12/12/2015Why Janelle Monae Is About to Be Your Favorite New Artist | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=12fa294a-7f45-485d-9b1e-3c5d1f23ed45&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/4Why Janelle Monae Is About to Be Your FavoriteNew ArtistWhy Janelle Monae Is About to Be Your Favorite New ArtistActually, the best album of 2013 was....It's overwhelming.</p><p> In the past, only critics could really afford the luxury to sample or listen entirely to hundreds ofalbums.</p><p> Now with streaming services, artist websites including entire albums and key tracks for preview,BandCamp, SoundCloud, YouTube and a ton of other services, it's easier than ever to hear the name of anartist and start listening to their music within seconds.</p><p> Pay for a subscription service and chances are you'll beable to hear music by a much wider sample of artists than you ever have before.</p><p> Or, of course, you could spinAdele yet again and wonder when her next album is coming out and why you haven't just bought her CD.Hopefully, a lot of people are taking advantage of this explosion in music platforms to range farther afield.</p><p> Sinceit costs little or nothing to sample so many different artists, why not?But with great listening power comes great responsibility: how can you make a Best Music Of The Year listWITHOUT listening to all those acts that caught your ear briefly, got a great review and so on? So with a lotmore music to sift through, maybe it's no surprise I haven't felt ready to compile a list of my 40+ favorite albumsof the year until March.</p><p> But hey, any time is a good time to hear about new music, right? And for the past sixmonths, if you asked me what my favorite album of the year was, my answer would have been the same.Because the best album of 2013 was...Janelle Monae's The Electric Lady.Never heard of her? Well, you will.</p><p> Janelle Monae already has the respect of her peers.</p><p> She's been nominatedfor six Grammys, she appeared on the #1 hit single "We Are Young" by fun, Prince called her newest album hisfavorite of the year , she toured with Bruno Mars, she's a CoverGirl spokesmodel (hey, anything to get yourname and face out there!), Erykah Badu and Miguel and Esperanza Spalding are among the talent appearing onher album and that masterpiece ranked at #8 on the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll of the best albums of theyear among critics (only Beyonce scored higher among women).</p><p> She's also performing Thursday March 27 onAmerican Idol if you want to catch a glimpse of her chops in concert.Maybe her deceptively simple new single from the soundtrack to the animated film Rio 2 will be the one to breakher out.I'm not sure exactly what will break Janelle Monae out but I am certain it's going to happen.</p><p> Her debut TheArchArachnoid was in my Top 10 of the best albums from 2010 and her newest CD tops my list for 2013.</p><p> Princeis a great reference point, as is Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu and a host of other artists.</p><p> Monae can seeminglydo anything and she is determined to prove it: her new album contains instrumental passages akin to a filmscore, has a sci-fi concept (very minimal) in which androids are the new despised minority, gently tweaks radiodeejays with amusing inter-song skits and jumps all over the map stylistically from 1950s torch singing to purepop to classic rhythm and blues to fierce, committed raps.</p><p> She'll make your head spin, your toes tap, your mindrace and your lips say again and again with pleasure and excitement, "Who IS this??""Ghetto Woman" is wonderfully catchy until it catches you up short with some righteous indignation over anyonewho would blithely condemn women fighting to survive under economic straits. "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes" is anawesome tip of the hat to that iconic actress. "Dance Apocalyptic" is the great hit single that wasn't, so infectious12/12/2015Why Janelle Monae Is About to Be Your Favorite New Artist | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=12fa294a-7f45-485d-9b1e-3c5d1f23ed45&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/4future generations will be astonished it didn't top the charts around the world.</p><p> And none of that even capturesthe ambition, the humor, the sheer nutty expansiveness of what she's accomplished on The Electric Lady.Here's "Q.U.E.E.N." with Badu:Here's "Prime Time" with Miguel:It's just my favorite from a year that -- as always -- produced a lot of great music in a lot of different genres.Shame on me for not hearing more jazz and classical, but you can find great pop, rock, soul, country, folk, a littleworld and some works that can't be categorized except as "great." Linda Thompson delivered maybe her bestsolo album yet, Arctic Monkeys did the same across the pond (ask most Brit critics and they'd pick AM as thebest of the year), Vampire Weekend proved they're in it for the long haul, Bob Dylan dug into the vaults for yetanother gem (as did The Waterboys!), Bombino had the world music album to beat, The Lone Bellow broughtAmericana to Brooklyn and on and on.</p><p> There's so much great music to listen to.</p><p> I'm certain your list would bedifferent, but share it below! And check out some of the music I list here.</p><p> If you're a fan of the genre, chancesare you'll find something well worth checking out.</p><p> At the bottom, you'll find some early favorites from 2014 and alink to my master list of the Best Albums Of All Time, with my favorite from each year and top picks going backto the early 1920s! Start listening!THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2013The Top 10JANELLE MONAE -- The Electric Lady DAVID BOWIE -- The Next Day PAUL MCCARTNEY -- New FRANK TURNER -- Tape Deck Heart BOMBINO -- Nomad LINDA THOMPSON -- Won't Be Long Now ARCTIC MONKEYS -- AM JAMES COTTON -- Cotton Mouth Man PATTY GRIFFIN -- American Kid and Silver Bell VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Modern Vampires Of The City11-20BOB DYLAN -- Another Self Portrait THE LONE BELLOW -- The Lone Bellow DAFT PUNK -- Random Access Memories LORDE -- Pure Heroin(e) EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP2 JOHN MAYER -- Paradise Valley KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON -- Cheater's Game KODALINE -- In A Perfect World PANIC! AT THE DISCO -- Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die MAVIS STAPLES -- One True Vine21-30THE WATERBOYS -- Fisherman Box RICHARD THOMPSON -- Electric RHYE -- Woman LAURA MVULA -- Sing To The Moon 12/12/2015Why Janelle Monae Is About to Be Your Favorite New Artist | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=12fa294a-7f45-485d-9b1e-3c5d1f23ed45&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/4BRAD PAISLEY -- Wheelhouse THE MAVERICKS -- In Time RON SEXSMITH -- Forever Endeavor KING KRULE -- 6 Feet Beneath The Moon MIDLAKE -- Antiphon VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Divided and United: Songs Of The Civil War31-40ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ROOTS -- Wake Up Ghost CAGE THE ELEPHANT -- Melophobia GUY CLARK -- My Favorite Picture Of You BASTILLE -- Bad Blood ALLEN TOUSSAINT -- Songbook DANNY BROWN -- Old THE AVETT BROTHERS -- Magpie and the Dandelion HOLLY WILLIAMS -- The Highway KACEY MUSGRAVES -- Same Trailer, Different Park LITTLE GREEN CARS -- Absolute Zero41-48BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG AND NORAH JONES -- Foreverly WILLIAM TYLER -- Impossible Truth VAN DYKE PARKS -- Song Cycled JASON ISBELL -- Southeastern LINDI ORTEGA -- Tin Star THE CIVIL WARS -- The Civil Wars PREFAB SPROUT -- Crimson Red VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Inside Llewyn Davis TIM CHRISTENSEN -- Pure McCartneyTHE BEST ALBUMS OF 2014 (work in progress)BEN WATT -- Hendra (due out April 29) SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- Give The People What They Want BECK -- Morning Phase JIMMER PODRASKY -- The Would-Be Plans THE PIXIES -- Indie Cindy (due out April 29) SUZANNE VEGA -- Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of PentaclesGo here to see my master list of the Best Album Of All Time, with my favorite from each year and year by yearpicks going back to the 1920s.</p><p> Here's a list of the albums (and movies and books and plays) I tackled in 2013.Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the founder and CEO of BookFilter, a book lover's best friend.</p><p> It's a websitethat lets you browse for books online the way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info onnew releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of theway.</p><p> It's like a fall book preview or holiday gift guide -- but every week in every category.</p><p> He's also the cohost ofShowbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the dayand features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz athis website and his daily blog.
