SotD - Janelle Monae, Cold War

Janelle Monae's 2010 hit is today's Song of the Day choice from Reece Morris-Jones. Get ready for a tear or two...



Is there a 'mainstream'* pop artist more interesting than Janelle Monae at the moment? Even when she's pulling back her weirdness to try and appeal to the Norms, her music has more than enough going on sonically and lyrically to have even Toyah fans wondering what the hell is going on.



In Cold War, Monae strips a lot of that back, relying on an upbeat tempo and the power of her voice to keep people focused on what is important. The meanings of the lyrics seem two-fold; focusing on self-development as well as external change, the song taking on another meaning when placed in the context of her Cindi Mayweather Saga.



Regardless of all of that, it's a catchy pop song with a message and heart. How rare is that in today's “play it safe” world - where even rockstars don't want to piss off the Suits?



*I'm not sure anything can be mainstream now we have the internet.







Image - Amazon