Janelle Monáe : The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)
 

Excellent, I already created a thread on her but sadly got no bait. My favourite album of 2010 so far by a large margin.

I went with 'very good' simply because 'Cold War' is such drab shopping music it doesn't belong on the album. Definitely a 4-to-a 4 1/2 job though. I agree it's head and shoulders above all the other recent solo pop offerings by extravagantly-dressed 'entertainers'. There's some real musical (and thematic) invention behind it... it rewards you with repeated listens as well. One of the many curveballs it throws is 'Mushrooms and Roses', pure psychedelia. Not that it's a nostalgia trip... it has polished contemporary production but underneath that R&B shine you've got so much... I even like the Of Montreal collab, and I don't care much for that group particularly.

Actually all the diversity on here and the funky vibe with the classical referencing and epic scale (thinking 'Songs in the Key of Life') reminds me of Stevie Wonder
CHEGGITOUT

Better than Metropolis and that's saying something. Albums like this make me think that there's some amount of hope for pop music yet.

It's the best wild card entry in pop music this year. It's an epic album with a theatrical story that has a long musical reach across the varied genres, including electronic, hip hop/soul and indie rock. Janelle's ArchAndroid touring ensemble has about as many musicians, singers and dancers as the Sun Ra Arkestra in it's early 70s hey day. I counted nearly 100 musicians, singers, studio techs, arrangers and producers on the log of album credits for studio recording.

Janelle Monae was a graduate of the prestigous Academy of Dramatic and Musical Arts in New York and was on the fast track to a successful stage career on Broadway early on. Janelle said she thinks of herself as more a performance artist than a pop music artist in a recent NPR interview I heard.

I'm impressed by the scope ambition of her musical vision and nearly all of the songs on the album hold up well both as part of the ArchAndroid song cycle and as stand-alone songs that could be released as singles. In the interview she said was suprised at the rousing reception for ArchAndroid at the various indie music summer festival venues across the United States. It isn't that suprising because indie music fans are a build in audience for a quirky, exotic, left-of-center performance artist types like Janelle.

I'm not sure if her cross cultural approach will translate into a broader mainstream audience. A listener with a short musical attention span may well be baffled by her quirky theatrical approach and place her album in the discard pile. ArchAndroid requires more than a passive listener to work it's magic.

I am in love with her. I have been a fan since I accidentally came across Metropolis, and I was ecstatic when I realized she was releasing a full-length album. To me, what's so awesome about her is that she is naturally quirky and interesting. It's not forced like with much of today's pop music. Her themes, lyrics, and music overall is just crafted so naturally it's brilliant. ArchAndroid did not disappoint. Quite the opposite. She has a fan and supporter in me. I honestly hope she gets more wide-scale recognition....

Sorry to bump this thread but I just listened to it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have to say that I really disregarded it at a pop album because there were just too many genres of music represented inside. A lot of the time when an artist does this kind of style juggling it's because their vision is unfocused but here it seems like everything belongs together and nothing is out of place. It's usually progressive acts who are releasing albums with stories along these lines and it's really ambitious for a first album. It's ambitious in a good way and I can't see what she does in her future releases.

This album is getting so much play on my Zune and CD player right now. She is so fun, unique, and is a bit of a curiosity. The whole concept behind the album is fascinating and I love how varied all the songs are. I'm sad that Molecules didn't like "Cold War" though, that's one of my favorites on the album. Overall, the album just gives you this fantastic vibe...it's like Stevie Wonder meets Alicia Keys meets Outkast. Good stuff.

I do love Metropolis too, though is would be so hard to say which one is superior.

she sounds like an angel on 57821

I really wish make the bus wasn't on the album. it's such an awful ****ing song