Jump to content

Janet Jackson Appreciation Thread


KateW

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I couldn't find one so I decided to start one.

Yesterday (September 19) marked the 25th anniversary of the release of Rhythm Nation 1814. Although it was Janet Jackson's 4th solo album and her prior album Control is considered her breakthrough album by most music fans, I think Rhythm Nation 1814 is the album that cemented Janet Jackson as a global music icon.

Looking back at Janet Jackson's biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100

#1s

When I Think of You (1986)

Miss You Much (1989)

Escapade (1990)

Black Cat (1990)

Love Will Never Do (Without You) (1991)

That's the Way Love Goes (1993)

Again (1993)

Together Again (1997)

Doesn't Really Matter (2000)

All For You (2001)

Top 5s

What Have You Done For Me Lately (1986, #4)

Nasty (1986, #3)

Control (1986, #5)

Let's Wait A While (1987, #2)

Rhythm Nation (1989, #2)

Alright (1990, #4)

Come Back to Me (1990, #2)

If (1993, #4)

Any Time, Any Place (1994, #2)

Runaway (1995, #3)

I Get Lonely (1998, #3)

Someone to Call My Lover (2001, #3)

Top 10s
Because of Love (1994, #10)

You Want This (1994, #8)

1986-1994 were the peak years; the three best albums (Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, janet.) and the bulk of the top 10 hits all released then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 227
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

I grew up with Janet, but I don't think she's put out anything listenable since The Velvet Rope (and probably 1993's janet. if I'm being honest). All For You seemed like the end of career in retrospect and was the first album from her where I was utterly disappointed, and the albums since have just not been good. However, she hadn't released anything in years, so I wonder what she's up to now...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
  • Members

Rhythm Nation 1814 had some great singles, but like many of Janet's albums, the flow was a bit off and the interludes a bit too intrusive. For that reason alone, I think Control is a superior product and the best album out of her big trilogy (Control/Rhythom Nation 1814/janet.).

Edited by BetterForgotten
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm a fairly new drag queen (like 8 months) and I auditioned for an up and coming clubs slot as a Janet impersonator and I did That's The Way Love Goes. I had the performance routine down and the hair and I thought I was hitting it, but the crowd looked at me like I was crazy and then afterwards they asked me why I did such an obscure Janet song. I WANTED TO SCREAM!!! That is not only one of her biggest hits, but one of her best lol. Needless to say I was not the new Janet. It went to some 60 year old tired queen. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think Janet from 85-93 produced the best pop music around. Even Rhythm Nation, which is a little ponderous (although I do like "The Knowledge") very badly dated, has some wonderful, infectious pop songs. Sometimes the songs are a little samey, but the mix of edge and accessibility on the uptempo numbers and the plaintive quality of the ballads hold up very well. She was so good in these years it was easy to take it for granted.

My favorite videos and songs.

Please register in order to view this content

She always made this "hanging out, just folks" stuff in her videos seem much less forced than it should have been.

It's a cheesy song but I always thought it was pretty, as is the video.

By the late '90s I feel like she lost her identity and began trying too hard, and there is some type of overwhelming sadness surrounding her.

Edited by DRW50
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I also think Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's production just wore very thin after a while. Her collaboration with them stopped working after her 1993 janet. album, IMO. It hit an all time low by the All For You album in 2001.

She probably should have branched out from them sooner than she did, but probably couldn't since much of her success at the time was due to them and their sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I worshipped her as a child - my CD and cassette collection were wall to wall Janet, especially janet. and Rhythm Nation. But she hasn't made a good album since The Velvet Rope. She got scared of the sales and she's been doing embarrassing, sex or youth-obsessed tripe ever since. I don't need another 16 songs about Janet's vagina.

Edited by Vee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • I think the gross ickiness is Josh Griffith's intention. At birth, Ian Ward stole Mariah from Sharon, so that Sharon knew only of the Cassie twin and not the Mariah twin.  Sharon gave up Cassie for adoption at birth, never knowing that Mariah existed. When Ian Ward stole baby Mariah, he had her be raised by a woman member of his cult. She grew up in his cult. Years later, after Mariah was an adult in Genoa City and had left him, he tried to kidnap her to marry him himself, I sort of remember some icky scenes where he had arranged a wedding, but she escaped or was rescued -- it was so gross that I chose to forget it, and I don't want to look up the details. Mariah is feeling traumatized/triggered by Ian Ward being in Genoa City several months ago, because he was obsessed with her, and he terrorized her loved ones, interacted with Tessa, and drugged Sharon, which ultimately resulted in the death of Heather -- causing the grief of Daniel and Lucy. None of that was Mariah's fault. But she was so horrified by what happened, that she feels she did something wrong that caused this hateful villain to continue to obsess about her.   Based on small comments that Mariah made recently, I think she feels completely worthless. I gather that when she was away on the business trip a month or two ago, all of what happened with Ian Ward and Heather's death just hit her all at once and she was mentally/emotionally collapsing, and just felt unable to call for help.  During the business trip she sat in her hotel room and spiraled more, feeling more and more worthless and afraid. Finally she started drinking at a bar, and that's when the creepy old man approached her.  By that point, she wasn't in her right mind, and started interacting with the guy.  Either she thought he was Ian, or she thought he was someone like Ian, and she would be *required* to flirt with him in a role play, and do what he commanded, almost like old programming being reactivated.  Or perhaps just simple self-loathing playing out. I don't know if the guy actually knew Ian or Jordan, or if he was a random stranger.  But Mariah's fear/loathing/subconscious chaos kicked in. And then... well that's as far as her flashbacks have aired so far. She can't bear to face the rest of whatever it was.  I gather that in the coming episodes, we'll (eventually) find out what happened next as we see more of the icky flashbacks. --------------- The rest of this post is only my speculation: I think that she felt like she was supposed to have sex with him but didn't want to, and may have tried to kill him instead. Or he r*ped her.  Or they didn't have sex at all, but it's all convoluted in her mind.  Something horrible happened but I don't think it was her fault.  If the man died, maybe she covered it up?  I really don't know, I'm just speculating ideas. At any rate, I'm totally convinced that this is NOT a conventional "cheating storyline" where someone willingly has sex outside their relationship. ----------------- This is basically Josh Griffith's obsession with dark storylines, creepy villains, and terrible writing of "mental health issues".
    • The most we ever saw was on the "Roger years" tape.

      Please register in order to view this content

       
    • Right. Literally for decades, soaps mesmerized their audiences with tales of romance, family conflict, class struggles, and recognizable interpersonal-relationship sagas. We didn't need relentless, heavy violence. We didn't need clones, mad scientists, extra-terrestrials and demon possessions. We didn't need gaggles of plastic himbos and bimbos pushing beloved vets off-screen. We only needed to see people whom we cared about, and the intelligent, moving progression of their lives. Flashy sets, gaudy gimmicks, and high-falutin' hairdos be damned. The characters and the words were important.
    • Absolutely! Brad should've simply moved on from Lunacy. There's no point of freeing her, if you're not going to at least make an attempt at redemption or incorporating her into the fold. It happened with Quinn, who committed quite a few felonies before become the Forrester Matriarch.  Heck, keep Lunacy in prison and have Poppy/Finn discover that she gave birth to twins - 'Sunny' could've come on with a clean slate and still had Sheila/Finn and all the other drama. It certainly couldn't have been worse than what we've witnessed with the destruction of $B.    
    • I would enjoy it if Swan popped up on BTG as an old one time friend/mentor of Anita’s for a cameo. This is just

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I had totally forgotten that Courtney story. I see Burton was already phoning it in by that point.
    • omg I completely missed that, but now when I see it typed here in your post, it's obvious icky cringe. So now I just checked and Tomas said that -- on May 27 that he likes the author Carl Ivati.  He said it with sort of an accent, so I didn't catch the stupid joke or think about the spelling.   I remember when that aired, that I actually said to myself at the time, "I wonder if that's a Latin American author, and I will have to google him later." And now I see your post, and I see. Well that's cringe, and I feel stupid to have fallen for it.

      Please register in order to view this content

         
    • There's a lot you don't need if you have the writing.  You don't even need large casts!  You could make do with a cast of 12-18 actors if the writing is there.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy