I've always had an interest in the media and its effects on myself and society as a whole. This semester I'm taking a class on media focusing on the family and human development. As part of that class, I'll be recording some of my thoughts on my media intake twice a week on this blog.
On Wednesday in class we talked about music... I was very much in my element. Not only do I listen to a LOT of music, but I love talking about it and am very interested in the social, political, personal, and other effects and influences involved in the music that our society produces. My personal music taste is extremely varied, and I really mean it when I say that. I really had to rein myself back in class to stop myself from talking during the entire class. It was bad. But one of the comments I made was about Janelle Monáe, and I feel like she deserves to be talked about much more, so here we go. Janelle Monáe is an American R&B/soul artist. She is 5'2", wears mostly tuxedos and sports coiffed hair most of the time, and is absolutely adorable. Evidence of adorable follows:
Right? The cutest.
So Janelle has three albums out, and they all fit together as part of one cohesive story made up of various "Suites" as though the story were a symphony. Her first EP album, "Metropolis: The Chase Suite" is Suite I, her first full-length album "The ArchAndroid" contains Suites II and III, and her most recent album "The Electric Lady" contains suites IV and V. Within her albums, she takes on the alter-ego of Cindy Mayweather, an android from the year 3005. Cindy has fallen in love with a human named Anthony Greendown despite it being illegal for androids to fall in love, and the story follows her run from the droid control and eventual rise to fame as an underground resistance leader, fighting the injustice and inequality in her futuristic society through song, dance, and peaceful resistance.
So yeah, I geek out over her just a little bit.
In "The Electric Lady" there are also several tracks which feature a fictional radio DJ named "DJ Crash Crash" who is also an android, who takes callers who comment on Cindy and her cause. Some of the callers are supporters of the android rights movement, while others call in saying things like, "It's just disgusting! They should just do whatever they do with people like that. Like she's not even human!"
Janelle's music is a fresh and artful mix of soul, R&B, hip hop, funk, and pop, and her voice is stunning. She writes all of her own music, as well as collaborating with plenty of other talents out there (she was featured in Fun.'s hit of last year "We Are Young"). But what I really admire about her is the role model she is and the messages she puts out through her music, especially for girls. She always dresses stylishly and looks fantastically, but she doesn't make herself into a sex object. She wears primarily tuxedos that have been altered to be feminine and beautiful, taking a garment that is traditionally worn by powerful and wealthy men and making it feminine. The biggest themes in her music are woman empowerment, equal rights, overcoming difficulties, and standing up for what you believe in. She also has songs with themes about not using drugs, the damaging effects of teen pregnancy, and single mother living in the slums.
Basically, Janelle is my hero and she should be your hero so listen to all of her music ready go.
