{"id":1414,"date":"2016-12-31T05:30:40","date_gmt":"2016-12-31T10:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=1414"},"modified":"2016-12-30T01:50:31","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T06:50:31","slug":"what-i-missed-in-2016-childish-gambinos-frank-like-awaken-my-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2016\/12\/31\/what-i-missed-in-2016-childish-gambinos-frank-like-awaken-my-love\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Missed In 2016: Childish Gambino’s Frank-Like Awaken, My Love!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I launched this blog in March, I have tried to write about as many wonderful things as I can, in essays, the podcast, and every Friday in the New Release Roundup. Try as I might, I can\u2019t write about all the good stuff coming out. This will be my annual attempt to correct that. For the next ten days, I\u2019ll be highlighting albums I missed in 2016. To cast an even wider net, I\u2019ve enlisted some talented friends to write about some of their favorites this year. You can read that here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Childish Gambino<\/a> \u2013 Awaken, My Love!<\/em> <\/strong>
\nListening to \u201cMe and Your Mama\u201d from Childish Gambino\u2019s (a.k.a. Donald Glover) new album, Awaken, My Love!<\/em>, I couldn\u2019t help but think of Frank Zappa\u2019s Apostrophe\/Overnite Sensation<\/em>. The song comes on like dreamy R&B, pitch wheel on the keyboard lazily bending around bubbling electric piano and singers singing about love. Then, at minute two, Glover\u2019s inner Frank comes raging out, best Stankfoot forward, with a nasty, funky guitar riff over a shuffle. He\u2019s in full frenzy (think Prince in \u201cDarling Nikki\u201d), supported by a choral blast. This album does keep you on your toes. It\u2019s got a virulently funky heart, hard to stand still while it\u2019s playing. And as much as Glover and his players are hitting you with everything they\u2019ve got, musically and metaphorically, it never feels over the top. It\u2019s got an undeniable rhythm to keep it grounded. That was part of what Zappa did so well, and that\u2019s all over the album (if you\u2019re making a mix, put \u201cBoogieman\u201d and \u201cZombies\u201d together with \u201cZombie Woof\u201d and \u201cCheepnis\u201d). Another band that did that well was Parliament Funkadelic, and if you hear that on \u201cRiot,\u201d it\u2019s partly because Glover co-wrote it with George Clinton. And there are some tender and surprisingly heartfelt moments. \u201cHave Some Love\u201d is an earnest, old school brotherhood anthem. \u201cThe Night Me And Your Mama Met\u201d reprises the softer moments of \u201cMe and Your Mama\u201d without the monster funk. \u201cCalifornia\u201d is a goofy reggae tune that feels like background music for a montage in a movie Glover might star in. It\u2019s a dynamic album, a soundtrack to make you sweat. <\/p>\n

“Me and Your Mama”
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