Janelle Monae's new album, "The Archandroid".
I love music that disproves the currently prevailing theory that all black folks know how to do musically is either rhyme about thuggin’ or sing slow booty jams. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things per se-but I prefer my music to have a little more substance while still being palatable. Which is why when it comes to rhymin’: Jigga? Yes. Gucci Mane or Rick Ross? No. Maxwell? Yes. Trey Songz…he’s getting there, but not quite yet.
However, a lot of Black folks (or at least, people who run “black” radio stations or “black” media publications) tend to cast aside anything that doesn’t conform to the status quo as weird, which has prevented many a deserving artist from getting their due. To name a few: Terence Trent D’Arby. Meshell Ndegeocello. Cee-Lo (thought of by many as a one-hit wonder when he’s been dropping gems for two decades). Occasionally, they’ll give an unorthodox brother or sister a pass (think Andre 3000 or now-era Erykah Badu). But it’s hard for an artist of color these days to get over on music that isn’t in line with whatever Top 40 radio is playing this minute.
That said, it’s not often that an artist is mass-marketed as being “different” the way Janelle Monae has been. From the second I heard about this chick, the words “different” and “weird” followed her like a lost dog. She released an EP in the summer of 2008, and I was intrigued enough by her public profile (and the love that certain tastemakers had for her) that I bought it unheard. Didn’t feel it. Thought the weirdness was a little too forced. People who are different don’t TRY to be different-they just are.
Fast forward just under two years to the release of Monae’s official full-length debut, “The ArchAndroid”. Again, the huzzahs are flying left and right across the blogosphere saying that this is a hands-down classic piece of work. Again, I feel like the plaudits are somewhat misguided.
Not to say the lady’s untalented. Her voice is quite pretty, and she understands the art of vocal understatement as well as knowing when to show off (a rarity in today’s popular music world). There are symphonic interludes placed throughout the album that make me believe that Monae could very easily be doing the Leontyne Price thing if she wanted to.
But wait…did I just say that there were symphonic interludes on what’s basically a mainstream pop release? Yep, sure did. There’s also an adaptation of a Rodgers & Hart melody, songs that sound like Disney themes, a mean funk jam with a James Brown flavor that features a rap from OutKast’s Big Boi, a track with indie faves Of Montreal that sounds like Depeche Mode meets “Around the World in a Day”-era Prince meets I-don’t-know-what, topped off by a completely surreal album concept that doesn’t only scream “pretentious”, but shouts that shit through a gigantic megaphone.
Pretentiousness generally isn’t an issue for me. As I hinted at before, I think Terence Trent D’arby’s a fucking genius. I love Prince. But both of them also consistently wrote sharp melodies and amidst all of the experimentation, they knew (and still know) that the song came (and still comes) first. While Monae approaches that brilliance at times, like on first single “Tightrope” and the interesting-but-still-hummable “Cold War”, “The ArchAndroid” also has moments like “Neon Valley Street”, where tasteful production (think laid-back Badu) matches up against a pretty melody only to be completely derailed by some rapping dude that sounds like the guy from Newcleus. Even when the experimentation works, on songs like “O Maker” (think Arcade Fire meets “Parade”-era Prince) or “Come Alive” (which combines opera, Broadway melodies and heavy metal shrieking, if you can believe that combo), the strangeness seems a little contrived.
Understand, I’m not saying that “The ArchAndroid” is a bad album. Monae is talented, and I respect her for going off the beaten path. Ultimately, what keeps the album from going onto my top shelf is that the excesses aren’t properly reigned in and that the album is just TOO damn long (none of the interludes or experiments-like “Neon Gumbo”, which is a minute and a half of backwards music-are necessary to your enjoyment of this record). And I should probably also admit that maybe my appreciation for the album was compromised by the heightened expectations I had (which means that my opinion could well improve once the critical butt-kissing is forgotten). As it stands right now, however, “The ArchAndroid” is a striking, if challenging album that shows tremendous promise but turns out to only be intermittently enjoyable.
Grade: B-
21 comments
Gladwell, R says:
Jun 4, 2010
Not an especially insightful review…too much about you and not nearly enough about the music…for a more thoughtful review, read Seth Colter’s work in Newsweek…if you are going to review someone’s work, be serious about it–and not “pretend” that you know what you’re talking about….reviews are like mirrors…two way…
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
In my humble opinion, reviews are supposed to be equally about the music and what you personally think about the music. Ultimately, you may disagree with my opinion of the album and how I chose to write about it, but at the end of the day, it’s about opinions. You don’t know me, so how can you say that I “pretend” I know what I’m talking about? All I needed to do was listen to the album and form an opinion.
GG says:
Jun 4, 2010
Love the dude in the first comment who thinks you’re “pretending” you know the music when you named some unconventional artists who didn’t get their just due as a way to let the reader know that you’re not faking it to make it.
Bro, if you disagree with his review, disagree. Don’t force feed us some BS just because you disagree. Opinions are like mirrors. Wait…
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
Not surprised. A lot of people out there can’t disagree with someone without being insulting or self-righteous.
Gerald says:
Jun 4, 2010
Oh please. You sound like the type of black person who wouldn’t vote for Barack Obama cause he was black and you think he doesntvstand a chance. Stop projecting. You don’t know monae or her true motives. She is courageous and a hero. Leave your hating for something else. Isn’t there enough bad music out there for you to critique? You’re kidding yourself if you can’t recognize the genius in her vision and it’s implementation.
Gerald says:
Jun 4, 2010
And why let someone elses enjoyment of the album bring you to a place where you can’t be objective and enjoy it? THAT’s weird.
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
It’s not weird at all. It’s human. There are plenty of people who buy records (or see movies or plays, or eat at restaurants) because they read glowing reviews (or receive recommendations from people they know/trust) and then turn out to be disappointed. Besides, no one’s enjoyment of the album led to me NOT enjoying the album. If you read the entire review, it’s fairly obvious that I saw some redeeming quality in it. I just had heightened expectations based on everything I’d read and heard up until I actually sat down and listened to the album.
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
What exactly am I projecting? What exactly are YOU projecting? No, I don’t know Monae or her true motives, but neither do you (unless you’re her in disguise, which I doubt). Critique does not equal “hating”. It makes me laugh when people offer a contrary opinion and they’re automatically assumed to be “hating”. I’m not begrudging Monae her right to make or sell her music. I’m not even saying I dislike the album! I’m just saying I don’t think the album is hot shit on a plate. And by the way, I voted for Obama.
GG says:
Jun 4, 2010
Bro, the lack of comprehension is startling among your readers.
Monae is courageous and a hero to my man Gerald, thus, that equals that the album has to be genius. What does one have to do with the other?
Let’s get someone with a true genius IQ, have them sing, and then see if it’s good.
Wait, this could be Monae’s street team.
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
What startles me more is that people don’t see that when it comes to music, genius is pretty relative. I’m totally willing to understand that just because I like something, it doesn’t mean that other people won’t have completely valid reasons for not liking it. Most people don’t seem to share that method of thinking.
Isn’t Brian McKnight MENSA? He might be a genius, but based on his last couple of albums, his music sure isn’t.
GG says:
Jun 4, 2010
MJ is our favorite artist of all time. You love him like no one has ever loved another artist. Yet, you gave This Is It, what 2 stars?
People need to get a grip. Being a critic is all about forming an opinion and espousing it. It doesn’t mean forcing yourself to like something because you like someone.
blerdwords says:
Jun 4, 2010
That’s the thing. If someone was to say MJ was untalented, I’d be ready to fight. If you don’t enjoy his music, then what am I going to say to that? It’s not a prerequisite that someone love “Off the Wall”. Everyone has an opinion. I’m not saying Janelle Monae is untalented. Actually, I praise her voice in the review. I’m just saying I’m not especially feeling her album.
Greg says:
Jun 5, 2010
Sheesh, talk about proof that listening to “intelligent” music doesn’t automatically pass such qualities onto its listenership. I mean seriously, do you people just scan the greater blogosphere looking for negative to lukewarm reviews of this album so you can bitch about it in their comment section? No really, Gerald and other condescending fuck whose name I can’t be bothered to scroll a few inches upward to remember. I’d like to know. For the record though, acting like a flaming twat just because some reviewer panned one of your favorite records doesn’t make you all that objective. Actually, it just makes you kind of a flaming twat.
I’ve been meaning to hear this for awhile now, since I really liked “Many Moons” and that song she did with Outkast a few years back (“Call the Law,” I think it was). Still, a little wary about all the hype. There hasn’t been a good critically-acclaimed album released all year (at least as far as the metacritic circuit goes, I’ll never understand for the life of me how LCD Soundsystem continues to garner rave reviews). Plus, based on what I’ve heard of her, I kinda doubt she’s doing anything that Aphex Twin/Outkast/Cee-Lo/Prince/The Flaming Lips/Bo Diddley hasn’t already done a million times before. But she’s definitely talented. And weird. I’ll give her that.
blerdwords says:
Jun 5, 2010
Now “Call the Law” was a great song. People didn’t give “Idlewild” a fair shake.
Greg, what do you think of the Black Keys record? GG and I would like to know.
Greg says:
Jun 5, 2010
“Idlewild” to me, for better or worse, kinda reminds me of The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour.” It has a few straight-up great songs, a few catchy singles, some weird-for-the-sake-of-weird filler and no cohesion whatsoever. It’s a better album than a lot of people give it credit for, but I don’t think it’s anywhere in the league of “Stankonia” or “Aquemini.”
“Brothers” isn’t a bad record. It’s more soulful than anything I’ve heard from the Keys in the past, even if it generally sounds like more of the same. I’m not really a diehard Black Keys fan, but they’re good at what they do. For what it’s worth, it’s probably the best blues-rock album of 2010 that doesn’t have the words “Dead Weather” stamped into the cover.
awiz11 says:
Jul 5, 2010
“the strangeness seems a little contrived” What the heck does that mean? Maybe if you stopped thinking so much about the “strangeness” of the record and just reviewed it for it is, a concept album, you might enjoy it more. Your review reeks of not wanting to jump on the bandwagon, you even admit you have a bias against the hype surrounding the album, so why review it in the first place? The ArchAndroid is not a masterpiece, it is flawed, some of the songs seem excessive or unnecessary and it is long, but it IS a brilliant full length debut whose scope and detail are awe-inspiring and completely mesmerizing if only for her ability to make most of it work. The only thing I would call pretentious or contrived would be the overtures but even they don’t bother me, they’re actually beautiful if completely unnecessary. It’s a great album and far above just “not your run of the mill RnB album” and as it stands now IMO very deserving of Album of the Year, she’s earned it. No one’s praising Monae because she dared to venture off of the “beaten path”, that’s done all the time, but because unlike so many others who dare to be different just for the sake of being different, Monae’s eccentricity and eclecticism serve a purpose. She knows exactly where she’s going.
blerd says:
Jul 5, 2010
Contrived strangeness isn’t a hard concept to grasp. The music industry is all about marketing. There’s a segment of the music-buying population who will immediately latch on to something because it doesn’t sound like whatever is the current cookie-cutter flavor of the moment, so sometimes musicians are encouraged to go overboard with the “weird” factor in order to stand out in the marketplace. Considering this record is on Bad Boy, I wouldn’t doubt that a conversation took place in which the “strange” angle was actively pushed.
When an album is critically acclaimed, I certainly feel the need to have it’s perceived value justified to me when I listen to it. After listening, I can have one of two opinions-either the hype is justified or it isn’t. In this case, I don’t feel as though the hype is justified. Does that mean someone else won’t get value out of the album? No. Taste is subjective. All my review should convey about the album to anyone reading is that I, one person, wasn’t blown away by it. Why review it in the first place? Because I can. People are allowed to have contrary opinions.
awiz11 says:
Jul 5, 2010
Basically what you just said was, “if she wasn’t so weird, I’d like the album more” Janelle’s been “weird” and relatively unknown for a while now, and it’s still very out there as to whether she really fits into today’s music, considering she doesn’t “sell” the things female artists usually do “weird” or not in order to be marketable. Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation, Outkasts’ Stankonia, and Erykah Badu’s last several albums since Mama’s Gun are perfect examples of overly hyped albums for being “different” and “out of the box”, they were good albums but not THAT good, just different and very conceptual. Janelle reaches even further out there than they did and backs up just about everything she’s reaching for in my opinion. You’re right though, it is your opinion (everybody’s got one), you sound very biased to me, but it’s still your article.
blerd says:
Jul 6, 2010
Do I legitimately sound biased to you, or do I sound biased because I disagree with your opinion?
For the record, there are many artists who are marketed as “different” or “odd”, from the artists you mentioned to Cee-Lo, Joi, Meshell Ndegeocello and tons of others (not to mention D’Angelo and Maxwell). I can get over the imaging as long as I like the music. This is just one of the cases where I think the music is okay but I’m not crazy for it.
maria says:
Oct 12, 2010
Hallelujah for not drinking the kool-aid. This album will find it’s way into the speakerboxxx-the love below / electric circus bin.
blerd says:
Oct 13, 2010
Ha…well, the difference for me is I actually like those other two albums.