Kelis – Flesh Tone

Explicit content warning

07/10/19 • 52 min

Any typical conversation about Kelis will almost undoubtedly centre around *that* dairy-based beverage, and its power to lure ~the boys~ to her front lawn for a taste. Of course, Drew and Andy aren’t interested in typical conversations. This episode, the boys have gone lactose-intolerant – they didn’t come here to talk milkshakes; they came here for flesh.
2010’s Flesh Tone was recorded in collaboration with visionary – if not ever-so-irritating – Black Eyed Pea will.i.am and marked the beginning of a new era for our Kel. The R&B soul sister of the early 00s was dust and an emancipated Kelis rose from the ashes, her wings thick with electropop hard-G bangers.
But it’s not just the bangers that make Kelis’ fifth studio album queer. Created when the artist was pregnant and unsigned, the album speaks to taking control and writing your own rules – not afraid of the unexpected, but fuelled by it. Flesh Tone is a primal scream to anyone who’s ever taken a risk to stay true to themselves and come out feeling super cool, super tough and super strong.
Don’t miss this episode's companion playlist on Spotify and please feel free to slide into our DMs on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast. Your hosts are @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.

Previous Episode

Q&A #1 – In Bed with Drew and Andy

Our email servers have crashed time and time again underneath the sheer influx of mail, and our fans have questions which need answering. It was time to give the people what they want.
Drew and Andy settle down with a glass of cask wine and give our listeners insight into what makes us tick, what gets us razzed, and what makes up our pop DNA. Forty-five minutes isn’t enough to get through all the enquiries, but tune in to find out who soundtracks our seduction techniques, what we’d love to see our icons cover, what music makes us feel... old...? And much more.
We cover a lot of music in this episode, so don’t forget to check out our companion playlist on Spotify. Follow us on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast, @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.

Next Episode

Madonna – American Life

After slyly dominating the first ten episodes of your new favourite music podcast, we're finally giving a much-deserved hour to the pop monolith that is... Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. Madame X, if you're nasty.
Fourteen studio albums, three hundred million records sold and a superlative-exhausting run of smashed records later, the Queen of Pop has been thrusting queer sensibility to the forefront of mainstream pop culture for nearly 40 years, spanning from her early 80s association with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol right through up to her 2019 World Pride performance marking five decades since the Stonewall uprising.
True to Aural Fixation form, however, this album... may not be what you expect us to start with.
It’s 2003, and Madonna is angry – at celebrity culture, overconsumption, and yes, Bush and Blair – but she’s also full of love. Still in the happy years of her second marriage and with two young children, American Life was Madonna’s opportunity to reflect on growing older and wiser, with her musings brought to life via one of her most successful creative relationships, with French producer Mirwais.
Still confused as to what makes this album, once seen as her biggest flop, the queerest Madonna choice of all? Hit play, and buckle down. It’s no Easy Ride.
Don’t forget to listen to this episode’s companion playlist on Spotify, and follow us on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast. Your hosts are @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.