Posted: Oct Fri 2008 7:16 PM CDT
Watch: Futuristic, Bizarre “Many Moons”
Janelle Monae isn’t a exactly a household name-but after seeing the 23-year-old’s ”Many Moons” video, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget her.
“Open your minds, earthlings, and prepare to be launched headfirst into an alternate universe,” proclaims her official site, decked out in futuristic images-a world called ‘Metropolis’ that the artist has created for her debut album, entitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite. It’s “a place where robots fall in love with humans. Where your tour guide into this alternate realm is a demure lil thang with a bold set of pipes…”
“Suspend disbelief for a moment”
It continues: “Suspend disbelief for a moment, as you’re dropped mid-pursuit into a soaring sci-fi soundtrack. The lush orchestration experiments with elements of musical theater, funk and the dirty south. At one moment, Monáe’s voice takes on the metallic trill of Shirley Bassey, the next she’s an ethereal siren, followed by a bluesy soothsayer.”
Imagine, though, that you were watching this video without having read all this. Expecting a normal Hip-hop ditty, I was thrust into this bizarre plot and lost in the confusing, 1984-esqe world of an inappropriately baby-faced artist. An artist who dances a bit like Andre 3000 in his “Hey Ya” video, and obviously thinks of herself as a robot.
You’ll enjoy it.
