Janet Jackson Appreciation Thread

[Taoboi]

'Framing Britney Spears' was pretty good. I cannot wait. 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

An often drugged up Robert  Downey Jr. once passed out in a little girl's bed, nearly scaring the entire life out of the girl's mother. This was before he went to prison, but in the midst of him becoming practically uninsurable from previous narcotics binges. (film production companies and studios had to pay out of their personal accounts-then unheard of- just to insure him as he was deemed 'untouchable' by any insurance company and actors on sets run by major studios and production companies were not allowed to work uninsured, so he actually cost the studios extra expenses).

I am not citing this to belittle or dehumanize Robert Downey Jr., but to state that the only time his career even slowed down was when he was doing time in prison. And,

People have made much worse personal/professional choices than Janet Jackson, yet never suffered the damage to their careers that she suffered. I don't think I need to state why this is the case as I believe it is fairly obvious.

Again, I am not casting aspersions on RDJ but his career was only ever stopped when he went to prison, which he admitted likely "saved his life". And the moment he was released, he resumed his career immediately.

Why are folks holding Janet Jackson to a higher standard than Robert Downey Jr.? On what criteria? I am interested in knowing? Thoughts?

Edited May 1, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[I Am A Swede]

^^

Too easy....

He's a white man, she's a black woman. End of story.

[DramatistDreamer]

It was a rhetorical question, more than anything else.

[Taoboi]

Given the world we are now living in, it will be very interesting to see where these questions goes. Because now I feel that they will start to be dived into, leading to some difficult, but need to had discussions. 

 

May the Doc come quickly. 

 

And I am sure JT is getting ready to get roasted anew. 

[j swift]

As much as I appreciate Janet's music, (I've seen her in concert twice), I get annoyed by her "silly" persona.   Recently, she was on the Tonight Show and every story was told with a little girl giggle, similar to the voice that Britney and Paris Hilton affect.  She tried to seem embarrassed to admit that she had an assistant and a nanny, as if a woman in her position wouldn't be assumed to have a staff of employees.

 

We know from prior interviews that Janet can be bright and insightful.  Part of her backstory is that she broke free from the family to pursue her own music.  Yet, as a 54 year old woman, her desire to portray herself as having a naive waif confuses me.  I hope in this doc, and subsequent appearances, she will return to the cool and somewhat defiant artist we saw in the 1990's. 

 

That being said, one assumes the giggles are a means to deflect from questions about Michael, her mother, and the rest of the family.  Given her age and experience I want to know her views on the effects that race and sexism have had on her career.  She deserves to tell her story.  In particular, how her exploration of sexuality was treated differently than white singers like Madonna, and how her historically large recording contracts were publicized differently than her male contemporaries.  However, I worry that her persona undermines her credibility. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by j swift

[Vee]

I grew up absolutely worshipping Janet - I lipsynced and danced to songs way too old for me as a kid over and over. But I've always had complicated feelings about the later years.

 

I think Janet got very spooked by the commercial response to Velvet Rope, and retreated to making very light, superficial pop for years afterwards - chasing other people's trends (not as badly as Madonna has in recent years, though). I can listen to "All For You" now and enjoy it, but at the time I was very disappointed by that entire album for retreating from the kind of relevant, innovative work she'd spent the late '80s and '90s doing. The 2000s hit her and a lot of artists hard, and I have never hesitated to say I find most of her albums after TVR to be bad (and her Tyler Perry work even more embarrassing). There's the occasional good song or fun single in the mix, but the old Datalounge joke about her contemporary albums being overstuffed compilations of songs about her junk, giggling interludes, and "edit!" is not far off.

 

That being said: I thought Unbreakable was a considerable improvement, and I liked "Made For Now" a lot. Janet is over 50 and there's no shame in her not being able to move like she used to and leaving the serious dancing to the entourage. I was really thrilled she had not only a great new single that didn't seem tacky or repetitious like so many of her other attempts at the charts in the 21st century. Madonna has become a total joke who can't face the future or her aging, but Janet has clawed her way back to some relevance and appreciation. I hope she keeps it up.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Vee

[Taoboi]

I definitely would love to hear about all of this. Fingers crossed.

 

 

[Liberty City]

Dying for the Black Diamond project.

[DramatistDreamer]

Happy Birthday to Janet Jackson. Hoping she's indulging in the Pleasure Principle in celebration

Please register in order to view this content

.

[Soapsuds]

Maybe she's having an Escapade.

[will81]

Unfortunately most of the singles off The Velvet Rope album were never released commercially in the US, which basically meant they were not eligible to chart back then, because I would put her creative peak from 1989 - 1998. I love Control, but RN is on another level, as too is Velvet Rope. Janet. was also solid and I still love it.

 

I think after Velvet, her work felt more derivitive of her past work and I didn't feel the growth from her as much. I do think she could have scored more hits post Superbowl if that incident hadn't happened, but I do think her output was not as strong post 1998.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

[Liberty City]

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Did no one post the trailer for her documentary?

I mean, I could do it but since I was absent from the board for a few days, I had assumed that it had already been done.