The song "Scapegoat" brought me to weeping when I first listened through this album. It's so horrifyingly beautiful and devastating. The melody and instrumentation so much like, and yet so chillingly NOT, a love song - the soft, warbling vocals echo this. This song about hatred and unthinkable violence is structured intimately and amorously, as if to highlight the "seduction" of bigotry. The passion of obsessive hate like a dark mirror to the passion of intense love. Violence like, and not necessarily excluding, a sexual act. Despite the lyrics telling us, from the perpetrator's perspective, "it's not personal," the song could not BE more personal. And the instrumentals gradually expose the depth of the betrayal - while achingly beautiful and dripping with emotion, there is a wrongness, an underlying discord, especially in the crescendo before the closing refrain - a mockery of a triumphant union, instead a clashing and shrieking dipping into an uncanny valley of romance. At the very end, after Anohni's voice gives way to silence, the song reveals its true nature, and we fade out with entirely discordant, chaotic, uneasy sound, undoing the previously built parallel to genuine tenderness. In the lyrics "Put here for me to loathe/ Like an apple hanging from a tree" I see shades of both the biblical story of forbidden apples, and the way that Eve was saddled with the burden of blame for it (scapegoat) and also of Billie's "Strange Fruit," the macabre spectre of the violence man is capable of, and content to do under the cold light of day, to leave swinging as an example, in warning. The song aches from every pore with the grief of suffering that violence. The way the intimate self is inextricable from the victimization of one's group identity, the way hatred is both broad and individual. The chorus talks of putting one's hate INTO another's body: apt, as some victims of transphobic violence experience direct attack, but others will experience it bodily in other ways, as they absorb harmful rhetoric and begin to do the job of self-isolating, self-loathing, and self-harming on their oppressor's behalf. Not to mention the effects on the body and brain of living in a state of constant threat, the PTSD of it all. I don't know what else to say, I was just blown away and felt completely shattered by this song. I hate that fellow human beings have to feel this way, have to make this music, have to endure these conditions. I am so grateful Anohni made this album, and I wish she didn't have to.
Thanks for this lil essay, really articulates how i feel about it too. First time I collapsed so hard i had to stop playing the song. Just a devastating piece of art. Transphobes should be required to listen to it
Sliver of Ice was written about a friend (reportedly Lou Reed) she'd had a conversation with prior to their passing. In their final days they found a new appreciation for simple pleasures, like cool ice on their tongue.
Yay! She has one of the most gorgeous voices in modern music. If you like this I highly recommend going back into her catalog and listening to all of her stuff. There’s no duds.
@@teknicolor2that is a photo of Marsha p. Johnson. She's a trans woman icon. Anohni has said that one of her inspirations for this album was her meeting Marsha before she died.
@@teknicolor2 what about it?the cover is a clear tribute to marsha considering the fact of how much marsha helped with queer rights and anohni being trans herself.
The hate towards trans people this days are the fault of those creepy trans posers and scummy corporations profiting on the mentally ill... Actual trans people are getting hate they never deserved for something they don't want to have nothing to do with
In the song scapegoat,” the lyrics “… it doesn’t matter what you have to give or why you want to live.” had me bawling in a cathartic way. Working with LGBTQIA homeless youth for over a decade in the medical field, this song hits home. Please be kind. To much healing and 💗
Such a wonderful record! Despite the heavy subject matter, minor keys and slower tempos it doesn’t feel like a downer at all. The warm production and guitar playing is top notch, and there’s a stellar sonic unity to the record. One of my faves this year as well, can’t stop listening
for real, dude. My dad put me onto the Velvet Underground when I was younger, so it was cool for me to return the favor and show him the Anohni Candy Says cover when I found it later on.
any tribute to marsha is always welcome for me :^) i want to go through her back catalogue before i start this album but i love the title, love the cover
I've loved nearly all of her more electronic work and wasnt fully expecting this one to click for me but it did. hit very very close to home. havent listened to any of her other albums as/with the Johnsons but i feel compelled to now.
@@Otherzide I've had the pleasure of meeting her and the Johnsons on 2 occasions in NYC. I can assure you, the Community knows and loves her. Her talent alone is enough to! Add her environmental activism and being 1 of the 3 founders of the Future Feminism Collective; you've got a TRULY special human.
@@thecinematicmind Her (and The Johnsons) new album is a masterpiece. Well deserving of the score Mr. Fantano gave to it. The more you learn about Anohni, the more you want to role up your sleeves and help all that is life in anyway you can! Blissings to you.
Of course in the community there are some good people that sincerely want the world to be a better place but at this point they are greatly outnumbered
Ahhhhh so glad you reviewed this! Loved almost every track on here but the soul songs really bring the listener back to the topicality that What’s Going On era music had. Beautiful album.
I literally came accross ANOHNI by a suggestion of no other than chatGPT. Here was my prompt: "Share some avant-garde albums, pushing the boundaries of pop music. I need the strongest 10, not necessarily the most famous ones." It shared her "Hopeless" record, saying, "Formerly known as Antony Hegarty, ANOHNI's "Hopelessness" is a politically charged and experimental album. The electronic production, combined with ANOHNI's powerful vocals, creates a thought-provoking and boundary-pushing experience." Before I checked it, the cover of "My Back" stood out so I tried it first. And damn, what an experience. Love it.
Would be very interested in hearing your review of Silver Moth's debut album Black Bay. Newly formed post-rock outfit featuring Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite.
I needed this record in 2023; everything from the production to the lyrics to the vocal performance encapsulates the array of pain, joy, melancholy and triumph that is the queer experience.
@@drfunkinstein1? It’s just a 1 point difference. Why does that make you feel any happier? Not even a 1 point different. A sub point. It’s not like he went from hating it to loving it. A strong 8 is still really good, compared to a light 9. I would even say that the difference at that point between a strong 8 and light 9 is completely arbitrary.
I remember first getting into her work with her setting of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Lake" back when The Johnson's were on David Tibet's label Durtro. What a journey it's been. :3
@@LikeFourOrFiveOtherNamesthis is even multitudes times more boring though. I’m sure he’ll do the glaive video, this got a yellow flannel somehow so glaive should be 10/10
would love to see and highly suggest a review on i care so much that i don't care at all by glaive!!!! a real young hyperpop artist who's really branching out in a beautiful way i love to see :]
@theneedledrop. Sliver of Ice is Anohni saying goodbye to her male identity completely. Absorbed into herself like water and how they love and appreciate their past self more than they did at the time. It’s a beautiful metaphor probably my favourite Anohni song ever
The Album seems to be a confession on a much deeper, spiritual level. I hope who ever needed to hear this album got the chance to hear it. I personally wouldn’t forgive you but I would let it go, and thank you for acknowledging that you used someone else’s pain, to achieve your goals. Definitely an 8.
Don’t hide. I am more then happy to educate. The reference is not queer, gay or lgbwhatever. The homage is to black women, but they won’t get it because of bigotry and hatred towards gay men. The book being referenced is called “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color” edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa. Using Derogatory words because you don’t understand the art or aren’t willing to accept someone’s cathartic process is telling. The lead artist is Trans. But on the backs of giants and the suffering of the black woman, he/she ( not derogatory) can live her best life. In this collection she thanks you. She says sorry. But she also lets you know its the only way it could have happened for her to be.
Always like her work but this album outright took my breath away, all the way through. Personally this is highly up there for my AOTY choice. Also, Sliver of Ice is about Lou Reed passing.
This is an album that'll prolly resonate as the years go on and the struggles of transgenders continues. I wish it didn't have to be this way, I just want to be who I am
@@surrealix58 It's etched in the history books, officially, as an 8 though...I know he's stingy with 9's and 10's but this album will surely make PF's top 5 of 2023 come year's end and I think "Scapegoat" will finish top 10 in PF's songs of 2023 list.
@@surrealix58 Yes, I was just jokingly roasting him with my original message. He rates this album. For me, it's easily the album of the year so far. He just could stand to give more 9's and 10's. He'll have his reasons for giving away those scores dearly. It's his brand to be a demanding kind of music critic.
The rule states: if the album is black and white, fantano will think it’s better than alright
Beautifully said
This has to be the worst cover of the year.
@@RB-.-the dude on the cover was a known pedo too. the grooming runs several generations deep
Unless it's AM
I don't know, considering he gave Tpab a 10 he probably thinks pretty highly of the song Alright
The song "Scapegoat" brought me to weeping when I first listened through this album. It's so horrifyingly beautiful and devastating. The melody and instrumentation so much like, and yet so chillingly NOT, a love song - the soft, warbling vocals echo this. This song about hatred and unthinkable violence is structured intimately and amorously, as if to highlight the "seduction" of bigotry. The passion of obsessive hate like a dark mirror to the passion of intense love. Violence like, and not necessarily excluding, a sexual act. Despite the lyrics telling us, from the perpetrator's perspective, "it's not personal," the song could not BE more personal.
And the instrumentals gradually expose the depth of the betrayal - while achingly beautiful and dripping with emotion, there is a wrongness, an underlying discord, especially in the crescendo before the closing refrain - a mockery of a triumphant union, instead a clashing and shrieking dipping into an uncanny valley of romance. At the very end, after Anohni's voice gives way to silence, the song reveals its true nature, and we fade out with entirely discordant, chaotic, uneasy sound, undoing the previously built parallel to genuine tenderness.
In the lyrics "Put here for me to loathe/ Like an apple hanging from a tree" I see shades of both the biblical story of forbidden apples, and the way that Eve was saddled with the burden of blame for it (scapegoat) and also of Billie's "Strange Fruit," the macabre spectre of the violence man is capable of, and content to do under the cold light of day, to leave swinging as an example, in warning.
The song aches from every pore with the grief of suffering that violence. The way the intimate self is inextricable from the victimization of one's group identity, the way hatred is both broad and individual. The chorus talks of putting one's hate INTO another's body: apt, as some victims of transphobic violence experience direct attack, but others will experience it bodily in other ways, as they absorb harmful rhetoric and begin to do the job of self-isolating, self-loathing, and self-harming on their oppressor's behalf. Not to mention the effects on the body and brain of living in a state of constant threat, the PTSD of it all.
I don't know what else to say, I was just blown away and felt completely shattered by this song. I hate that fellow human beings have to feel this way, have to make this music, have to endure these conditions. I am so grateful Anohni made this album, and I wish she didn't have to.
Prince would be proud of Scapegoat
Scapegoat had a profound effect on me too
Same here. I’m in tears for the beauty.
Thanks for this lil essay, really articulates how i feel about it too. First time I collapsed so hard i had to stop playing the song. Just a devastating piece of art. Transphobes should be required to listen to it
Sliver of Ice was written about a friend (reportedly Lou Reed) she'd had a conversation with prior to their passing. In their final days they found a new appreciation for simple pleasures, like cool ice on their tongue.
Anohni confirmed in a recent interview that it is about Lou Reed who was her friend and mentor.
Anohni reaches emotional plains that no-one else can. She's simply beautiful
Yay! She has one of the most gorgeous voices in modern music. If you like this I highly recommend going back into her catalog and listening to all of her stuff. There’s no duds.
My favorite is The Crying Light, insanely good album
Clicked for the cover of Marsha P. Johnson, stayed for the music. Thanks to Melon i discovered a new artist, thank you.
everything from the production,the lyrics,the vocals all of it is top tier
@@teknicolor2that is a photo of Marsha p. Johnson. She's a trans woman icon. Anohni has said that one of her inspirations for this album was her meeting Marsha before she died.
@teknicolor9452 do u literally live under a rock
@@teknicolor2 what about it?the cover is a clear tribute to marsha considering the fact of how much marsha helped with queer rights and anohni being trans herself.
@@teknicolor2yes, what about it?
The hate towards trans people this days are the fault of those creepy trans posers and scummy corporations profiting on the mentally ill...
Actual trans people are getting hate they never deserved for something they don't want to have nothing to do with
In the song scapegoat,” the lyrics “… it doesn’t matter what you have to give or why you want to live.” had me bawling in a cathartic way.
Working with LGBTQIA homeless youth for over a decade in the medical field, this song hits home. Please be kind. To much healing and 💗
It’s so nice to see anohni get the appreciation she deserves.
she? isn't it a man named Antony?
@@nicknickson3650Yep, a man, not a woman.
@@lukerogers151 yeah I remember him performing with Devendra Banhart a looong time ago. Amazing voice. Also didn't he work with Current 93?
@@nicknickson3650 if youre a christian nationalist just off yourself tbh
@@nicknickson3650 she identifies asa trans woman now
Sliver of ice is a tribute to Lou Reed. It was a reference to Reed enjoying the little things as he got closer to death.
Such a wonderful record! Despite the heavy subject matter, minor keys and slower tempos it doesn’t feel like a downer at all. The warm production and guitar playing is top notch, and there’s a stellar sonic unity to the record. One of my faves this year as well, can’t stop listening
I played this on a long car ride just now and the emotion in her voice is powerful. I almost had to pull over because I was getting choked up.
I cant get over how good 'Rest' is. That track just reels in my soul so hard it could raise me from the dead.
Her cover of Candy Says is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded
for real, dude. My dad put me onto the Velvet Underground when I was younger, so it was cool for me to return the favor and show him the Anohni Candy Says cover when I found it later on.
One of the best albums of the decade. Powerful.
any tribute to marsha is always welcome for me :^) i want to go through her back catalogue before i start this album but i love the title, love the cover
I'm yet to give it a listen but ever since Björk gave it a high cosign I'm up to
I've loved nearly all of her more electronic work and wasnt fully expecting this one to click for me but it did. hit very very close to home. havent listened to any of her other albums as/with the Johnsons but i feel compelled to now.
You should ❤😊
Album of the year, 10/10 for me
Same. For me, it’s neck-and-neck with Bell Witch’s new album. 😃
Thank you so much for reviewing this album. Anohni means quite a bit to me and the LBGTQ+ Community.
Anohni’s voice and songwriting has been impactful for my time listening to various music over the years and my goodness this new album. Full strength.
@@Otherzide I've had the pleasure of meeting her and the Johnsons on 2 occasions in NYC. I can assure you, the Community knows and loves her. Her talent alone is enough to! Add her environmental activism and being 1 of the 3 founders of the Future Feminism Collective; you've got a TRULY special human.
@@thecinematicmind Her (and The Johnsons) new album is a masterpiece. Well deserving of the score Mr. Fantano gave to it. The more you learn about Anohni, the more you want to role up your sleeves and help all that is life in anyway you can! Blissings to you.
@@SensoriaMaRiaI must've missed the memo then haha, been meaning to check this album out tho
Of course in the community there are some good people that sincerely want the world to be a better place but at this point they are greatly outnumbered
Title is a reference to the classic women of color feminist book "This Bridge Called My Back"
be real, you would have given this a 10/10 if it was called "My Album Was a 10 for You to Rate", fantano.
Ahhhhh so glad you reviewed this! Loved almost every track on here but the soul songs really bring the listener back to the topicality that What’s Going On era music had. Beautiful album.
I literally came accross ANOHNI by a suggestion of no other than chatGPT. Here was my prompt: "Share some avant-garde albums, pushing the boundaries of pop music. I need the strongest 10, not necessarily the most famous ones." It shared her "Hopeless" record, saying, "Formerly known as Antony Hegarty, ANOHNI's "Hopelessness" is a politically charged and experimental album. The electronic production, combined with ANOHNI's powerful vocals, creates a thought-provoking and boundary-pushing experience."
Before I checked it, the cover of "My Back" stood out so I tried it first. And damn, what an experience. Love it.
Can’t is my song of the year. I can’t even imagine anything else coming close
Would be very interested in hearing your review of Silver Moth's debut album Black Bay. Newly formed post-rock outfit featuring Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite.
Gorgeous voice
Fully cried listening to Scapegoat
Was listening to this yesterday at work🤘🤘🤘
I needed this record in 2023; everything from the production to the lyrics to the vocal performance encapsulates the array of pain, joy, melancholy and triumph that is the queer experience.
I'm surprised he didn't give this a 9. This album hits hard.
(light 9)
He did say light 9 but showed a strong 8 on-screen
@@cheatsfn136 Ok that makes me feel better.
@@drfunkinstein1?
It’s just a 1 point difference. Why does that make you feel any happier?
Not even a 1 point different. A sub point. It’s not like he went from hating it to loving it. A strong 8 is still really good, compared to a light 9.
I would even say that the difference at that point between a strong 8 and light 9 is completely arbitrary.
@@hellothere6927 I'm just usually good at guessing what Fantano's score is going to be.
just checking in case it were the next 10/10
I remember first getting into her work with her setting of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Lake" back when The Johnson's were on David Tibet's label Durtro. What a journey it's been. :3
Listened to this today, beautiful album! Loved "can't" the most
DO A CLASSIC ON I AM A BIRD NOW NOW
Melon we still haven’t forgot you gave hopelessness a 6. Still baffles me to this day
Right, 5 too high
that album sucks ass and i love Anohni lol
Cant believe you gave this an 8 because you were feeling "mellow yellow" today
4 DEGREES is still a banger
This album is an 8 because she ate
Honestly, word
Ate?
And Fantano said that 2023 is mid so far yet there’s been so many yellow flannels since then 😂
You can’t just say “strong 8 to a light 9” and then make it an 8, don’t tease me like that Melon.
Did anyone else just watch that Wimbledon final. What a match
It was very enjoyable
Insane game
No
@@Hornwieselyour loss
For Carlos to win was amazing who is 20 years old
AOTY and the Johnsons
I was hoping for this
Scapegoat makes me sob. The most cathartic song I've heard in a while
Damn that's a fire album title.
Nice review, that is one gorgeous, masterful album
Great album review.
i need to see Glaive's album reviewed... although im terrified for the outcome of it i need to know if the Melon approves of it.
for what it’s worth i like it but it’s got all the markings of “doesn’t interest melon enough to review”.
@@LikeFourOrFiveOtherNamesthis is even multitudes times more boring though. I’m sure he’ll do the glaive video, this got a yellow flannel somehow so glaive should be 10/10
@@epicgamer2670 this is literally AOTY
@@timob1681 more power to you. I don't see/hear it
also where's the new beach fossils review?
That Daft Punk vinyl is a legend
would love to see and highly suggest a review on i care so much that i don't care at all by glaive!!!! a real young hyperpop artist who's really branching out in a beautiful way i love to see :]
@theneedledrop.
Sliver of Ice is Anohni saying goodbye to her male identity completely. Absorbed into herself like water and how they love and appreciate their past self more than they did at the time. It’s a beautiful metaphor probably my favourite Anohni song ever
bs, it’s about her friend passed away a few days after their last conversation
Thank god you liked this album.
I was almost too scared to watch.
Maybe I can stick with this.
I thought it’s my fault was one of the best tracks on the album
Finally a good review for her
The Album seems to be a confession on a much deeper, spiritual level. I hope who ever needed to hear this album got the chance to hear it.
I personally wouldn’t forgive you but I would let it go, and thank you for acknowledging that you used someone else’s pain, to achieve your goals.
Definitely an 8.
Don’t hide. I am more then happy to educate.
The reference is not queer, gay or lgbwhatever.
The homage is to black women, but they won’t get it because of bigotry and hatred towards gay men.
The book being referenced is called “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color” edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa.
Using Derogatory words because you don’t understand the art or aren’t willing to accept someone’s cathartic process is telling.
The lead artist is Trans. But on the backs of giants and the suffering of the black woman, he/she ( not derogatory) can live her best life.
In this collection she thanks you. She says sorry. But she also lets you know its the only way it could have happened for her to be.
Always like her work but this album outright took my breath away, all the way through. Personally this is highly up there for my AOTY choice. Also, Sliver of Ice is about Lou Reed passing.
Another missed opportunity of not saying "Anohni Fanhano".
Thank you! ❤
Judging by the thumbnail it genuinely looked like this album was gonna be a 10
Love you bro
Whaat? Another yellow flannel? Looking like a good year for music.
Can’t is one of the song of the year
You reviewing that Portugal The Man album??
I give it a 😭/10
This is an album that'll prolly resonate as the years go on and the struggles of transgenders continues. I wish it didn't have to be this way, I just want to be who I am
Why not just be yourself?
These lana del rey album titles keep getting longer and longer
Tran.
Sition.
Have you given this record a listen
new turnabout album would hihgly reccomend i think its a landmark for haunted mound not in a good way
we want glaive 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Missed your chance to say
Tran-sgender at the end
Great album
Fair play Melon, fair play.
Good review, can't wait to see some alt right weirdos being upset because you gave it a good score
home is where?
6:18
That is not how you pronounce Hegarty lol
Ay Mr Fantano can you review glaives new album pretty please
I am a bird now literally changed my life.
Cover looks like something Billy Woods or Soul Glo would use.
where glaive
🎉
Why's the name so long?? If the name were to bridge my back you'd give it a 10
because it is
That's not the longest album name in history.
When is 10🤨🥹
Anthony, cover Kim Dracula's new album plz
Rate “the end of comedy” by drugdealer
Day 508 of commenting until Roughthony Palmtano reviews an album by Woodward and Parker
He really did put the trans in transition at the end
this is one of the few albums i've ever listened to that I genuinely felt was a 10/10 - i respect the light 9 but this is absolutely AOTY for me
AOTY besides Ocean Blvd!!!!!
Peggy , danny , caroline polachek ,the swans , kara jackson and McKinley dixon enter the chat
@@JIMY414 Peggy and Caroline can stay the rest can leave
@@Hbhs-vr1of first of all no. Also Danny will leave??? But peggy will stay??¿??
@@JIMY414aroline is incredibly dull she shouldn't even be for discussion. She's like weyes blood if she didn't have talent
is that terry crews on the album cover
Antonio el Fantas
This shit gas bruh
Anthony I like you and all, but you did not have to spend half of the review bragging about your own Johnson.
Damn so many yellow flannels
Anohni doesn't ask to be heard, she demands that you listen.
When I listen to songs im like "what rating would Fantano give it"
AOTY for me
DDG album review?
What's a gal gotta do to get a 9 'round here? She pulled out all the stops!
he said light 9
@@surrealix58 It's etched in the history books, officially, as an 8 though...I know he's stingy with 9's and 10's but this album will surely make PF's top 5 of 2023 come year's end and I think "Scapegoat" will finish top 10 in PF's songs of 2023 list.
@@ChristofEightyEight yeah but i think this will be in his top 10 by the end of the year
@@surrealix58 Yes, I was just jokingly roasting him with my original message. He rates this album. For me, it's easily the album of the year so far. He just could stand to give more 9's and 10's. He'll have his reasons for giving away those scores dearly. It's his brand to be a demanding kind of music critic.
@@ChristofEightyEight i agree and on unrelated note, this is one of my two 10/10 albums this year, the other being sth
PLZ review FOUNTAIN BABY