Fluxblog
March 7th, 2018 2:53am

An Emotional Sexual Bender


Janelle Monáe “Make Me Feel”

In some ways it feels unfair and dismissive to say that a song like this or a lot of the better Bruno Mars songs of the recent past are “retro.” I think it might be more accurate to say that this sort of funky pop – openly indebted to Prince, Michael and Janet Jackson, and James Brown in particular – is something people always want and can’t get enough of, but it’s just in very short supply. Not just anyone can do this sort of thing. It takes a lot of songwriting magic and expertise, and a performer with an extreme level of charisma because you can’t really pull off working in this zone otherwise. Janelle Monáe has that star power, can come up with a song like this, and we are lucky for it. Truly blessed.

“Make Me Feel” has a Prince groove, but a chorus that nods to Michael Jackson’s best hit single. It’s a song full of bold moves, but that (meta)contextual stuff isn’t as compelling as the actual feeling of it. Monáe’s lyrics and vocal melody are about 25% nervous anticipation, and 75% crushed-out strut. Her lyrics in the past have been a bit more conceptual or guarded, but this is raw, genuine lust. She sounds relaxed and free, and only the tiniest bit anxious about how anyone might perceive her.

Buy it from Amazon.

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  1. Matthew H says:

    Such a good song. Why *are* we starved for this stuff?

    As you say, the same is true for Bruno Mars – he’s not always the most compelling personality, but at the very least it feels like thought and musical ideas went into the construction of his songs. So funny that he’s been grandfathered into radio – his songs sound nothing like the rest of the stuff on there.

  2. Matthew says:

    You know how cheeseburgers and pizza are so popular because they so effectively combine umami, sweet, and salty elements? I think songs like this are the musical equivalent – they’re groovy and immediate, melodically/harmonically sophisticated without necessarily presenting as such, and convey a really direct and relatable feeling with just a bit of playfulness. It’s not easy to pull this sort of thing off, and it especially stands out now when so little mainstream pop has this level of low-key sophistication.


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