#Like is it just rap metal or Crunk. Help.

[gl1ttrzw1tchbl4d3zzz]

iNTERCOUSE EQUIPED. Dying my hair next month ??? VERY likley.

[dilettantereviews]

Concept Albums About Future and Technology

Music is always about looking forward, hence the fascination with concept albums and themed songs about future and technology. Usually, it doesn’t always work as well as the artists hopes, for whatever reason. In my definition, a pop album is themed or a concept if there are any of the following factors present: interludes, character names, pretentious quotes that will age badly that are conveniently located on the Wiki page, and a sudden focus and discussion with the making of the album. These albums will be rated on how well they stick to the theme rather than quality alone because we all can rank these from best to worst, right?

Bionic by Christina Aguilera: Interludes (yes), character (alter egos), pretentious quotes (yes), sudden focus on creation (yes). Bionic and Not Myself Tonight feel like introductions for sci fi projects gone mad. Elastic Love, Woohoo, and Desnudate sound very detached and icy. Glam/Prima Donna/I Hate Boys/Bobblehead/Vanity sound like some villain montage song. Don’t even get me started on genuine mind screeds Birds of Prey and Little Dreamer. With all the collaborators, I know more about the making of this album than the modern history of Armenia. Overall grade: B-

Discipline by Janet Jackson: Interlude (yes), character (Keiko), pretentious quotes (I wish), sudden focus (hell no). Futuristic interludes, electropop sounds with intentional overproduction (ie- Feedback, Rock With U, So Much Betta, Rollercoaster) help this album out, but Janet has done futurism before, with the video for If, Scream, and the song topic for Empty, but by 2008, Janet ran out of creative juice, unless if you count a 4 word interlude. Imagine an album with commentary on social media and the digital gap by class. Oh well, Janet took a much needed break and joined the social media era in 2015. C+

Fanmail by TLC: Interludes (yes), characters (yes), pretentious quote (no), focus (no). Fanmail, Lovesick, and Silly Ho are the main electronic songs on the album compared to some of the adult contemporary ballads. I’m actually disappointed that we don’t know more about the making of this album, because from the little futuristic stuff we got, they did great with it. The Fanmail chorus is so simple and poetic but all the ballads and midtempos.... no ma’am Pam. Can Drake let them open for him? C

Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae: Interludes (yes), character (yes), quote (yes), focus (no). Okay, so Jabnelle’s whole career is this but I know Dirty Computer the most from her albums. The album itself isn’t that sci fi, but she put a whole damn movie for us, no paywall attached, in 2018. I’ve seen other people say it’s not really a clear concept album, but with her video and other albums, Janelle gets a lifetime B+.

Poppy.Computer by Poppy: Interludes (no), character (yes), quote (no), focus (no)- The lyrics are literally about technology and even if this Adult Swim concept of a pop star didn’t give us insight about our technology use, she got the rough idea down. Personally, I like her dancehall and Mac DeMarco karaoke more, and even more when her creative director isn’t being an alleged creep. C

Metallic Butterfly by Princess Nokia: Interludes (yes), character (yes), quote (no), focus (no). Yes, I swear I don’t make my posts planned around whether or not I can include this project in. When people think of music’s biggest transformers, Cher, Madonna, and Lady Gaga come to mind. Destiny Frasqueri should also be on your list. Going from rap to house to emo t soul, Princess Nokia’s 2014 trip hop mixtape Metallic Butterfly sounds equally 1998, 2002, and 2192. This time, she was a coding expert hacktivist searching for a place for all girls to succeed and be themselves. Fortunately, each time Princess Nokia gives us a crash course in her influences, so we can learn about all her interests from jungle music (the electronic genre) to Dragon Ball Z. Princess Nokia shows us the necessity of concept albums in the streaming era. A+

Black Eyed Peas’ The End/The Beginning: Interlude (no), character (no), quote (no), focus (no). Although not a true concept album, it was one of the biggest successes of the EDM era. They were originally more old school influence wise, but now the Peas have upgraded that for futuristic references and imagery, making this project feel more cohesive than it should be. Still, no characters, interludes, and messy quotes about the making of the album, so that doesn’t make the basicness feel any better. Probably just listen to The Gorillaz instead. D+

But You Caint Use My Phone by Erykah Badu: Interlude (no), character (no), quotes (yes), focus (no): This is a mixtape with songs revolving around cellphones and communication. Erykah updated her sound to include more electronic stuff. Even if she was mostly goofing around, it was still fun. One highlight was a snarky voicemail. C

Ciara: The Evolution by Ciara: Interlude (yes), character (no), quote (yes), focus (no). While not technically an album about the future, it’s about evolving in different categories like dance and music. Some, like fashion,  only have 1 song, while others have more dedication to the concept. Having an album about your growth at 2 albums is premature at best, especially if you’re still known as the Princess of Crunk in 2018. D

Your homework is to listen to Billy Idol’s Cyberpunk, another concept album about future and technology, because I certainly will not at the moment.