Join us for a discussion of a musical album! First, we pick an album ahead of the meeting. You can listen to the whole album on your own or wait until the meeting to hear tracks from it for the first time. Then, we gather in Zoom and listen to tracks from that album. We share our thoughts on the tracks, the album, the artist and broader issues in music and the music industry. Sounds cool, right?

This month, we're discussing Lemonade (2016) by American R&B singer Beyoncé.

• Stream Lemonade on YouTube, Spotify or the streaming service of your choice.
• Or borrow Lemonade on CD from Sunnyvale Public Library.
  • Are our copies checked out? Contact a librarian about where else the album is available.

Recommended: The visual album available on the DVD with the physical album.

Further listening:

• Season 6, Dissect - In-depth chapter-by-chapter analysis of the visual album from a music theory and cultural history perspective by hosts Cole Cuchna and Titi Shodiya. Each episode is roughly 40 minutes long and dedicated to a single chapter or song.

• "Purple Lemonade: Prince & Beyoncé," Switched on Pop - 20-minute musical analysis of "Hold Up" by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding.

Further reading:

• "The Provocateur Behind Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Issa Rae," The New Yorker - Interview with the director of the Lemonade visual album.
• "Beyoncé in Her Own Words: Her Life, Her Body, Her Heritage", Vogue
• "Here Are the Words From Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'", Bustle - Transcripts of the narration in each chapter of the visual album.
• The Lemonade Reader, eds. Kinitra D. Brooks & Kameelah L. Martin - Interdiscliplinary essay collection by Black feminists.
• The Lemonade Syllabus - Collaborative list of texts and media that further explore Lemonade's themes, collected by Candice Benbow.
• West Sound Academy Library LibGuide - More resources on Lemonade and its connections to poetry, art and culture, Black feminism, the Black Lives Matter movement and more.

Sunnyvale Record Club meets on the third Thursday of each month.