Stone Woman is the second extended play by Canadian singer Charlotte Day Wilson. It was self released on February 23, 2018. Stone Woman talks about the downfall of a relationship. Also, check out my previous post of Charlotte Day Wilson's CDW EP by clicking on the link below.
Stone Woman serves as the opening song. It's a midtempo R&B song as Wilson talks about the cold strength and beauty of a relationship singing, "Oh, I know/ You're breaking stone/ Oh, you're so cold/ You're sculpted through my mind/ No end in sight/ Won't go, so cold", and she continues with, "Stone woman, stone woman, stone woman, stone woman/ Stone woman, stone woman, stone woman, stone woman".
On Doubt, the singer finds herself going through a tough breakup. On the first verse of the song, she sings, "I'm done with doubt/ I'm done with drinkin'/ Cause I've been away/ And I've been think'/ I may not always have/ The comfort of you", and then she asks a question to her lover saying, "What have I done for your love?/ Oooh ohh... I'm selfish and dumb for your love".
Nothing New is about issues repeating themselves in a relationship with the lyrics, "Are we really gone this far?/ We yell upstream to watch it fall/ Have we still the fanciest clue?/The past repeats to nothing new", and then sings on the first verse, "Every day is a shot in the dark and we're tested/ Fate and luck are more or less than/ It's nothing new, oh-oh-oh, oh".
Let You Down is where Charlotte addresses her love interest saying that she's not going to let them down even though to leave everything behind singing, "Baby, you say it takes you years before you trust someone/ But I don't know how long there's got if this has just begun/ Because I know that.../ I'm only letting you down/ I'm only letting you down/ And I know it's hard, leaving it all behind/ But I know, I'll only let you down".
Falling Apart talks about Charlotte's downfall after the end of a romance with lyrics like, "I keep falling apart, oh yeah baby, when I'm falling to hard/ And I keep stalling the start, anytime it's almost dawn it gets dark", and, "Falling deeper and I'm never coming home/ Never coming home, no/ And no one told me, but I just wanna go/ Never coming home, no".
Funeral is the closing song for Stone Woman. This is where the singer is mourning the death of her lover singing, "I went to a funeral, so I could feel something/ Don't know what I'm living for. if I don't feel nothing/ Where are you without me now, I see it in my head/ Getting high my nature girl, I wish you all the best", and then gets personal on the chorus with, "Oh, anytime I think of you, I'm empty hearted/ Oh, tell me how it got so far from where we started".
Here's the link to buy Stone Woman on Amazon Music:
On April 1st, I went online to Pinterest on my computer and I discovered a thing called bullet journals. So, what is a bullet journal? A bullet journal is a combination of a diary, sketchbook, and a notebook that you can use for ideas, inspirations, to organize your schedule, goals etc. Now, that you know what a bullet journal is, I'm going to give you some pointers on how you start your very own bullet journal.
Or you could just use a pencil if you don't want to use a pen, but make sure that it's the one. Pen may show up better on a journal, but, darker colors are easier to see and read.
3. Start creating an index for your journal
So, once you have gotten your pen or pencil and a notebook, you can begin by creating a index for your bullet journal. You can write all of the numbers on each page of the journal. This will help you to keep track of which sections fall on which page. The next step in this process is to make a future log. A future log is a way of you getting a view of all of your tasks you need to complete within the next six months. This will include a month-by-month breakdown of events, tasks, and goals that you make on your own. Tip: Count the number of lines in the journal and divide it by three. Example, if you have 24 lines, then make three sections on each page of eight lines. Also, use a ruler to draw out three straight lines across the blank spread. This will make it much easier for you to work with.
4. Write your name of the next six months within each section
If you're just starting a bullet journal for the new year, then congratulations! So, what you would do is write "January" in the first box that you see, then write the other months like February, March, April and so on. Write the numbers on the corners of each page. With your future log serving as the first section, the page numbers should be listed on the blank spread as one and two. So, what you would do is flip back to your index that you created and write something like, "Future Log ... 1-2."
5. Add in your monthly log
Flip over to the next blank spread page on your journal. This section will be considered as your monthly log. A monthly log gives you an overview of a given month. Start with the current month that you're in and write the name of the month on the top of both pages. On the left page of the journal, put down every date of the month. After you're finished with that, write down the abbreviation of the day of the week next to the number beside it. So, you would basically write down, "January 1st, Wed. On the right page, jot down your task list for the month. By using bullet points, make a list of all of the goals that you need to complete like any bills that you have to pay and deadlines that you have to meet. You would write something like, "Pay the phone bill", or "Complete draft of term paper." When you're done, write down the page numbers on the corner of each page of the journal. Turn back to your index and add your monthly log. Like, "April Monthly Log ... 3-4".
6. Add a daily log
Turn to the next blank spread and write today's date on the top of the page. Tip: Use small bullet points to write down things that you need to do for that day, tasks you have completed, or anything else of interest that occurred on that day. Use as many lines as you can to write about your daily activities. And when the day is over with, write a new entry for the below for the next day. A bullet journal is meant to be brief not long, so use only short and simple sentences while you're writing.
7. Start organizing your monthly goals in categories
This will really help you out a lot by categorizing your monthly goals in your monthly log. Write down headings like "Weight and Fitness Goals", "Work Goals", and "Creative Goals."
8. Use signifiers that work best for you
Signifiers are the type of bullet points that you would need to use in your journal. There are no set rules about using signifiers, and it depends on the type of event that you choose to jot down. You can write your events into categories like work, school, bills, personal, creative projects, etc. Every type of event that you can think of, write it down and make sure that you have a different bullet point signifying its type. It's probably best to use as few categories as possible.
9. Add some long-term goals to your future log
The key to making a future log is that you have to continue building on it. As you read through your daily and monthly logs for the past month, see what kind of long-term tasks are included. Try to add things to your future log as necessary.
10. Jot down daily events that matter to you
You can also write out events according to your preference. You get to keep track of what occurred at work, appointments that you have to go, and so on.
11. Add some "Collections" to your journal
Collections are broad to-do lists that you want to accomplish over the course of the year. It includes anything that is not a log of any sort. You have a collections of books you want to read, movies and TV shows that you want to watch, recipes that you want to try, etc.
12. Always make notes on projects that are specifically for you
This can help you to eventually make a project log or list on the back of your bullet journal. This can also help you keep track of long-term projects like "Yearly Projects."
13. Finally, use your journal on a daily basis
It's your bullet journal and you should use it on a regular basis. That's what it's made for. Begin to cross off items as you complete them. Each time that you complete a task, you can go and flip back to your monthly log. This will help you to keep up with what you have accomplished and what you still need to accomplish for a given month.
Thank you so much for your time. If you want more ideas for your bullet journal, I recommend that you go to either Google or Pinterest and research some bullet journal ideas. You can also download some templates on Google especially for your journal. Also, check out bulletjournal.com. I came up across this website on Google when I was looking some things regarding bullet journal. Here's the link to the website: https://bulletjournal.com/
Amethyst is the fourth mixtape by singer Tinashe. It was self released on March 16, 2015 as a "thank you to her fans." It was named after her birthstone.
Dreams Are Real is a R&B song with heavy synth beats and elements of hip hop as Tinashe sings about how you fall into a dream and it becomes a reality with the lyrics, "Sky goes blue/ Love flows through/ And how do you feel?/ Dreams are real/ Dreams are real". This track also contains a interpolation of "Bound 2" by Kanye West.
Wrong is where the singer talks about her success in the music business while also admitting about a recent heartbreak singing on the first verse with, "Ahhh Invader/ Look at you/ Do you even know who you are?/ Do you even know what's true?/ You know you're wrong/ You know you're wrong/ You know you're wrong/ You did me wrong/ And you do it again, and you do it and you do it again/ And you do it again, I let you do it, I let you do it again", and then moves to the chorus with lyrics, "I'm still in love with you/ I'm still in love with you/ You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong/ I swear one day, one day I will be gone". This song samples "Summer Madness" by Kool & The Gang.
Something To Feel talks about Tinashe being with a man who has told her nothing but lies. Therefore, she can't stay in the relationship saying, "Feed me lies/ I believed you/ That's the saddest thing I believed in you/ But I really shouldn't be surprised/ Fall down hard/ Ain't no way love/ It's been too rough, finally had enough/ I need to make it out the dark".
On Looking 4 It, Tinashe is saying that she'd rather be lonely than to love a man who is just after his own gain singing on the hook, "I be, looking for love in, all the wrong places/ I be, looking for love in, all the wrong places/ I be, on the low looking for it".
Wanderer is a smooth track in which Tinashe describes as her lover as a wanderer with the lyrics, "You're a wanderer (run baby)/ He's moving on tonight to find/ You're living in between the lines/ You roam, wanderer (run baby)/ Stuck in between space and time/ Lost in your mind".
Worth It featuring IamSu! is a bouncy song with Tinashe doing a DJ Khaled reference on the second hook singing, "We the best, we the best, we the best/ We the best in the west/ We the best, we the best, we the best/ We the best in the west".
Just The Way I Like You serves as the closer for Amethyst. Tinashe begins to wonder if she puts people off when it comes to her music career singing, "Sometimes I wonder if I make myself too unavailable/ Deal with less people than you count legs on an end table/ What can I say I'm loyal/ Sometimes it hurts to be loyal/ Sometimes I think I'm missing out on things I'm supposed to through/ Guess sacrifices is when you're trying to take over at 22/ I'm so focused I'm focused, I'm so focused, I'm focused".
On Your Own serves as the opener for CDW. She sings with an angelic voice on this track with the lyrics, "You know it's hard when you're gone/ You know I've tired but you're on your own".
Work is a R&B song with a soulful vibe that talks about working hard while also having patience along the way with the help of someone that you love as Charlotte sings, "It's gonna take a bit of work/ Oh, oh, work/ Now that you're here/ Woah, oh, work/ Cause people come and go/ But I think you should know/ That I/ I think this will work".
You can also check out the music video for Work by hitting that play button to watch it down below.
After All is about Charlotte trying to get back time with her friends by socializing again after spending some time inside with herself with the lyrics, "It's running through your veins/ Like the wind up harbor/ Taking me/ Oh, how I just need a little rest/ Before this gets harder/ Harder/ Isn't it funny how it goes?/ The open-ended closed/ Forcin' you/ To enter as you go/ Take the wind/ The wind up harbor/ Take it in/ Before this gets harder", and then she sings on the chorus with, "And after all/ You're the one I call/ Home is dull/ When the waves don't spill/ Now wash it all/ All away, all away now".
Click on this video to listen to "Where Do You Go"
Where Do You Go is where the singer finds herself begging for her lover to come back to her singing, "Where did you go today?/ Must have been lost, the wayfarer strays, I/ I don't know the words to say/ So, "Nothing", I say, it's better that way, but/ Baby please, I know, I know/ So take me please, I'll go, I'll go".
Find You is about Charlotte describing about how she misses her love interest so much singing, "5 o'clock, I'm falling off/ That early morning/ Late night missing you/ I call your phone/ (call your phone)/ But you're talking slow/ (talking slow)/ My body yearns/ (Body yearns)/ On the low/ (on the low)/ For your soul/ (for your soul)/ But I messed up and talk back/ Then I retract/ I'm sipping still, to get to you/ But it's me I was looking for/ It's me I was looking for", and then picks it up on the chorus with, "Now that I can see, I can find you/ Follow where it lands, right beside you/ Now that I can breathe, I can sigh too/ And swallow up the sands there that hide you/ Now that I can see, I can find you".
Reprise is the last song on CDW. It ends with instrumental music that lasts for one minute and four seconds making it the first time that Charlotte doesn't sing on this track.
Buy CDW on Amazon Music now. Here's the link for it:
Reputation is the sixth studio album by pop singer Taylor Swift. This album serves as a follow-up to her 2014 album, 1989. It was released on November 10, 2017.
...Ready For It is about 'finding you own partner in crime'. On the first verse when Swift sings, "Some boys are tryin' too hard, he don't try at all though/ Younger than my exes, but he acts like such a man, so", she is referencing to her exes DJ Calvin Harris and actor Tom Hiddleston who woere 32 and 35 when Swift dated them. The youngest one was singer Harry Styles who was 18 when him and Taylor dated. She is currently in a relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn which implies to the lyrics, "I see nothing better, I keep him forever/ Like a vendetta-ta".
End Game featuring Ed Sheeran and Future is about Taylor wanting to be her lover's soulmate singing, "I wanna be your endgame/ I wanna be your first string/ I wanna be your A-team/ I wanna be your endgame, endgame", and then Future exchanges his verse with, "You so dope, don't overdose/ I'm so stoked, I need a toast/ We do the most, I'm in the Ghost like I'm whippin' a boat/ I got a reputation, girl that don't precede me/ I'm one call away whenever you need me". Then Sheeran shows off his rapping skills with the lyrics, "Knew her when I was young/ Reconnected when we were little bit older, both sprung/ I got issues and chips on both of my shoulders/ Reputation precedes me, in rumors, I'm knee-deep/ The truth is, it's easier to ignore it, believe me/ Even when we'd argue, we'd not do it for long/ And you understand the good and bad end up in the song". Taylor sings on the third verse saying, "Reputation precedes me, they told you I'm crazy/ I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me", and then begins to rap on the last four verses with, "It's like your eyes are liquor, it's like your body is gold/ You've been calling my bluff on my usual tricks/ So, here's the truth from my red lips".
I Did Something Bad is a trap song that explores with Swift's darker side as she begins with, "I never trust a narcissist/ So I play 'em like a violin/ And I make it look oh-so-easy/ 'Cause for every lie I tell them, they tell me three/ This is how the world works/ Now all he thinks about is me", and then starts to take pleasure in being a bad girl singing, "They say I did something bad/ Then why's it feel so good?/ They say I did something bad/ Then why's it feel so good?/ Most fun I ever had/ And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could/ It just felt so good, good".
Don't Blame Me is about Taylor comparing herself to being in love with drugs singing on the chorus, "Don't blame me, love made me crazy/ If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right/ Lord, save me, my drug is my baby/ I'll be usin' for the rest of my life".
Delicate is a synth-pop track with elements of tropical house music. This is also the first time that Swift uses a vocoder on this song as she sings on the intro, "This ain't for the best/ My reputation's never been worse, so/ You must like me for me.../ We can't make/ Any promises now, can we, babe?/ But you can make me a drink", and then goes to the chorus with how anxious she is about this relationship with the lyrics, "Is it cool that I said all that?/ Is it chill that you're in my head?/ 'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)/ Is it cool that I said all that?/ Is it too soon to do this yet?/ 'Cause I know that it's delicate/ Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?/ Isn't it... delicate?"
Look What You Made Me Do is an electroclash song that talks about revenge and becoming a stronger person with the lyrics, "But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time/ Honey, I rose from the dead, I do it all the time/ I got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined/ I check it once, then I check it twice, oh", and then goes on to the chorus with, "Ooh, look what you made me look do/ Look what you made me do/ Look what you just made me do/ Look what you just made me/ Ooh, look what you made me do/ Look what you made me do/Look what you just made me do/ Look what you just made me do". This track also contains a sample of "I'm Too Sexy" by the band Right Said Fred.
So It Goes... is a song that originates from the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, written in 1969. She talks about being a "bad girl" once again with the lyrics, "And all our pieces fall/ Right into place/ Get caught up in the moment/ Lipstick on your face/ So it goes.../ I'm yours to keep/ And I'm yours to lose/ You know I'm not a bad girl, but I/ Do bad thing with you/ So it goes".
Gorgeous opens with a voice from James Reynolds, daughter of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively as she says on the intro, "Gorgeous". The song is mainly about an unrequited love about a man that has grab Taylor's attention and he's so attractive. She then starts to have feeling for him, even though she already has a boyfriend with the lyrics, "And I got a boyfriend, he's older than us/ He's in the club doing I don't know what/You're so cool, it makes me hate you so much/ ( I hate you so much)", and "Whiskey on ice, Sunset and Vine/ You've ruined my life by not being mine". On the chorus, she sings to the man of dreams with, "You're so gorgeous/ I can't say anything to your face/ 'Cause look at your face/ And I'm so furious/ At you making me feel this way/ But what can I say?/ You're gorgeous".
Getaway Car is about picturing a criminal in a speeding car as a metaphor for a doomed relationship. Taylor sings on the intro, "No, nothing good starts in a getaway car", and then moves on the next verse with, "It was the best of times, the worst of crimes/ I struck a match and blew your mind/ But I didn't mean it/ And you didn't see it/ The ties were black, the lies were white/ In the shades of gray in candlelight". And then she talks about the joy of riding in a "getaway car" saying, "You were drivin' the getaway car/ We were flyin', but we never get far/ Don't pretend it's such a mystery/ Think about the place where you first met me/ Ridin' in a getaway car/ There were sirens in the beat of your heart/ Shoulda' known I'd be the first to leave/ Think about the place where you first met me/ In a getaway car, oh-oh-oh/ No, they never get far, oh-oh-ahh". She also makes a reference to the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde with the bridge, "We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde (oh-oh)/ Until I switched to the other side/ To the other si-i-i-i-ide/ It's no surprise I turned you in (oh-oh)/ 'Cause us traitors never win/ I'm in a getaway car/ I left you in a motel bar/ Put the money in the bag and I stole the keys/ That was the last time you ever saw me/ (Oh!)".
King of My Heart is about Taylor having her own personal and intimate kingdom in where she has a new love interest that begins to rule her "heart, body, and soul". The pre-chorus starts off with, "Salute to me, I'm your American Queen/ And you move to me like I'm a Motown beat/ And we rule the kingdom inside my room/ 'Cause all the boys and their expensive cars/ With the Range Rovers and their Jaguars/ Never took me quite where you do", and continues on the chorus with, "And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for/ King of my heart, body, and soul, ooh whoa/ And all at once, you're all I want, I'll never let you go/ King of my heart, body, and soul, ooh whoa".
Dancing With Our Hands Tied shows Taylor exploring with house music and heavy beat drops on this track. She sing on the chorus with, "But we were dancing/ Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied/ Yeah, we were dancing/ Like it was the first time, first time/ Yeah, we were dancing/ Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied/ Yeah, we were dancing/ And I had a bad feeling/ But we were dancing". She is also the first time that Swift had ever hit high notes in vocal ranges on the chorus of the song that she has never done before, F5 and G5.
Dress has been described as Taylor's "most sexual song to date." Swift finds herself lusting over another lover singing on the chorus, "Say my name and everything just stops/ I don't want you like a best friend/ Only bought this dress so you can take it off/ Take it oh, ha, ha, ha-ah/ Carve your name into my bedpost/ 'Cause I don't want you like a best friend/ Only bought this dress so you can take it off/ Take it oh, ha, ha, ha-ah", and then moves with like lyrics, "I'm spilling wine in the bathtub/ You kiss my face and we're both drunk/ Everyone thinks that they know us/ But they don't nothing about", and "All of the silence and patience, pining and anticipation/ My hands are shaking from holding back from you/ Ha, ah, ah/ All of the silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting/ My hands are shaking from all this/ Ah, ha, ha, ha-ah".
This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is a lighthearted, comical track in which Taylor throw some major shade at all of her haters. She begins with, "It was so nice throwing big parties/ Jump into the pool from the balcony/ Everyone swimming in a champagne sea/ And there are no rules when you show up here/ Bass beat rattling the chandelier/ Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year/ So, why'd you have to rain on my parade?/ I'm shaking my head and locking the gates", and moves on the chorus, "This is why we can't have nice things, darling/ Because you break them/ I had to take them away/ This is why we can't have nice things, honey/ Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?/ This is why we can't have nice things".
Call It What You Want is synth-pop love song that has Taylor talking about her love for her boyfriend Joe Alwyn with her singing, "My baby's fit like a daydream/ Walking with his head down/ I'm the one he's walking to/ So, call it what you want, yeah/ Call it what you want to/ My baby's fly like a jet stream/ High above the whole scene/ Loves me like I'm brand new/ So, call it what you want, yeah/ Call it what you want to".
New Year's Day is a piano driven song that closes out the album. It uses a New Year's Eve party as a metaphor as she sings, "There's glitter on the floor after the party/ Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby/ Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor/ You and me from the night before", and it goes on to talk about the person who stays with you to help you clean up after the party with the lyrics, "Don't read the last page/ But I stay when you're lost, and I'm scared/ And you're turning away/ I want your midnights/ But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day".
I would this album a 10/10 because Taylor did so much with this album. From hitting notes in her vocal range to experimenting with trap, tropical house, and house music. Reputation is considered as a clap back to all of Taylor's haters and this shows that Taylor has really gone from good girl to bad girl. My favorites songs are Call It What You Want, I Did Something Bad, ...Ready For It, Look What You Made Me Do, New Year's Day, Dress and Gorgeous. Make sure that you purchase "reputation" on Amazon Music, Google Play, Spotify and Apple Music. You can also listen to it on SoundCloud Go+. Support Taylor Swift. Here are the links for the album:
Dirty Computer is the third studio album by singer and actress Janelle Monae. It was released on April 27, 2018. This album serves as a follow up to her previous albums, The ArchAndroid (2010) and The Electric Lady (2013). This is also her first one to not be a part of the Cindi Mayweather's Metropolis narrative. Dirty Computer has different genres like funk, pop, neo soul, hip hop and R&B. Along with the album, Monae also released a 48 minute film on her YouTube channel titled Dirty Computer [Emotion Film]. You can watch the film on YouTube by clicking on the link you see below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdH2Sy-BlNE
Dirty Computer is about embracing those things that make other people feel uncomfortable while human society, queer, minorities, women, and poor can make you have bugs and viruses. On this track, Monae is an android version of herself called Jane57821. This is also the first collaboration between her and singer Brian Wilson as Janelle sings, "Dirty computer, walk in line/ If you look closer, you'll recognize/ I'm not that special, I'm broke inside/ Crashing slowly, the bugs are in me", and then she begins to talk about her systems failing because of her sexuality, race and gender with the lyrics, "Dirty computer, breaking down/ Picking my face up off the ground/ I'll love you in this space and time/ 'Cause baby, all I'll ever be is/ Your dirty computer/ Dirty computer".
Crazy, Classic, Life is a funk-pop song that talks about discrimination as the track opens up with a spoken intro of the United States "Declaration of Independence" with the saying, "You told us we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men/and women are created equal; and that they are endowed by their/ Creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, /liberty, and the-and the pursuit of happiness". This is also a reference to singer Nina Simone as Monae sings, "Young, black, wild and free". She adds a traditional phrase from the "American Dream" and "The American Nightmare" speech by Malcolm X with the lyrics, "We don't need another ruler/ All of my friends are kings/ I'm not America's nightmare/ I'm the American dream/ Just let me live my life".
Take A Byte represents a strong feminist woman influence and it talks about the myths and stories that comes from a diverse group of powerful women, both culturally and historically. She begins to describe a "programmed code" that would create heterosexuality, however, a "glitch" must present in order for this programming to work. Therefore, causing Janelle to have a non-heterosexual attraction between her and the person she's speaking to possibly a female lover. Janelle sings, "I'm not the kind of girl that you can take home to your mama now/ I tell no lies (I tell no lies)/ Your code is programmed not to love me, but you can't pretend/ Oh, what a surprise/ Maybe it's lust, maybe it's love, maybe it never ends/ Ooh, say your goodbyes (say 'em now)/ Play in my hair and nibble there all on my mocha skin/ Yeah, just take a byte".
Jane's Dream is a 19 second instrumental interlude that features the work of Jon Brion. It was inspired by "terrifying nightmares" even though the first sounds of it are considered as "smooth and soothing".
Screwed featuring Zoe Kravitz is used in two different ways: as an innuendo and to describe the state of America. On the first verse, Janelle sings, "I live my life in magazine/ I live my life on a TV screen/ I live my life on birth control/ I lost my mind to rock and roll", and then her and Zoe come together on the chorus with, "And I, I, I hear the sirens calling/ And the bombs are falling in the streets/ We're all screwed/ And ah, ah, ah, it's not perfect, baby/ But I go sex crazy/ But I feel so screwed/ Sex, body/ We're gonna crash your party/ Let's get screwed/ I don't care". Then the melodies of the hook leads into the next song "Django Jane".
Django Jane is where Janelle gives her definition of what screwed really means and the power of women along with her past accomplishments. This track also showcases Monae rapping skills with the lyrics, "This is my palace, champagne in my chalice/ I got it all covered like a wedding band/ Wondaland, so my alias is Alice/ And we gon' start a riot/ Or we gon' have to put 'em on a diet/ A-town, made it out there/ Straight of Kansas City, yeah we made it out there/ Celebrated, graduated, made it pass/fail/ Already got a Oscar for the casa/ Runnin' down the Grammys with the family/ Prolly give a Tony to the homies/ Prolly give an Emmy to dedicated to the/ Highly melanated, ArchAndroid orchestrated/ Yeah, we highly melanated, ArchAndroid orchestrated".
Pynk is a synth-pop song that features singer and producer Grimes. They had previously collaborated on Grimes' 2015 track "Venus Fly". She explores with her forthright decision of sex and celebrates your own body along with another woman. She sings on the first verse with, "Pynk, like the inside of your... baby/ Pynk behind all of the doors... crazy/ Pynk, like the tongue that goes down... maybe/ Pynk, like the paradise found/ Pynk when you're blushing inside... yeah/ Pynk is the truth you can't hide... maybe/ Pynk, like the folds of your brain... crazy/ Pynk as we all go insane".
Make Me Feel is a funk song that finds Janelle talking about her bisexuality and how people would constantly keep asking her questions with the lyrics, "Baby, don't make me spell it out for you/ All the feelings that I've got for you/ Can't be explained, but I can try for you/ Yeah, baby, don't make me spell it out for you/ You keep on asking me the same questions (why)/ And second-guessing all my intentions/ Should know by the way I use my compression/ That you've got the answers to my confessions", and then she continues with, "It's like I'm powerful with a little bit of tender/ An emotional sexual bender/ Mess me up, yeah, but no one does it better/ There's nothin' better". She also make a homage to Michael Jackson on the chorus with, "That's just the way you make me feel/ (That's just the way you make me feel)/ That's just the way you make me feel/ (That's just the way you make me feel)".
I Got The Juice features a collaboration from singer Pharrell Williams. Janelle also makes an reference to her second studio album The Electric Lady with the lyrics, "You're so damn electric, you (alright)/You know you got the juice (yeah)/ You know you got the juice (uh)/ Squeeze all that passionfruit (squeeze)/ Ain't no one fresher than you (woo, fresher)/ And if they try to break you, you say", and then her and Pharrell share some verses on the chorus with, "Down, love/ Don't think about it/ Down, love/ Don't think about it/ Down, love/ You're the number one/ Down, love/ And don't you doubt it".
I Like That is where Janelle is addressing rumors about her sexuality and expresses her feelings about liking anyone singing, "Sometimes a mystery, sometimes I'm free/ Depending on my mood or my attitude/ Sometimes I wanna roll or stay at home/ Walking contradiction, guess I'm factual and fiction". She also alludes to a self assessment about her by using the iconic second studio album by the female girl group TLC saying, "A little crazy, a little sexy, a little cool/ Little rough around the edges but I keep it smooth/ I'm always left of center and that's right where I belong/ I'm the random minor note you hear in major songs".
On "Don't Judge Me", Janelle asks her fans to accept her true self now that she is more spoken about her sexuality like in her interview with Rolling Stone and has delivered a more personal tone on the album. She sings the pre-chorus with, "Even though you tell me that you love me/ I'm afraid that you just love my disguise/ Taste my fears and light your candle to my raging fire/ Of broken desire", and then continues with, "But don't judge me/ I know I got issues but they drown when I kiss you/ Don't judge me/ Baptize me with ocean, recognize my devotion".
Stevie's Dream is the second and last interlude on the album that features a spoken word from Stevie Wonder. It begins with, "Even when you're upset, these words of love/ 'Cause God is love/ Allah is love/ Jehovah is love/ So, don't let your expressions, even of anger/ Be confused or misconstrued/ Turn them into words of expression/ That can be understood by using words of love".
So Afraid shows off Janelle's vulnerable side as she talks about her anxieties over love represented by the "bugs" and "viruses" that by social standards make us "defunct". The chorus suggest otherwise with the lyrics, "And I'm afraid (ahhhh)/ Ah, I'm so afraid (ahhhh)/ Ah, what if I lose?/ Is what I think to myself/ I'm fine in my shell/ I'm afraid of it all, afraid of loving you".
Americans is the closing song on Dirty Computer with an ode to America's racist habits and traditions with lyrics like, "I like my woman in the kitchen/ I teach my children superstitions/ I keep my two guns on my blue nightstand/ A pretty young thang, she can wash my clothes/ But she'll never ever wear my pants", and "I pledge alliance to the flag/ Learned words from my mom and dad/ Cross my heart and I hope to die/ With a big old piece of American pie/ Love me baby, love me for who I am/ Fallen angels singing, "Clap your hands"/ Don't try to take my country, I will defend my land/ I'm not crazy, baby, naw, I'm American/ I'm American, I'm American, I'm American".
I love Janelle Monae and this album so much, that I'm going rate it a 10/10. This was my first time listening to her music and some of her songs actually made me wanna get up and dance.
Make sure that stream Dirty Computer on Amazon Music, Google Play, iTunes and Spotify. Here are the links:
The Kids Are Alright is the debut studio album by contemporary R&B duo Chloe x Halle. It was released on March 23, 2018. The album itself is about empowerment, greatness, love, memories, strength, and identity in finding one's place in this world and generation. Along with the album, the duo also released a 10 minute short film of the same name. You can go and watch the film by clicking on the link you see below.
Hello Friend (Intro) serves as the album's opener. This is where the sisters are both full of self-questioning and self love with the lyrics, "Hi friend how are you?/ What you need?/ Got you?/ What's your day been like?/ Has it been alright? You good? Mmkay/ We both trill/ Wait, is it just me this way?/ Cause if you good then that means I'm tight/ All we need is hype/ Since there no one knows to ask if they aight", and then they go to the second verse in which they are talking into a mirror singing, "Wait who is that (who is that) staring back at me?/ Is someone here for me?/ No/ It's that mirror playing tricks/ (Mirror)". The outro at the end of the song serves as the intro into "The Kids Are Alright".
The Kids Are Alright talks about the generation full of people today that can stand on their own, work hard, and still have fun while doing it. This song is based on the girls' lives and the moment they're in right now as they sing, "We don't really care about the trends you like to follow/ You know what they say, they here today and gone tomorrow/ Oooh/ Oooh/ If I'm in the mood, I get as ratchet as I wanna/ Turn around and show you, I could bless you with some culture", and then continues on to the pre-chorus with, "Workin' ain't no nine to five/ California that's a vibe/ Friends, that's always down to ride/ You know, you know that's the life/ We just wanna have some fun/ It's some love for everyone/ Pass it 'round when you get done/ That's the move, yeah, that's the one". They also let their listeners know that they're alright saying, "We all, we all, we alright/ The kids are alright/ We all, we alright/ Yeah, the kids are alright".
You can watch also the music video for "The Kids Are Alright" down below.
You can also buy and listen to the song on Google Play, Spotify and iTunes. Here are the links for it:
Grown (from Grown-ish) finds Chloe and Halle trying to take on a world on their own singing, "Watch out, world, I'm grown now/ It's about to go down/ My heart beat is so loud/ Mama, look, I'm grown now/ (I'm grown!)", and then Halle sings on the first verse, " I can't sleep, I'm wide awake/ I've been up since yesterday/ Scared 'cause I know it ain't a game/ Like, who am I gonna be today?/ Tell your homeboy what's good/ I'm tryna fit in your hood/ Got the weight of the world on me/ But no regrets, this is what I say/ Watch out, world, I'm grown now/ It's about to go down/ My heart beat is so loud/ Mama, look, I'm grown now/ (I'm grown!)".
Hi Lo featuring Goldlink is a song about loving your flaws with Chloe singing, "When my eyes are swollen when I cry/ Yeah, I like it, yeah/ When I got this scar on my thigh/ When I cannot tell each day apart/ Yeah, I like it, yeah/ Freckles on my face connect like stars/ Yeah, I like it", and then the girls come together singing on the chorus, "My highs ( I love, love 'em)/ My lows ( I love, love 'em)/ My highs ( I love)/ My lows (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)".
Everywhere is about speaking great things into your life. "Money" used in the song is a metaphor for love, happiness, success, and fortune. Chloe sings, "I got money everywhere!/ Falling off a tree/ I got money everywhere!/ Far as you can see", and then they go on to the next verse with, "I painted my way up/ I hustled my way up/ I'm dealing my way up/ I work for everything I do/ I come up and be in my shoes/ I bet you can't do what I do".
FaLaLa (Interlude) is the sixth track and the first interlude on the album. It has a dark element to it as Chloe and Halle's brother screams on the song while they're singing, "Fa, fa, la, la, la, la, la (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3)/ Fa, fa, la, la, la, la, la (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3)". Then "FaLaLa (Interlude)" turns into "Fake feat Kari Faux".
Fake featuring Kari Faux is about some people in the world trying to act like they have, but Chloe and Halle just see them for acting fake about everything with the help of rapper Kari Faux singing, "Why you gonna be so fake? (Why you be so fake? Fake)/ Why your smile be painted on your face? (Smilin' in my face. Face)/ Why you even speak my name? (Why you be so fake? Fake)/ I guess I make you feel some type of way/ Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay/ (Feel some type of)/ Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, yeah".
Baptize (Interlude) is the second and last interlude on The Kids Are Alright as the sisters described a failed baptism with the lyrics, "Dunk me under water, trying to baptize me/ I see you underwater, trying to rescue me/ Hold me in the water as you baptize me/ Dunk me under water, I come out the same", and then it closes with, "I won't change for you, I won't change for you/ I won't change for you, I won't change for you, no/ I won't change for you, I won't change for you".
Down is about the girls thinking about their future, but then they realize that it can be scary and stressful to think about with the lyrics, "It's been a little bit crazy, I've been feeling some type of way lately/ It's too much, I said no fun/ So, can we have the remote to the TV called life?/ Can we play fast forward, rewind?/ Rewatch while we wine and dine it's so fine straight or spine and/ We won't grab it better catch it for a fly", and then to the pre-chorus and chorus with, "All this way too much for me (me)/ All this way too much for me (for me, me)/ Giving me anxiety/ All this way too much for me/ Can we all take it down, down, down/ Can we all take it down, slow-slow, down, down, down, down".
Galaxy is all about getting out of a toxic relationship with Chloe singing on the intro, "You've been tryna doubt me/ You've been tryna out me/ You've been tryna say stuff/ I've been tryna pray up/ Why you tryna prey now?/ Predator away now/ There's this tangled messed of/ Get out of my head". Then they start to throw away all negativity into the "galaxy" saying, "Imma throw you back into the galaxy/ Imma throw you back into the galaxy/ Imma throw you back into the/ Imma throw you back into the galaxy",
Happy Without Me is about looking back on a past relationship with bittersweet memories as Halle sings, "I remember we were on the bleachers sharing secrets when we/ Look up, it'd be "Where did the time go?"/ And I remember you would hold my hand and call me baby while/ we dancing in the park lot slow", and then Chloe exchanges her verses with, "Bittersweet, those memories/ When I see, you with her now/ And it breaks my heart, and it breaks my heart (yeah)/ And it breaks my heart to see you happy, without me".
Babybird tells the story about the empty nest syndrome that parents go through when their kids move out of the house. The song talks about this difficult time through the eyes of the child, as they are overwhelmed by the world that they're facing. That's kinda what Chloe and Halle are going through as they begin with, "You just flew out of your nest (You just flew out of your nest)/ Starting a brand new quest( Starting a brand new quest)/ But the world is trying to test (But the world is trying to test)/ And you feel alone and try to mold into the rest (And you feel alone and try to mold into the rest)", and then move on to the chorus with lyrics like, "Babybird, grow some feathers/ Yeah, yeah/ Babybird, you can do better".
Warrior (from A Wrinkle in Time) has lyrics that adapted to the film as tell the story of the characters with the lyrics, "Oh my darling, I've been missing you for quite some time/ So, I'm gonna lift the oceans, just to see your eyes/ I could be a warrior, yes I'm a warrior/ There's no need to worry, love/ Look around, it's glorious/ Close your eyes and taste the sun".
Cool People is a guitar driven song that talks about the journey in which Chloe and Halle find that there are some "cool people" among them, even though the world is so wicked. The girls harmonize together on the chorus with, "Cause darling when you smile like the rain dries out/ Now, there's no more room for clouds/ Got me singing, Hallelu, ah Hallelu, oh/ When you hold my hand, it just reminds me how/ There's still cool people in the world".
Baby On A Plane is about a generation for the adults young and old of the world. The song opens up with a baby's crying followed by an airplane intercom's beep as they sings, "Cry for me baby, cry for us all/ Cry it away, all night long/ Cry for me, cry, cry for me/ Cry for me, cry/ Cry for me angel, cry for us all/ Do it for me 'cause we gotta be strong, oh".
If God Spoke is where the sisters sing about God from their perspective as far as what he's thinking and saying when it comes to certain decisions. On the second verse, they begin with, I remember when you yelled at me, oh/ Cursed my name and then stomped your feet, oh/ It will come any day/ Just be patient and wait/ You are my little baby/ What I plan for you will be crazy/ Few more minutes be patient/ Make a wish anyway".
Drop is a song where the duo is sick of this guy coming up with the same excuses as they sing, "Baby, I get sick of you/ You're that same old tune/ I don't ever wanna hear you again/ Why are you here, I'd like to skip/ Wanna be deaf to it/ Can I turn my ears off?/ But time stops/ (Time stops)/ When your beat drops/ (Beat drops)/ It's too strong-ong, long-ong/ But time stops/ (Time stops)/ When your beat drops/ (Beat drops)/ Turn it off, off, off, off".
Fall is the closing song on The Kids Are Alright. The duo try to look for a positive side to any negative situation in the world. The songs opens up with, "Blue likes to drop sometimes, one by one/ But I don't mind, no I don't mind/ Cause luck is on my side/ I feel the drip drop, nonstop, pour on tonight", and continues with, "So what if the rain falls?/ Let's find the gold at the end of the rainbow/ So what if the rain falls?/ I'll shower in shimmers of gold".
Make sure that you purchase The Kids Are Alright from Amazon Music, Google Play, iTunes and Spotify You can listen to the whole album on SoundCloud. Here are the links:
