Janelle Monae is one of the coolest artists out there right now.  She’s like Erykah Badu’s brilliant and slightly off-kilter little sister, a comparison that makes sense when you consider the fact that the two artists have been touring together this year.  You might remember, earlier this year, when Janelle Monae took to Twitter to express solidarity with girls like Constance McMillen and Ceara Sturgis, who just wanted to wear their tuxes and go to their proms in peace.  Janelle, of course, often wears a tux when she performs, and she looks damn good.  I guess there’s some speculation out there about her sexuality (who cares?), but she did an interview with Rolling Stone the other day where she explained, “I only date androids.  Nothing like an android — they don’t cheat on you.”  The answer might not make sense if you’re not a fan, but Janelle has created an entire world around her music, and yes, it involves androids.

“Mushrooms & Roses” is one of my favorite songs from her new record, The ArchAndroid, and it’s more evidence that Janelle Monae can write and perform any genre of music you want, and it will be awesome.  So let’s start the shuffle with that.  More videos after the jump. Open thread slash confessional booth below.

1.  Rufus Wainwright – “April Fools”
2. The Beatles – “Fool on the Hill”
3. Frank Sinatra – “Luck Be A Lady”
4. Glen Phillips – “Crowing”
5. Cry Cry Cry – “The Kid”
6. Jane Siberry – “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”
7. Josh Ritter – “The Curse”
8. Ron Sexsmith – “One Last Round”
9. Tori Amos – “Almost Rosey”
10. U2 – “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”

(Read More)

I was thrilled to see Brandi Carlile live for the first time the other night, and if we’re Facebook friends, you know I’ve been posting her songs all week long. I’m kind of on a kick.

One of the coolest moments in the show was when, in this room with a capacity of 1,500 or so, Brandi and her band played this song, “Dying Day,” completely unplugged, without even a mic. Her voice is powerful enough to fill the room even without it. It was easily one of the top five shows I’ve ever been to, and that’s saying a lot. So we’ll base the shuffle off of “Dying Day.” If you watch the video, you can see footage of her performing the song unplugged like she did for us.

If I may, let me also plug the opener, Katie Herzig, who impressed the hell out of us, to the point that I bought her CDs at the show, which I very, very rarely do. She’s on tour all over the place until the end of the year, with Ben Taylor, Mat Kearney, and of course, Brandi Carlile. I’ll throw one of her videos in with the others in the random ten, after the jump.

And, shuffle! Leave yours in the comments, or talk about music, or talk about Justin Bieber (mutually exclusive topics, of course), or whatever else. Open thread.

1. Frou Frou – “Old Piano”
2. Joni Mitchell – “Love or Money”
3. Bright Eyes – “Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And Be Loved)”
4. Prince – “Let’s Go Crazy”
5. Tori Amos – “Abnormally Attracted To Sin”
6. Josh Ritter – “You’ve Got The Moon”
7. Sufjan Stevens – “Movement VI – Isorhythmic Night Dance with Interchanges”
8. Wilco – “One Wing”
9. Ra Ra Riot – “Dying Is Fine”
10. Beirut – “The Penalty”

(Read More)