Busted Headphones

Janet Jackson: Regain Control

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[11 May 2009]

By Quentin B. Huff

Get Serious
As she gets “real”, Miss Janet will also have to get “serious”. By that I mean she should be working to hone and refine the message in her music. What made Control such a powerhouse was that she had something to say and a sense of urgency about her need to say it. In the title track, her resolve is completely believable when she sings about her life as a teen, dutifully following instructions, back when she would “do what my father said and let my mother mold me.” Much of the album confirmed her desire to make her mark and stake her claim on her own terms. She wouldn’t settle for lackluster relationships (“What Have You Done For Me Lately?”), nor would she rush herself into a commitment (“Let’s Wait Awhile”).

Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet’s 1989 release, opened with a suite of social commentary. It’s a little like a public service announcement, but Janet’s pledge to unite the “people of the world” was thoughtful and inspired. The song also provided one of the few appropriate and logical uses for the “group dance” concept in a music video—you know, when the star performer and a bunch of anonymous people show up and execute synchronized dance movies.

Next, “State of the World”, presented as a set of sobering vignettes, continues the theme, as the stories of meager circumstances demonstrate the need for the title track’s call for unity and action. “Knowledge”, described in the song of that name as “the one thing we all need in life”, provides a solution to life’s ills.

A little too simplistic? Too black and white? Perhaps, but that was Rhythm Nation‘s theme, though I never quite got the “1814” reference aside from the letters “R” and “N” in “Rhythm Nation” being the 18th and 14th letters of the alphabet. I keep hearing that Francis Scott Key wrote what would become the US national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”, in 1814, but I haven’t quite connected that to Janet’s album yet. Maybe the intro track, “Pledge”, is designed to bring it all together: “We are a nation with no geographic boundaries / bound together through our beliefs / We are like-minded individuals / sharing a common vision / pushing toward a world rid of color-lines.”

In any event, Rhythm Nation spawned some classic Janet tracks like “Miss U Much”, “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”, “Escapade”, and “Alright”, and none of them touched on the overt social commentary of the opening sequence. In fact, when the song “Knowledge” ends, a short interlude called “Let’s Dance” follows in which Janet puts an abrupt, almost flippant, end to her altruism. “Get the point?” she says in a monotone. “Good. Let’s dance.”

Rhythm Nation marked the beginning of Janet’s obsession with interludes, but at least (1) she had the good sense to track them separately on the CDs, and, most importantly, (2) the “Let’s Dance” interlude accented the stark black-and-white mood of her videos, her commentary, and the fun-versus-fierce sides of her persona.  Social awareness gets an encore a little later in the album, when Janet dedicates “Livin’ in a World (They Didn’t Make)” to the kids of the world.

With the release of 1993’s Janet, Jackson welcomed us in full-on sensual mode, from the James Brown sampling “That’s the Way Love Goes” (“Go deeper, baby, deeper / You feel so good I’m gonna cry”) to the provocative “If” (“If I was your girl, oh, the things I’d do to you / I’d make you call out my name, I’d ask who it belongs to”) and the Madonna-style workout of the heavy-breathing, long-moaning “Throb”. Stylistically, her sound had never been so varied, and she still managed a collaboration with Chuck D. for the gender anthem “New Agenda” (“African-American woman / I stand tall with pride”).

It is my contention that Janet is at her best when she couples her sensual appeal with her awareness of personal and/or social issues. Janet was the last album that displayed her effectiveness with this duality, and Janet itself was admittedly heavy on the physical (“Anytime, Anyplace”) and remarkably light on anything of gravity outside of the love and sensuality context. Velvet Rope‘s sadomasochistic overtures (“Rope Burn”) and All For You‘s Dear John kiss-off approach sent the general focus awry.  Velvet Rope is rather popular, nevertheless, and many of the songs on these albums were decent, some were actually great (“Go Deep”, “I Get Lonely”, “You Ain’t Right”, “Doesn’t Really Matter”), but since she hasn’t mastered the art of reinvention like Madonna has, the more Janet retreats into sexuality, the faster and deeper she sinks.

Mariah Carey and Nelly Furtado changed their more artistic approaches in favor of making club bangers. If you notice, there’s an almost mind numbing difference between Mariah’s whispery “Mimi” phase and the fervor of her songwriting and vocal technique during her “Vision of Love” days.  Furtado, as well, went from a folk-oriented pop sound to catchy, but ultimately empty, songs like “Promiscuous”. 

In 2006, while promoting 20 Y.O. on BET’s 106 & Park (yeah, I’ve watched BET a few times, wanna make somethin’ of it?), Janet noted that she intentionally stayed away from serious topics in order to provide fun and relaxation in the tense and distressing post-Iraq War environment.  Since then, Janet’s been trying to hop on the flavor-of-the-month bandwagon, but what we really need is to know what’s on her mind now. 

She need not address global catastrophes or sing songs of gloom and doom, but she does need to convince us that her songs matter. Maybe she’s not as hungry as she was when she made Control, but there must be something she cares about these days. That’s what we want to hear.

Get a Producer
As if it’s not tricky enough to do all the other stuff I mentioned. She also needs to pick a producer or a production team to complement her newfound resolve and her commitment to sharing her ideas. Obviously, she could resume her mostly successful relationship with super-producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They’ve been around for almost all of her albums, and you could very well argue that the real trouble began for Janet when she allowed other collaborators to participate in the Janet, Jam, & Lewis inner circle. The familiarity of the working relationship and the resulting sound could break Janet’s current losing streak.

Whatever she does, the prevailing notion would certainly be to stay away from Jermaine Dupri, who joined the party for 20 Y.O.. I don’t think he should automatically be cut from the list of prospects, though. If he can deliver a sound that will support Janet’s messages, Dupri will do just fine. We cannot, however, endure more of the generic and gimmicky fluff that is the hallmark of the faceless and the forgettable.

Now if “going back” to Jam and Lewis is out of the question, might Janet consider working Samuel “Tone” Barnes and Jean-Claude “Poke” Olivier of Trackmasters? Tone & Poke’s production credits span genres, and include songs by acts as diverse as LL Cool J, Nas, Mary J. Blige, and Elizabeth Wills. As long as they don’t rely on monotonous loops, their approach could give the diva a boost.

One thing’s for sure. There’s no mistaking the importance of a skilled producer to Janet’s potential comeback effort. Seeking out the “hot” producers of the moment might be of use in the short term, but it won’t get us what we want as far as musical quality.

Get Busy
All right, Ms. Jackson. Get the point? Good. Let’s get it done.

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Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson
 
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Quentin Huff is an attorney, writer, visual artist, and professional tennis player who lives and works in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In addition to serving as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Law, he enjoys practicing entertainment law. When he’s not busy suing people or giving other people advice on how to sue people, he writes novels, short stories, poetry, screenplays, diary entries, and essays. Quentin’s writing appears, or is forthcoming, in: Casa Poema, Pemmican Press, Switched-On Gutenberg, Defenestration, Poems Niederngasse, and The Ringing Ear, Cave Canem’s anthology of contemporary African American poetry rooted in the South. His family owns and operates Huff Art Studio, an art gallery specializing in fine art, printing, and graphic design. Quentin loves Final Fantasy videogames, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, his mother Earnestine, PopMatters, and all things Prince.

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Comments

great writing,
why trackmasters?
why are they so good?

thanks

Comment by daniel from melbourne, australia — May 11, 2009 @ 12:38 am

My only fear is that the only thing she might care about these days is her sex and love life. I hope she does put that out of her music. We have heard much about it and sincerely speaking, I think most concur that we get the point Janet…your sexuality is important to you. Give us more substance. She can do this.

I also wish she would stop saying she would do something and it never materialises. What happened to the book, the workout dvds, the tours and a straing of other things. She lost a lot of credibility by not delivering on what she says..Its lame.

I think it is time for her to revamp her image, both visually and musically. Go to heights people never thought she could go. She still has it. She has just come across as artistically lazy these past few years and we know she’s not. If all the other girls can do it, so can she for crying out loud. The whole Janet thing is a little unsettling cause I love her soooo much.

Comment by ibby from London, ON — May 11, 2009 @ 6:09 am

Why does everyone always forget to mention when Janet was Cleo on Fame. Granted she only did the show for 1 season….but she was a major character on there that season.

She does need to follow thru on projects. We’ve seen (or haven’t seen) the Excercise Dvd, The PLEASURE PRINCIPLE lingerie, The Excercise/Diet Book, and The MTV Reality show all fail to materialize. Let’s not mention the embarrasement of a tour that had many cancelled dates. It was really bad of her to tell the fans of cancelled/postponed shows to hold on to the tickets and then after the last date announce those “postponed” dates won’t be rescheduled. Why not have told people that before so they could have gotten refunds and maybe gone to other shows like MSG. Then they cancelled/postponed the Japanese leg of the show and said those dates would be rescheduled sometime in March. It’s now the middle of May and still nothing on those dates. I love Janet dearly, but she needs to stop letting the fans down. The general public may have turned on her because of the superbowl, but she needs to work hard to keep the fans that she has from jumping ship as well.

Feedback could have been a HUGE comeback…..IF she had promoted it. They dropped the single and we never saw or heard from Janet herself until the week the album was released. Then she was all over tv and the single rebounded up to #19. You think her and the label would have realized…HEY PROMOTION IS HELPING THE SINGLE and she would have spent another week or 2 out there doing promotion/tv appereances, etc.. I love Janet and would love to see her back on top where she so rightly deserves. The rest of the girls out there today (Ciara, Britney, Mya, etc) would not be where they are if Janet hadn’t kicked open that door many years ago for them.

Comment by D.J. from california — May 11, 2009 @ 7:26 pm

Quentin,

I can tell you are a die-hard Jackson fan (like me).  Your critique of her career is on point! Veteran fans like us want to see the kind of Janet album that made us fall in love with her in the first place: melodic summer time finger-snapping tunes, thought-provoking lyrics, innovative musical arrangements, funk-nasty anthems that make us feel good in the clubs and sexy bedroom ballads dripping with bass-driven r & b flavor.

Most importantly, we want to see Janet with swagger!  She had swagger during those Control and Rhythm Nation days!  Bring it back, J! Be agressive with your music.  And be passionate about it, because we can tell when you’re not.  Start writing your lyrics again!  If it moves you, it will move us too. 

Finally, as you mentioned, if Janet is to plot a successful comeback, she has to look deep.  What does she care about these days?  What scares her?  What excites her (other than sex)?  We know she loves to dance… make us feel it! She’s emotional.. make us feel it!  The first single out the gate should make people SURPRISED and exited when they actually find out it’s her. That the ultimate REINVENTION.

The good news is that I hear she’s gearing up to work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.  I think that’s great.  They seem hungry to bring out the best in her.  Let’s hope for the best!


Bernard
Los Angeles, CA

Comment by Bernard from Los Angeles, CA — May 11, 2009 @ 10:12 pm

First thing she has to do is actually sing. No more whispers and coos. People don’t remember lyrics that way. Fact is, she can sing and has a unique voice and it should be treated as an asset. Jam and Lewis knew that early on when they created her sound. Also, her early Jam and Lewis tracks are more defined and audible. I hear she records in a dark studio and I think she sings purely for her own ears these days.
Another issue may be that Rene Elizondo was a true partner in the Jam/Lewis/Janet partnership. Since he’s been gone, her sound has declined.
Sadly, the Superbowl will forever mar her career. It’s unfortunate that this bit of choreography impacted her the way it did. Whether planned or purely accidental, it’s something she may never overcome.
Last, and I agree with the earlier replies, sing about something with a point. You never know, her next “Control” could be right around the corner.
The recording industry is evolving, but the touring business is rebounding. She ought to resurrect her legacy by keeping her classic hits alive.

Comment by zachary from ohio — May 12, 2009 @ 7:40 pm

Hey, i agree with all your comments.

I think that needs to have a sort of make-over. Sought of ‘rihanna’ style and change the way people see her, like ‘post’ super-bowl janet. Maybe her hair, fashion style or just stay the same but with a new ‘fresh’ attitude, and please forget the sex, i think we’ve heard enough. i still love you.

ANYWAY, the promotion was a problem. In Australia, where i live, there was NO promotion for ‘feedback’ , i only saw it through a back page article of a newspaper. Why can’t she make a small effort and come to australia, it would not only bring hype (much needed, but help her promote her new ‘fresh’ look. She MADE ciara, britney and Alaiylia.

She can dance and she can make people glue there eyes to the screen when watching her video clips (at least it makes me).

Jam/Lewis- WHY DID SHE CHANGE?! Im still enjoying her ‘together again’, 20Y.O album and ‘Control’.

To conclude, all i can say is i hope she can make a real comeback and remind everyone of the diva she was and STILL IS.!

:) daniel

Comment by daniel — May 13, 2009 @ 5:16 am

The Velvet Rope is a masterpiece and if you listen to tall the songs with the them of isolation and desperation all the songs, Rope Burn included, take on deeper meaning.  It’s the most cohesive album she’s done and an unqualified masterpiece.

No Trackmasterz.  Sorry.  She needs a complete about-face.  I say Raphael Saadiq or Mike City or DJ Premier (who gave her her best remix ever on Together Again). 

Great article, man!

Comment by Tyler from DC — May 15, 2009 @ 11:41 am

Some very interesting points are raised here.

Personally, I felt the downturn in quality with ‘All For You’. This was Janet, post creative force Rene Elizondo, under pressure from Virgin to remain relevant in a youth obsessed pop market recently invaded by a host of peroxide pretenders. The results were perfectly respectable and occasionaly sparkled, but the whole project, from its video’s, photography and fashion style were, in a word, BLAND.

‘Damita Jo’ again was a mixed and complex affair. It should have worked. Kanye was on board. The Islands were the flavour. The Superbowl had propelled Janet to Madonna heights of controversy - but the album couldn’t support the hype. It was a frivolous, trite and inconsistant package, that felt outdated even before its release. She should have made the entire album with Royksopp.

Then we get ‘20yo’ and ‘Discipline’ - projects whose sole intention is to recapture chart success. And therein lies the problem. Stale, contrived, cardboard albums designed to be liked will always fail -why? -  because they’re empty and stink of desperation - where is the soul, intention and artistic purpose?

What has janet got to say? She’s told us repeatedly since 1993 how much she enjoys sex, but has she got anything else to say? I’d quite like to hear about Iraq. The Superbowl. The way she was destroyed by a media witch hunt. Anything - we know she’s capable.

Its really simple. What made ‘Control’ and ‘RN’ work was the justaposition of raw, bassy, dirty street beats with feist, imagination and style. Janet is still capable of it. On ‘Discipline’, ‘So Much Betta’ was a window into the route the whole album should have taken. It was dark, atmospheric, electro/dance - and it blew the rest of the album out of the water (even though it skirted being an unfinished Daft Punk Rip-off).

If Janet does still want to make music, this is the route she must take. She needs to move away from the drooling generic r&b production of late and actually make DANCE music again. Where is the ecclecticism of ‘Janet’ and ‘TVR’? Trance, Dub Step, Drum & Bass, grime and gabba have all invaded cutting edge dance pop through artists like M.I.A - where is Janet’s take on these changes? This is what we want to hear. Question is, does she still have the drive or ambition to create such work? I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t, but it would be such a waste, as when she’s good, there’s no one better.

Comment by Greg from London — June 1, 2009 @ 11:18 am

Wow.. what a great article. I have to say I agree 100%. While I am no entertainment manager, I have to agree especially with “Discipline” was purely a case of Janet trying to stay current. She is Janet Jackson she should never release an album of songs that she had no part in writing. The whole allure of Janet is that she was allowing people into her world. THe Discipline CD was other people expressing their thoughts on Janet. This could have been any artists CD, it was definitely not Janet’s. Her work with JD worked on “Whats Ur Name” and “So Much Betta,” but the latter was too repetitive to keep ur attention. I mean seriously what happened to the second verse. And Ne-Yo no matter how talented is not for everyone. Janet is Janet and she should remain that. Touch on the disappointments, let people know how u really feel. I mean that was the catalyst behind Control, The Velvet Rope, janet., and All For You. Start a journal write it all down and then pour that into ur music. I hear that Jam and Lewis are working with her on new music but all i see lately is pictures of Janet going places. She and her notebook need to be in Minneapolis held hostage in a studio sweating it out and getting her message out. She has been in the game almost 30 years. She has got to have something to say. Something fun, sexy, social and real. That’s what we love about Janet.

Comment by djrj from MD — June 14, 2009 @ 12:34 pm

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