listening to "Pynk" over and over. I remember a friend of mine worked for Paste back in the day and got to interview Janelle as she was working on what would become "Metropolis, Suite 1." He came back from the studio raving about this young woman who he swore was going to be huge.

So yeah, Kevin, you were right.
posted by Maaik at 9:00 AM on April 20, 2018 [7 favorites]


"Make Me Feel" is such a perfect spring song... it's so jubilant, and sexy, and holy shit that Prince vibe.
posted by palomar at 9:25 AM on April 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


I hesitate to post this, as the key variation really bothers me, but Make Me Feel/Kiss mashup.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 9:43 AM on April 20, 2018


She was fantastic in the "Electric Dreams" series, portraying a no-kidding android.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:53 PM on April 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


Appparently Dirty Computer will be on MTV and BET on April 26.
posted by hippybear at 8:43 AM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]


Yay! Bowie and Prince gave birth to a supersonic alien genius. Especially shout outs to Tessa Thompson and Monae who specifically included trans women in their social media posts promoting PYNK
posted by latkes at 9:24 PM on April 21, 2018


I always figured Janelle was ah, not straight from the getgo (wears a suit, claims to only date androids), but I really get the impression from this that she wants to come out but doesn't want to upset her relatives in Kansas City that can't deal with that. Kinda makes me wonder how uh, they're going to take the vagina pants and whatnot, because this seems pretty clear.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:22 PM on April 22, 2018


Maybe this deserves an FPP, but there's a Rolling Stone interview today where Janelle Monáe says that she identifies as pansexual.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:07 AM on April 26, 2018 [6 favorites]


Kinda makes me wonder how uh, they're going to take the vagina pants and whatnot, because this seems pretty clear.
I'm not sure whether they were just Doing A Jest but I definitely saw a reaction video thing that seemed to earnestly believe that it was literally just a song about the color pink.
posted by inconstant at 8:10 AM on April 26, 2018


I'm sad - after a first listen, I found it to be a lackluster album in terms of production/sound, which is how I take in music. I'll re-listen and pay more attention to the lyrics, but initial feeling is that it's flat pop, unlike her prior work.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 AM on April 26, 2018


Yeah, I didn't want to belabor the point the other day, but that profile seemed to be assuming lesbianism pretty hard -- the male human Cindy Mayweather falls in love with and the dude in the "Make Me Feel" video are addressed as dodges rather than authentic expressions. I also feel like gay as a stand-in for queer erases me as much as straight does, but clearly that's not everyone's experience and that's okay.

In any case, I was so happy reading the RS piece. *rainbow flag emoji*
posted by hollyholly at 11:09 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]


Dirty Computer (film) actually contains the line "A dirty mind will do anything it can to survive".

I laughed out loud. (It's so true!)
posted by hippybear at 9:13 PM on April 26, 2018 [3 favorites]


The full album has now been released and it is truly something to behold.
posted by piyushnz at 1:27 AM on April 30, 2018


So, I DVRed Dirty Computer off of MTV, but I'm wondering, is it available to purchase anywhere? Like, the CD I bought of Lemonade came with a DVD. I don't see that option for this product. :(
posted by hippybear at 6:44 PM on May 4, 2018


It's posted for free on YouTube, so I don't think monetizing the Emotion Picture was ever in the plans. I guess the idea is that you just buy the album.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:56 PM on May 4, 2018


OMG I just realized that Screwed is Janelle Monae doing Carly Rae Jepson only with her own twist.
posted by hippybear at 9:27 PM on May 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I literally laughed out loud when I realized this.
posted by hippybear at 9:28 PM on May 15, 2018


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