Thursday, September 20, 2012

2 Years and Counting...

Ok, ok. It's been established that yours truly a F.A.N.D.R.O.I.D. The story of how it began, however, goes back to this very date 2 years ago.

     It was my first Janelle Monae show, which was at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in my hometown of Detroit, MI.  Let's flash back, though, to a few weeks earlier.  A co-worker of mine offered a set of Royal Oak Music Theatre season tickets she won.  The only acts I was vaguely familiar with was Janelle Monae and Of Montreal, so I chose those tickets.

*Cue September 20, 2010*
     Given I was tired from work, I was close to not even going to the show. Something in me, though, really wanted to tough it out and go. With that, I hastily change clothes and hop the bus.  Luckily, I walked through the door just in time.

     I arrive unaware of what to expect. I hadn't been in to a show that wasn't electronic music in years.  On top of that, though I new the names of both acts, I hadn't heard their music in full before.  Shortly before the show started, a woman in front of me gave me, shall I say, a warning of how good Janelle's show was going to be. Lo and behold, she was right-and then some.  Being the observant person I am, I decide to stay towards the middle of the room to get a full view.

The house lights drop, and the magic begins.

From start to finish, Janelle's entire set had me in awe. I was in disbelief in what I saw. Every song and movement coming from this woman was literally like nothing I've ever heard or seen in my life.  Here's a taste of what my eyes and ears had been witness to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0-b8flQB10
(This is a clip from the show I luckily found on YouTube.  THANK YOU to whoever posted this)
Imagine seeing that for the first time. EVER. My mind did a veritable jaw drop.  By the end I wanted to know who this woman was.

I stayed for a few songs of Of Montreal's performance. Less excited about that perfomance than Janelle's, I decide to go to the lobby and wrap up the night by calling a cab.  That wasn't before asking the vendor more information about Janelle, though-and fulfilling the overwhelming need to buy her music.  After a short mental deliberation on which of her albums to buy, I decided to buy the ArchAndroid. Upon arriving home, I immediately gave it a listen.

The rest, as they say, is history.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Some Sounds to Look Forward To

Well, well, well-

It looks like some fantastic music will be gracing the ears of the masses soon in the form of  new works by Roman GianArthur, ACEG, and Flying Lotus.  Here's the deal:

Flying Lotus-
Even if you haven't heard of him, you've probably heard his music in the Adult Swim bumpers.  His new album Until the Quiet Comes comes out October 2.  www.flying-lotus.com (Oh, and yeah-Don't leave the site before watching the album's short film. Make sure to listen to his 2010 masterpiece Cosmogramma as well)

ACEG-
The geniuses behind the M.I.L.K. and Be Kool EPs are at it again with the Kool as Hell EP.  From the looks of the tweets and Facebook the it's almost ready for release.Who is ACEG, you ask? Go to www.acegmusic.tumblr.com. While you're at it, do yourself a favor and listen to the aforementioned EPs. You'll thank me later.

Roman GianArthur
You already know I'm a huge supporter of Janelle Monae and her Wondaland Arts Society. Well, here comes one of the masterminds behind her album, The ArchAndroid, with "High and Dry-Send It On"- a mashup of the songs from Radiohead and D'Angelo, respictively.  It's from his upcoming suite "You Should Be Paranoid", which is said to be a whole album of D'Angelo/Radiohead song mixes. www.romangianarthur.tumblr.com is the place to go.

Until next time!