The Summer of “Could”
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Hello, ladies. Hello, hello. Hello, hello. Bonjour. Bonjour. Ooh. I'm Sam Sanders. I'm Saeed Jones. And I'm Zach Stafford, and you are listening to Vibe Check. Vibe Check.

This week, we're talking about the 2024 election test balloon, a.k.a. the Trump town hall, a.k.a. a big flop for America last week. Yeah, that balloon popped. Popped. CNN, what you doing? CNN, what you doing? Well, so we're going to get into that. But we're also talking about our good sis, Janelle Monae's evolution in the new body of work that's coming out this summer that's really making us realize that this summer is the summer of pleasure. Yeah.

As your pleasure, pleasure. As it should be. We need. Yeah. Yes. But before we get into all that, how are we feeling this week? What's our vibe, Sam? What's up? Between this Janelle Monáe conversation in video, getting us ready for summer pleasure, and finally going to see the new Guardians of the Galaxy last night...

I'm in summer mode. It was probably 45 minutes too long, but extremely good. It was really good. Okay. I can deal with that. I'm excited to see it. Yeah. I've gone to see my first summer blockbuster. I am putting on artists like Janelle Monáe to get ready for summer vibes. And I'm just feeling summery.

this feels like it might be the first summer in a while where it feels like we're completely outside and the body's ready, the mind is ready. Let's effing go. Have you heard this theory that this summer is 2016 part two? What does that mean? So the argument is, is that 2016, which was basically

Obama's last summer in office. It's also, I think there was a Beyonce album. I forget. There's a lot of music that came out in 2016 as well. I think Blonde came out in 16. It was my last fun listen before Trump. Yeah, I think 2016 was the last time you, like, before Trump ever entered the picture. I mean, it's true. Summer 2016 was wild. I was popping off, yes.

I mean, I think formation. I'm pretty sure that's when I saw Beyonce last. Yeah, yes. The formation tour, all that. So that's the theory is that, you know, we may, and we're going to get into this in the first segment, but, you know, we're about to see Trump come back with a fire and a fury. I see. And that this may be the last summer in which we don't have to, like, really engage with him having any real powers.

Music coming back, the world's opened up. So it's kind of the summer freedom before and pleasure before it all. What is the lesson of 2016 and that summer that we should take into this conversation?

mirror summer in 2023. I would say the lesson that you better enjoy while you can. I'll tell you what, I did have a good time summer of 2016 and I'm glad I did. Yeah. So this is the summer too. If you want to be a ho, be a ho this summer. Get out there. If you want to get in the streets, be in the streets. This is the summer to do so. We could be in the streets for fun this summer, but if Trump comes back, we'll be in the streets for the activism. One way or another, we'll be back out there. Oh God. Saeed, how are you doing this week?

Oh, my love. I am getting by one Renaissance footage TikTok at a time. I know.

I've been obsessed with the silver horse. So here's my thing. And it's funny. I know some people don't want to be overwhelmed with seeing every aspect of footage. You want to have some surprise, some awe when you're there and not be like, I know exactly which song gets next. Yeah, when you see her. All three of us are seeing her in two weeks, basically. Yeah. We're going to London. London town. So what I've done is I've been kind of focusing on one clip.

Which clip? So she does Break My Soul, and then she does like the Queen remix. And there's a moment where she's kind of like, Wait, what's that? Do it again? I'm like shaking my titties on the Zoom, y'all. Those of you listening, that's why I say I wonder who's enjoying that. So my thing has been I've been like focusing on this one clip, and I literally, anytime it pops up on my For You page, I like it. I watch it three or four times before I get out of bed. Aww.

Is this the clip where she walks with the group? Yes, where she's like doing the little cat paw. It's really fun. The music's incredible. But there's something about her smile in this 10-second clip that feels different. It's hard to explain. It's hard to explain. I don't know if we...

often associate the word carefree with Beyonce, at least as a performer. And it feels carefree. I would say it feels carefree and also to the point of today's episode, it feels like she's enjoying, that she's experiencing pleasure while out there, which is nice to see. And this feels different than the run-up to Beychella, which we saw in the Homecoming documentary. Right.

She was stressed. Rigor. That was hard. Rigor. She had to get that whole band together and it was like, go. She just had them babies. Now it feels like she is fully in her bag and kind of just enjoying the whole thing. So I can't wait to feel that energy from her in London. It's going to be good. I'm so, so excited. How about you, Zach? How are you doing?

I'm good, and I have to share something that I learned last night that has really rocked my brain. Go on. I got on Disney+, which I never do. For what? I have a Disney Plus subscription, and I've never signed in on my TV. Oh, girl. Disney Plus will get you right.

It's Mandalorian, right? They have a lot of content. They have a lot and a lot of stuff. So last night I had a moment where I was like, I want to watch something animated, something from my childhood. I just need like a moment. And I remembered Aristocats is on Disney+. They're going to remake it. Remake it with Questlove. And I was like, why do they need to remake this? What is he going to bring fresh to it?

So I turn it on and immediately I have a thousand questions about this movie. One, I did not know Disney for movies that are deemed culturally not sensitive in today's standards have warnings in the front. Have you seen these? I've heard about them. I don't know if I've seen. It's like movies like, I think Dumbo, Aristocats, et cetera, have a thing that's like, hey Rob. This is racist. This is about to get racist. And contextually it wasn't racist at the time.

Is the one with the Siamese? The Siamese. Yes. The cats. Yes. Yes. That's kind of all I remember. Yeah. And there's the band at the end. And then there's another cat that then plays with chopsticks. It's like really problematic to like the fullest extent. So that was like question one. Question two is like, why are these cats in English accents in France? Why does everyone speak in English accents in France? We're watching it.

I feel like I haven't watched it since daycare. So now I understand why Questlove was like, hey girl, I'll take this on and reimagine the whole thing. Because it needs a big reimagining. But the one thing I want to say to the public right now, what they cannot change is that Duchess, the mom, is out in these streets. She is the summer of pleasure. She just had these babies. She just had these babies and said, the streets are calling, kids. We're going back out in them. The streets are calling.

Oh, you know what? Duchess, though, was that girl. She was that girl. I'm like pulling up. She was that girl. Yes, she was that girl. If I looked like Duchess, I'd be out in these streets too. Like, everyone rewatched it from the perspective of Duchess just had a bunch of kittens and is at home and her butler tries to get rid of her because she's about to inherit millions of dollars. That's the problem. That's like the crux of the movie is that the cats are inheriting all the wealth

of their owner. So the butler gets rid of them and she's in the streets and she's like, let me find an alley cat to guide me back to Paris to my estate. Duchess said, you won't break my soul. You will not break my soul. It is art. Yes. Duchess is that girl and we must just give her her flowers today. So anyway, that's all I have to say. That's your vibe. We love it. Chantel was like, y'all gotta rap. Chantel was like, y'all just fully lost the plot. Before we get into what we're actually talking about today,

We'd like to remind all of you that we love, love, love hearing from you. We are so grateful for the fan mail, the emails, the notes, the fact checks. We do love those a lot. So keep reaching out to us on social media. You also can email us at vibecheckatstitcher.com. And with that, I think we should jump in, shall we? Let's do it. Let's do it.

Let's talk about the impending upcoming, maybe we're already in it, 2024 presidential election season. Whether we like it or not, it is upon us.

Anyone who watched or even heard about Donald Trump's disastrous town hall on CNN last week knows we're already kind of in 2024. I'm going to take some time today to talk about how we can prepare for this onslaught that's already upon us. I'm having flashbacks. I'm having deja vu. I'm scared. I'm worried. I need my sisters to guide me here. If this town hall is any taste of what's to come,

What do y'all think it shows us in terms of what's ahead? That's my first question for you both. I think it shows us we're in trouble. It shows us that

not only did the legacy media, let's say that. Media is a very broad term. But let's say legacy media and certainly the executives at the very top making the important decisions. I think that town hall showed us that not only did corporations like CNN not learn their lesson, however you want to define that from the last four years, I think they have decided their strategy. I think executives like Chris Licht

want Trump to be reelected. They want those ratings. They want him to be kind of like, it's kind of like people like Trump and Elon, they're like fonts of news and little fires constantly. And if you're doing a 24-7 cable news network, those figures are good for you. And I think that's what I saw. That's what I saw last week. What about you, Zach? Yeah.

I agree we're in deep trouble, and I'm also worried that the media environment, broadcast, you know, legacy, has kind of given up on really pushing or changing or kind of holding Trump accountable in a real way. And we're just going to see them repeat all the same mistakes in the past because, you know, between 2016 and 2020, we just see some of the highest viewership of broadcast TV, subscriptions to The New Yorker, to The New York Times, things that really built them up.

And that is really the real reason why legacy media in a big way has outlasted these digital startups like Vox and BuzzFeed, who didn't do a few business things early on to make sure that they could have diverse revenue moving forward. But in the middle of the Trump onslaught, the New York Times made it their identity to really go after him and really just echo everything he said all the time and make it news. Washington Post too, right? I mean, every time you open the Washington Post app, it's like the democracy dies in darkness, which was specifically-

Exactly.

He wasn't really clear on whether or not he wants Ukraine to win its war with Russia. I mean, this was pretty nasty, not even counting what he called Caitlin Collins, the moderator. He called her a nasty woman, not even considering what he said about.

his ongoing sexual assault allegations against him. Well, and also the fact, I mean, right, that this was recorded, what, the day after the decision? Yeah, the E.G. Carroll verdict. Yeah, and she rightfully, I hope she does sue him again. Oh, yeah. You know, for his comments. And also just, you know, I mean, to imagine being, you know, a person of color, an immigrant, a woman, trying to mind your business, pay your bills at CNN, and then here you are again in 2023, what's...

watching your new boss, the new CEO, you know, make decisions about platforming and just giving him, it's like, it's not just that they did a town hall with Donald Trump. It's that it's very clear they did a town hall with Donald Trump and gave him everything he wanted. I saw some people say like the audience was told not to boo or something, like they could only clap and cheer. And so this is the thing, even in the midst of the town hall itself,

Donald Trump and his team knew that it was good for business. They thought it would be before the start, but after the first commercial break, one of Trump's top aides brought him tweets of the coverage of the town hall to amp him up some more.

Like they knew. After the town hall was done, staffers at CNN who wanted to call it out and critique it were reprimanded by top leadership. You know, this is all playing into exactly what Donald Trump wants. And it's wild to think that we are back in here in the same boat after all of the years of hand-wringing over the years.

over whether news media covers Trump and Trump's politics. And this is something he has built himself, this kind of adversarial relationship with the media where he'll say something really bombastic, really ridiculous. They'll cover it. He'll build upon it. And while that spotlight shines on him, he'll pivot and create a new news cycle. And he just kind of like runs the news cycle over and over. And it makes me think back to, God, in 2015, the first time I met the man as a reporter, he was in Chicago for a bunch of speaking and trying to become president. No one thought he could

become president or the nominee at the time. And I remember sitting in the pool while he was talking and a reporter next to me, and I won't say the outlet, but a very respected outlet, was reading a magazine. And I looked at her and I was like, oh, what are you reading? She's like, I'm just flipping through until he says the thing we need to write about. And that is the relationship that at the time we were like, whatever, he's a reality star. We're just trying to make news about this random dude. But then he built an empire.

They became a president off of it. And like, remember how incestuous this relationship was. There were many months before he was the nominee even where he would call up CNN or call up MSNBC and they would put the cell phone connection on live air, on live air. And so that's already bad enough.

But my theory is it could be even worse in this next election year because we're seeing a landscape in which there will just be fewer journalists to cover this election, period. You've seen the headlines about layoffs. We even saw Vice News this week file for bankruptcy. And Vice, love them or hate them, was one news outlet that would often check these.

These legacy players like CNN. Those folks, we have less of them now. And those journalists left, the power is concentrated. And that worries me as well. What should we make of the fact that news media period is in a tough spot as we head into this year of election? I would say media is in a period of contraction.

And one of the other factors, yeah, there are probably fewer reporters literally still employed right now doing this work. But like, who are the reporters? And I think it's significant because I think we're entering a presidential election cycle where I think there will be very few reporters given large platforms who don't have an Ivy League degree. Hmm.

Who don't come from family backgrounds where they can afford to survive this period of contraction. I think a lot of people are like basically aren't going to be able to like kind of tread water, you know, during this difficult time period. And so we go back and it's going to be Anderson Cooper lecturing us about our silo. It's going to be the Maggie Habermans. It's going to be the Pete Bakers. It's going to be the Michael Barbaros. Today is...

Wednesday, all that bullshit. I mean, it's one of the things that's really frustrating is that a lot of really great, aggressive, ambitious reporters and editors and producers with backbones because that's the entire issue.

A lot of these people at the top don't have backbones. The people who do, it's like they've been priced out of the conditions. And so, yeah, I'm very worried about that. And Roxane Gay has a great article for Fortune.com about how it's very clear the media is not equipped to handle this next presidential election cycle for this very reason. And to build on that, what I'm really nervous about in ways that I wasn't nervous about before is—

is the emergence of a really robust far-right media landscape. While Vice and BuzzFeed have fallen, you've seen the emergence of OAN, Newsmax, The Daily Caller. These places are so well-capitalized. Some of these figures, from the Candace Owenses to everyone else, have huge podcast networks. Even Megyn Kelly has a huge show that she also puts on YouTube. So as we've seen liberal media decline

And even more middle ground media, a lot of nonprofit newsrooms have fallen apart that were really middle of the road. You've seen the huge rise of these far-right personalities who've built empires off Donald Trump who will now come to his aid, which is the very frightening thing. Oh, yeah. Well, and then you can't not talk about the Elon Musk and Twitter of it all. For better and for worse, during election 2016 –

Twitter was a real public service for real-time fact-checking and breaking news on politics and the election. It's an invaluable resource on an election night to see what's going on in real time.

That is no longer the case. Yeah, it might be very likely that if you check Twitter on election night 2024, it'll be like disinformation. Well, it'll be the Tucker Carlson. Yeah, that's what Elon wants. Yeah. You know, so in the midst of this, as we close this segment, I kind of want to ask both of you how you're preparing to enter this year of politics, knowing these realities.

The news media is contracting. It seems as if our industry hasn't learned the lessons of 2016. In that landscape, how are you going to be a better, more informed citizen or at least ready for whatever next year brings? For me, I know a lot of friends of mine and people I've admired have lost jobs, have moved, have changed.

But I have seen the emergence of really robust, you know, sub stacks and newsletters and TikTok presence and Instagram presence. And I think individual storytellers are going to be the backbone of breaking through similar to what we're seeing on the right. We're seeing folks on the left,

And even new publications like Semaphore with Ben Smith, like while complicated in its origin, they are doing some really interesting reporting that is very journalist-led that also shows the journalist's own opinions within the reporting itself. So I think it's kind of like finding the folks that you can trust, seeing who's working and supporting individuals and not publications fully. You should support publications, but find individuals and they can help you navigate this terrain because there's still a lot of amazing people working. Mm-hmm.

Oh, yeah. I mean, just one example when it comes to reproductive justice. Jessica Valenti has a great sub stack called Abortion Every Day. And, you know, it's like for that topic, for that particular issue, Jessica is the voice I turn to. Or for Supreme Court justice stuff, Chris Geithner's Law Dork. Love him. Yeah. Law Dork is wonderful. And then Casey Newton, if you want tech. Casey Newton's a great –

view into tech under the hood. So to look for those folks and please reach out to us if you need like a sector like business, we can point you to someone that we're following because that's where you're going to see some like really wonderful journalism happening. I want to point people to a sub stack that I subscribed to that I think might be worth your time. It's by a journalist named Aaron Rupar, R-U-P-A-R. He was at Vox for many years and he made a name for himself by being one of the most rigorous kind of real-time fact checkers of Trump.

He now does it on his own through Substack. He has a podcast there too. But those kind of journalists, wherever they are, I think they're worth following. And I think my big takeaway from this town hall last week and just from the lessons we've learned the last few years is that when it comes to getting news and info about this election season –

I'm going to trust people over institutions. The journalists I trust, I'm going to support them, and I will keep a wary, watchful eye on these institutions. And no shade to all of CNN. I have many friends who work there doing good work, being good journalists, but they're constrained by their bosses. But

But I'm going to watch both, but support really, really heavily these independent journalists doing the work. And to that point, we're even seeing within the institutions them breaking through. Oliver Darcy, the media reporter over at CNN, has been the loudest voice. But it has with CNN leadership over this town hall. So you see, if he keeps his job, which we hope he does, you can continue following his newsletter. And it seems to be valid and real, and he's really pushing internally. But if he was to leave, I think he would launch his own media newsletter. And I would give him my money. I sure would. Exactly. Exactly.

We're going into a 2024 presidential election cycle, but this is also a great time to really start thinking about the down ballot issues that might be coming up in all of your states. Another Senate seat is up in the state of Ohio, for example. And so Sherrod Brown's reelection race is going to be really important. Sherrod, because he's the homie. So I think it's really significant at this point a year out.

you know, don't just think about Biden or Trump or DeSantis or whatever. Look at what's going on in your state. Are there ballot issues? You know, city count, all of that stuff. To me, one thing I am trying to take deadly serious is that it is not just about the presidential election. It is about everything that's going on that I get a chance to vote on a year from now. And I'm not going to wait until a month before that election to be like, oh, who's running for, you know, like, yeah. So that's just something I wanted to.

And I will always say, if you want to see where shit really pops off in politics, it's your local school board. It really is. That's where it's going down. It really is, yeah. That's where it's going down. Anywho, listeners, let us know how you're preparing for election 2024. Who are you watching? What are you reading? What are you getting ready for? We are at vibecheckatstitcher.com. Vibecheckatstitcher.com. All right, taking a break. And afterwards, only good vibes. Keep listening. Keep listening.

This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are Black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging Black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands. I

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors

at events like the BET Awards and the Essence Festival of Culture. And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's Change Leaders on their Instagram page, We Are Golden.

Here's an HIV pill dilemma for you. Picture the scene. There's a rooftop sunset with fairy lights and you're vibing with friends. You remember you've got to take your HIV pill. Important, yes, but the fun moment is gone. Did you know there's a long-acting treatment option available? So catch the sunset and keep the party going. Visit pillfreehiv.com today to learn more. Brought to you by Veve Healthcare.

All right, my androids. We are back and we are excited to talk about Janelle Monae because we've got a new single, Lipstick Lover. I really got a thing for my lipstick lover, lover, lover, lover, lover. I'd do anything for my lipstick lover, lover, lover, lover.

And one hell of a music video to go with it. Excited to talk about that and Janelle Monae's evolution, discography, and pleasure. And Sam is so great. We were talking about Janelle the other day, and Sam has this great theme that he's pulling from the new music about pleasure and the body erotic. So we'll get to all of that. But to start, listen. I remember I was in graduate school. So this is like 2007, 2008, 2010.

And I remember I was watching an art blog one morning before going to teach one of my classes or whatever. And the music video for Tightrope came on. I was like, who is this? Why are they? And I just, it was like, there was a before that moment and there was an after that moment. So to get started, you know, when did y'all come to the gospel of Janelle Monae? Have you gotten to see them perform? Oh, yeah. I will tell you exactly when she got to me.

So I knew that she was out there and surfacing and someone to watch, but I really got into her first full length album, The Arc Android. Yes. It came out in 2010. And that year I spent three months reporting in Portland, Oregon as part of a fellowship. And I was in Portland all by myself. And I was one of the few black people in that city. Right.

And me and Janelle Monae found our way. I feel like I'm an Android on a different planet surrounded by. Yeah. And it was the perfect soundtrack for my time there because the whole energy of that era of Janelle Monae was this kind of like sci-fi subplot of an Android named Cindy making her way through a world that was not her own. And I was like, oh, that's me. But I remember loving the sound of that album because it really incorporated the

some trippy sci-fi musical themes and like psychedelia it was some trippy shit and watching her change and grow as an artist has been equally as fun and like watching her now in this sensual seductive era she's in it's very different than what she was doing back then but it feels connected and i just love watching that through line stay through all the work but also she's great live i saw at the 930 club years ago she sounds even better in person it's wild

I love it. And listeners, you might notice that we're going back and forth between using she, her, they, them pronouns. Janelle Monáe is non-binary and uses both she, her, they, them, which also, you know, I'm not just dropping that in there. I think it's also the sense of freedom that Janelle Monáe has been able to step into is very much a part of the work and always has been, right? For sure. As Sam is saying from the ARC Android, and listen, we can go even further. Talk about many moons. Look, I'm in Deep Girl.

Yes. Okay, so I'll give you deep cuts to be very clear. And, you know, even just the idea of like, I'm not human, I'm an android. That feels very queer to me. I love that. But Zach, what about you? What's your history with Janelle? So my history with Janelle Monae begins with friend of the show, Judson. And for listeners wanting to understand the universe of Vibe Check, Judson is the caller in on the Sporkful recently who started our Chipotle drama that continues to come up in conversations today.

every week that I'm somewhere. About the Chipotle bowl? How do you eat a Chipotle bowl? Yeah, how do you eat a Chipotle bowl? We all have our thoughts. But Jetson and I were roommates, I would say in like 2015 in Chicago, and he was obsessed with Janelle Monáe. He, as a black queer man, found so much joy out of her, and it was before she was publicly talking about being queer.

I think a lot of us as black queer people, we saw her and we're like, that's our sister. Like she is part of our community. And what I've loved watching her since that time is seeing how she's slowly on her own terms, come out as herself in so many ways and tested things and played and explore things. And, you know, a lot of people talk about her as,

and I love her music. I especially love the music videos, like the music video Pink, which was an ode to vulvas. I was obsessed with when it came out. The vulva pants. The vulva pants. Amazing. With Tessa Thompson in it. But where I really was like, oh my God, this woman is really a star was in the movie Moonlight, where she played the girlfriend to Mahershala Ali. Moonlight.

when Chiron, the protagonist, goes and stays with Mahershala. And she was just so wonderful. And I remember that Oscar campaign, she was so present and talking about blackness and queerness and family. And she's always just been like the homie. And I just really feel like she's always been fighting for us. And that's what I've loved most about her.

Yeah, I have gotten to see Janelle perform at least twice. But the first time I was living in San Francisco, so this was when Electric Lady was about to come out because Queen was the first single and that was the only song we had so far. So this is probably 2012, maybe 2013, spring 2013. She performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra as part of their spring gala. And I was just like, ah!

I couldn't believe it. Me and my friend went, and it was really interesting because, you know, like orchestra folks or opera folks, but, you know, they have a crew. It's like a very specific demographic. And this demographic of people was not familiar with Janelle Monae. And so I remember a lot of people leaving.

Because I think they were like, you know, Janelle opens with tightrope and it's just, you know. And I think they were just kind of like, this isn't what we signed up for. And my friend and I didn't mind because that meant we got to move into better seats. Hell yeah. And yeah, I always felt that Janelle was family. I just couldn't tell if she was going to be a sister or a cousin anymore.

if you know what I mean. There you go. But she invited to the family reunion no matter what. But I remember her singing Prince and Michael Jackson songs that night, and she didn't change the pronouns. And I was like, oh, interesting. Well, and then just even thinking about her from the start with this persona of the arch android. Yeah. Janelle Monáe was awesome.

always about the possibility of being more than just yourself or more than just what society thinks you are. From the start, she was pushing further than the boundary society would give someone like her. So it totally tracks that we end up where we are now. And it's been a joy to watch that journey. And it's been a journey. You know, there was a time at the start of her career where she wore the same thing all the time.

It's kind of like black tuxedo get up, you know? And she's changed. And I love that. And we actually have a clip. So in 2018, Janelle Monáe appeared on the radio show The Breakfast Club, which is not a problematic show. Let's go further. It is actually straight up antagonistic to black queer people often who come on that show as guests. I remember interviewing Janet Mock that I found just to be straight up disrespectful. But we'll play this clip. Because I felt like for a while people were using my image

to denounce and defame and demean other women because I was wearing a tuxedo and you hadn't seen my skin. But some people who have their own agendas and are respectability politicians may have been misled into believing that I was covering up to be an example of how to be proper. And yeah, and so I didn't like that. I never took that as a compliment.

It's clear, like, to see someone like Janelle move from wearing the kind of tuxedo, black and white aesthetic inspired by her parents' work uniforms into a very different aesthetic that we're seeing now with Lipstick Lover.

I think maybe some people might be surprised and they go, wait, what's going on here? But I wanted to ask y'all, how do you see lipstick lover? We got the titties out. We got the body out. Sex, pleasure. How does this fit into Janelle Monae's revolution when we think of the discography? Like, is it a diversion or is it a next step? I think it makes perfect sense. I think...

When you look at the way pop stars have to be pop stars and the way they are introduced to their audiences and the way they get to evolve over time, this tracks, whether you're straight or queer. I think about early Beyonce, early solo Beyonce, early Destiny's Child. She wasn't doing partition then. Right. You know what I'm saying? She got there. I think a lot of times these artists...

enter the industry under structures and structures and confines that they haven't made. And they only get to really fully be their own lipstick lover self once they've proven themselves and gotten enough power. So there's that. I also think that the trajectory for a lot of people with their sexuality isn't just one coming out day. It wasn't for me, you know? And I think for many, her path towards her invisibility right now

is a lesson to everyone. Kind of just go at your own pace. Get there when you get there. Love yourself the whole way. So I don't know. It feels totally fine to me. We've seen her trajectory over the course of a decade, but I have no problems with it. And she seems very happy now. So kudos to her. And just one example, you're right to say maybe like,

being able to do things the way you actually want to do them. It takes time, power, and capital. On Electric Lady, again, the album that comes out in, I believe it's 2013. The lead single was Queen. Great song with Erykah Badu. And I remember at the time, like if you listen really closely and think about it, you can sometimes hear how songs maybe were changed during the, or revised a bit during the production process. And I think like Zach, you were able to verify, it was initially going to be called Queen.

queer, right? Yeah, it was going to be called Queer, and this is according to a Rolling Stones profile of Janelle Monáe from 2018. That's really wonderful. And in it, they disclosed that their original track was going to be called Queer. They switched it to Queen because, you know, she wasn't out publicly yet. Friends and family knew, but she wanted to signal to her fans the journey she was on and kind of going through. So in the song, if you listen carefully, most all the queers have been changed to Queen, but there are some background vocals that still say Queer. Here I

- Wow. - So that you as a queer person know that you can hear yourself. - Yeah. - I feel like the gist of the song is basically like, am I a freak for being myself? And that doesn't quite line up with the idea of like when we think of queendom and I was like, that's not quite. So it's cool to see this, like it's a journey.

It's a journey. Yeah, and I think that's why we wanted to talk about Janome today is that queer people coming out is an ongoing process. Eve Sedgwick in her book, the seminal text, the epistemology of the closet says no one's ever out. It's always you're coming out constantly because when you meet people, you're always telling your story and sharing yourself. And people in the public eye kind of get blocked on coming out.

because people assume an identity, they project onto them, and they get stuck in time in people's minds. And Janelle Monáe has said, you know, if you think this is shocking, this new album, then you haven't been paying attention because I've been wearing tuxes in a decade. What are you talking about? There you go. Well, and I think for me, as we talk about this very sensual sexual song and video coming out as we enter this summer,

that is going to feel very alive. The lesson of Janelle Monáe, the lesson of lipstick lover is really simple for me. It's like it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get there.

But once you're in a place where you feel free and in love with your body and yourself, let the flag fly. Be out there. Feel good about it. What I love about Janelle Monáe in this video and with this song is she's not second guessing anything. Her journey is her journey. Her path's her path. She's here now doing this and she's enjoying it.

And that is my lesson for this summer. Enjoy yourself no matter how you got here. Also, because I think in my opinion, the erotic and pleasure are not a departure from the revolution. Yeah. It's important for us to understand what we're fighting for and

And what freedom and what liberation looks, feels, sounds like, tastes like. And I think it's important to have that just as clear as to understand what we're fighting against or tearing down. And so to me, the arc android, Cindy Mayweather, the underground revolutionary, yeah, is absolutely on a path through pink to lipstick lover. It's not her taking a break from...

from these ideas that have been there from the very beginning. It's her kind of clarifying. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Well, Janelle, we love you. We do. Well, and also, I think that like,

The takeaway that I see in this video, which everyone should watch. You should watch it. It's central, but it's very fun as well. You got to be grown. Look, YouTube was like, Saeed, you're going to need to sign up for this because this is adult content. I was like, whoa. Yeah. But like what I see in this video is an artist who's saying to themselves, no more should statements. It's going to be good.

I should do this. I should be marketable. I should be straight acting. I should present this way. I should make the label happy. She's saying, I could have a bunch of dildos in this video. I could have my titties out. I could kiss her. I could kiss her too. I could jump into this pool half naked. Let this be a summer of could, not a summer of should. Stop doing the should shit. What could you do? What is the possibility of you, your freedom, and your body changing?

Could. I love that. That's amazing. And I love that because it's also like you are free to say could for the entirety of your life. There's no point in your life and in your journey where could is no longer a part of your domain, you know? And I think it's been really cool to see, like, you're right. Like, you know, Janelle is like a very successful artist. Grammys has been an Oscar, you know, nominated and awarded films and is still saying could. I love that.

that summer yeah summer of good thank you for that Janelle there we go all right well we're gonna take another quick break but don't go anywhere we'll be right back

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All right, we are back. And before we end the show, we'd each like to share something that's helping us keep our vibes right or throwing us off this week to get us started. Sam Sanders, what's keeping your vibe right? Well, one, I'm so happy that my sister Saeed brought Janelle Monáe to the episode today because it reminded me how much I love her debut album, The Archandroid, which we've mentioned came out in 2010. It is futuristic. It's psychedelic. It is weird in the best way. And I want to recommend...

if I may, two songs from the album. One is called Cold War. I think it's Diné Monét at her best. And then the other one is this kind of ballad called Mushrooms and Roses. It's got a slow windup, but around minute five, Janelle is hollering and you're hearing one of the best guitar solos you've heard on an R&B album in a while.

in a while. Her longtime guitarist named Kalindo outdoes himself on this track. Mushrooms and Roses, just for the back half, is damn near perfect. So that's my rec for y'all this week. Go back and check out the entire album from Janelle Monáe called The Arcandroid. But for sure, make time for two tracks, Cold War and Mushrooms and Roses. The guitar, as the kids say, slaps. And the music video for Cold War is

We throw around the word iconic, but it's just the camera very close on her face, just singing. And it's actually really interesting because it feels like it really captures the tension that I feel like Janelle Monáe maybe was feeling at that time regarding gender and sexuality. And it's very emotional. She's tearing up and you see her like struggling to kind of get through some moments. And it's deeply affecting. Yeah.

Oh, I am excited. What a gift. This is the other thing about seeing artists be creative and ambitious is that it enriches and adds new colors to all the other work they've done. And so I'm excited to kind of go back through the discography. Oh, yeah. Pull the lyrics up here when you mentioned the video. The first stanza of Cold War is, so you think I'm alone.

But being alone's the only way to be. When you step outside, you spend life fighting for your sanity. What has she been saying to us the whole time? She's been telling us the whole time. I'm glad y'all are finally paying attention. Yes, yes, yes.

Oh, my God. Well, Saeed, what's keeping your vibe right this week? What's keeping my vibe right at the moment is a television show that I am watching on Netflix. It's a show that I've heard people talk positively about Kim's convenience. Super cute. Super cute. Yeah, it's this cute...

all these little Canadian shows, you know, Schitt's Creek, Canadian show, Sort Of, another great Canadian show. Well, you know why it's all sponsored by the government? The government does a much better job of funding programming from non-mainstream voices. So I think all the shows you've mentioned...

Great little offbeat shows where you're kind of like, huh, I don't know if this would get made in the United States. Totally. It's great. And it's, you know, this Korean-Canadian family. I think it's set in Toronto based on what I've seen from some of the footage. And yeah, I'm nine or so episodes into the first season. It's very funny. The mom and dad...

Run away with the show. If you've watched it, and I was just talking to my friend Tanya who listens to 5Jack. Hi, Tanya. She loves it as well. Sneak Attack, if you know, you know. It's really great. But I'll just say the show's pilot is named Gay Discount.

And so from the very jump, it's this Korean father who owns the store. He's initially kind of complaining about the pride parade that's going to be coming through the neighborhood for practical reasons. He's like, the trash, and then it's hard for customers to come in, all this kind of stuff. And he realizes he's about to piss off two gay customers. And so he comes up with a 15% gay discount idea. Unaccessible.

I love it. And it was just cool to see the show that's not, it's not necessarily like a queer LGBT, you know, however you want to frame it. But I was like, how interesting that from their pilot, they're really kind of bringing in, you know, the community in this way. And it's just funny as hell. We love the Canadians.

Zach, what about you? My recommendation this week is the book Traffic by Ben Smith. Ben Smith is the founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News and one of the people that made BuzzFeed what it is. He now runs the platform Semaphore, which we spoke about earlier in the show. But he has a new book out called Traffic that's been the talk of media ecosystems all week in the past two weeks.

Now, as Andrew Sullivan said, who I do not enjoy, he hates the book, I think, but he said it's a first draft of history of the time that we all grew up in in media, the past 10 and 15 years, how digital erupted, how it took over, and how it's falling. So if you're confused about, like, why is BuzzFeed falling? Why is Vice going bankrupt? This book does give you a great breakdown of how it's happening and why it's happening and what it all means. So congrats to Ben Smith. He is the best person to write this draft of history about

One of my best friends, Isaac Fitzgerald, read the book and he said, yeah, I mean, the idea of the first draft is actually really interesting. But he was like, yeah, it's a helpful framework at least to begin to think about the last decade in media, in the social web, and a lot of, you know, even vice, like literally going bankrupt. It's the beginning of us looking back and getting a sense of it. But I will tell y'all, Ben knows, he asked me if I would read an early copy so that I could blurb it.

I worked for Ben for, what, six years? Oh, wow. And I texted him, I don't think that's a good idea for either of us. And he was like, fair enough.

That's our relationship. T, T, T, T, T, T, T. It is what it is. Listen, that's a good lesson for all of us. Just say what's on your chest to the person. This is the beauty of Saeed Jones and why I value my friendship with him. I have never met a person with a truer and louder moral compass. You know exactly where Saeed stands. For better or worse, you know exactly where I stand. It's usually for better for me. I love it.

I love it. I say that all the time. I'm like, if I ever need to know the reality of something in my life, go to Saeed. Because he's going to tell you. He's going to tell you. This is what's happening. It's not even this is what I think. This is what's going on. All right. All right. Well, you know, listeners, we want to hear from you. What are you feeling or not feeling this week? What do you think of the book Traffic by Ben Smith? What is your favorite Janelle Monáe song? Let us know. Also, tell us if you're watching Kim's Convenience. I'm going to maybe download it for a plane ride.

Send all of that to us via email at vibecheckatstitcher.com. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Vibe Check. If you love the show and want to support us, please make sure to follow us on whatever your favorite podcast listening platform is and tell a friend. And how about this? I really want to convince people to spread the word about the show IRL to any daring listener intrepid enough to record themselves proselytizing our show to a friend.

Send us the voice memo and your friend's reaction. We might play it in the show. Think about that. And just for legal purposes, because it depends state by state, after you record the person, ask them if it's okay for you to share with us. Please, God. Because certain states, it's okay. You only need one party consent. But most states, you know, let's get two-party consent here or three-party or four-party consent. So...

At your next brunch, tell your friends about Vibe Check. Tell them to listen. Record yourself and their reaction. And if they give you permission, send us the audio. A huge thank you to our producer Shanta Holder, engineer Brendan Burns, and Marcus Holm for our theme music and sound design.

Also, special thanks to our executive producers, Nora Ritchie at Stitcher and Brandon Sharp from Agenda Management and Production. We want to hear from you. Don't forget, you can email us at vibecheckatstitcher.com and keep in touch with us on Instagram at The Ferocity, at Zach Staff, and at Sam Sanders. And

And I believe all three of us now are on blue sky, right? But on the other apps, you know, you can find us two girlies. And of course we love it when you use the hashtag vibe, check pod friends, stay tuned for another episode next Wednesday. Bye. Stitcher at Amika insurance. We know it's more than just a car or a house. It's the four wheels that get you where you're going.

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