From Ernerst Hardy in L.A. Weekly

"Fear of a Black Titty-treating Janet like you don’t love her

You live by the pop machine, you die by the pop machine. The sleek commodity known as Janet Damito Joe Jackson DeBarge Elizondo Jackson has done her share of living and dying lately, often simultaneously. She’s been all over editorial pages and gossip columns; her Super Bowl controversy launched two phrases into popular vernacular (wardrobe malfunction;Nipplegate), and yet her latest album, Damita Jo, is widely percieved as a commercial flop and critical disappointment (even thogh its first-week sales were far stronger than those of recent releases by Madonna, Britney, Whitney or J-Lo). Radio has been lukewarm at best, and the hypocrites at MTV have all but banished her from their airwaves. For someone so long plugged into the machine, Jackson has committed one critical error after another—the Super Bowl fiasco, the staggeringly bad choice for a first single, a lackluster video for that first single.

That’s not to say that the disc is an unfairly maligned masterpiece. It’s loaded with far too much dross: inane interludes where Janet burbles like a ditz, musing on island vacations, the origins of her middle name and whatever fluff pops into her head; the limp sex odes “Moist” and “Warmth,” which sound like they were penned and sung by some narcotized junior high school ho; an obsession with sex that started three albums ago and whose dividends are only rarely even semi-interesting. It doesn’t help that neither the “official” lead single, “I Want You,’ nor the “leaked” single, “Just a Little While,” are anything other than album filler.

But wait. Damita Jo is still better than most reviews and work-of-mouth would have you believe. Thank the producers. The whole thing is very much a retro affair, from the girl-group arrangement of “I Want You” to the infectious doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo that opens the album’s best track, “Like You Don’t Love Me,” and attitude-laden TLC-ish demand for a good, vigorous fuck (“You need to make love to me/like you don’t love me”) to the Vanity 6 homage in “Strawberry Bounce.” And “R&B Junkie,” the CD’s second-best track and likely candidate for club hit of the summer, has offended many detractors with its boulder-size sample from Evelyn King’s “I’m in Love,” but the gambit works in the context of a song that’s an ode to old-school and soul music and the dances those sounds inspired. Meanwhile, producer Kanye West continues his midtempo winning streak with “My Baby,” while the lilting, aptly named “Island Life” is pure seduction set to a groove. Had some careful pruning taken place before the album’s release, the CD could have been at least a minor-chord “F-you” victory to the wolves nipping at Janet’s tits.

JANET JACKSON IS SIMULTANEOUSLY a minor talent and the unheralded mother-architect, for better or worse, of the current pop world. And though she’d be loath to admit it, her artistic baby-daddy is Paula Abdul, whose Control-era choreography has been the template for not only most of Miss Jackson’s moves over the past 15 years but for most pop choreography, period. (Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are the nannies who do all the unglamorous, necessary grunt work.)
While it’s a conditioned reflex for mainstream critics to heap praise upon Madonna a the mold from which MTV’s pop brigade is stamped, the truth is a bit more complicated. What Madonna’s really handed down has been a bottle of peroxide, a palpable contempt for her audience and a refresher course on the ways in which white skin earns props for its bearers way out of proportion to anything they actually do. Throw in some marketing-savvy DNA and you pretty much have her artistic legacy summed up. Case in point: The pathetic, creepy, faux-lesbian kiss last year between Madonna and Britney was largely interpreted as a passing of the diva torch. But Britney’s career, like those of her countless clones, rather than being a youthful updating of Madonna’s blueprint, is actually the Clorox remix of Janet’s. Brit’s every head snap, pelvic thrust and shoulder jerk was first executed by Miss Jackson, with many of her videos being almost frame-for-frame replications of past Janet clips. Even the most successful of the boy-band wave – ‘n Sync, Backstreet Boys – owe much of their performing style to Janet and her various choreographers. (Tellingly, when Justin Timberlake was in ‘N Sync, he and his group bit Janet’s style hard; as a solo artist, he lifts shamelessly from her brother.)

One of the most interesting aspects of the fallout from Janet’s controversial Super Bowl performance as been her subsequent psychological profile as crafted by a reactionary info-tainment machine. Her every media appearance is prefaced with the news that her host has instituted a five-second delay, as though her titty baring weren’t an aberration for her, but the norm. Everything from the increased heat placed on Howard Stern to edited nude scenes on E.R. to the recently canceled Victoria’s Secret television special has been blamed on her: She’s been turned from the tapioca dominatrix no one could possibly take seriously into the stereotypical sex-mad Negress who’ll corrupt all she touches – or might touch. (One of the few critics to point out the race aspect of the media reaction to Jackson has been the Village Voice’s Richard Goldstein, who, in a recent essay commenting on the varying ways that Courtney Love and Janet have been treated in the press, opined, “Thank God, for Courtney’s sake, that she’s white.”)

Pundits, who know they should be furious at something or someone but are too cowardly to take aim at the proper targets, have lumped endless scorn on Jackson for unleashing a puritanical FCC on us all. Aiming their vitriol at the agency itself would mean not only outlining the right-wing consolidation of media power in the hands of a privileged few, but also noting the Christian Taliban mentality of those who hold the purse strings and control the airwaves. In short, tit wold mean biting the conservative hand that signs their paychecks.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s Super Bowl accomplice, young mast Timberlake, has proven himself to be the bitch-made-pop-star you always knew he was. As though aiming to get his own chapter in Greg Tate’s book Everything but the Burden: What White People Are Taking From Black Culture, Timberlake shed all wigger affectations the moment he felt the heat of real controversy. He dropped the hip-hop gear, grabbed a suit and tie, and literally held his mommy’s hand as he strolled into this year’s Grammy Awards, where he all but burst into tears as he apologetically explained onstage how he’d been bamboozled into taking part in Janet’s shameful shenanigans. Poor thing.

THE REAL PROBLEM FOR JANET is that, in total, Damita Jo underscores her as the ultimate modern American sex symbol in ways she didn’t intend. As she cruises toward 40, she has to figure out what it means not only to compete with her own cultural spawn on a playing field whose terms are viciously youth-obsessed, but also what it means to be a mature woman who is sexually vibrant, sexually curious and willing to speak with candor about her desires and experience. For Jackson, that simply translates into a cataloging of sexual positions and X-rated activities. With her breathy, multitracked voice as her calling card and primary weapon, and slight-to-say-the-least lyrics as the bullets, she comes off more as a sexually precocious teenybopper than a women of the world.

It’s not just that there’s no depth to her boudoir insights and philosophical musings, or that the bulk of her lyrics manage the unimpressive feat of being explicit and banal, but that she’s morphing into as aging porn starlet of the most tragic type – chasing relevance with her bigger hair, ever bigger boobs, and a willingness to fall to her knees in mirthless, monotonous mimicry of sexual ecstasy. It’s like, after all the fucking and talking about fucking that she’s done, she has almost no idea what true liberation -- or even pleasure – really is. "
[Edited 10/15/04 19:53pm]

i'm scared of janet's titty. her areola looked like a damn krispy kreme.













....krispy kremes....







well, erm, on second thought....

Dated Nipplegate fallout.

JANFAN4L said:

Im on a Janet kick, hey

DiamondGirl said:

I feel you.

JANFAN4L said:

True. But, you got to love the title b/c FCC has proven they have fear of it along w/Punk Bitch Timberlake.

CinisterCee said:

This reminds me of a great article written by Renee Graham of the Boston Globe -- one of my favorite articles of 2004.

Timberlake as the 'new King of Pop'? No way it's justified
By Renee Graham, Globe Staff, 2/17/2004

For the cover of its 2003 year-end issue, Rolling Stone dubbed Justin Timberlake the "new King of Pop." Timberlake, the article maintained, successfully reshaped his public persona as "just a boy-band star," and, with his solo debut, "Justified," proved himself more than "just a hunky white boy emulating Michael Jackson."

In anointing Timberlake the "new King of Pop," the implication, of course is that the young singer is this generation's Jackson -- which, regardless of how you may feel about Jackson or Timberlake, is so wrong-headed, it's utterly laughable.

Granted, Jackson was a self-crowned King of Pop. Still, the ridiculed title stuck because it was impossible to argue even with the self-aggrandizing proclamations of a man who once, indisputably, was the biggest pop star in the world. Exactly what has Timberlake achieved to deserve consideration as the rightful heir to such pop supremacy?

That Timberlake has been allowed a Houdini-like escape from major criticism despite his prominent role in Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," speaks to just how desperately the music industry may be looking for a Great White Hope to counter the more troublesome likes of 50 Cent and Eminem.

Sure, Timberlake now has two Grammys, and there's still an impression the award instantly bestows artistic validation. But a few shiny trinkets does not an artist make; remember, the tedious Evanescence also won a Grammy at last week's ceremony. So far, Timberlake's greatest talent has been distancing himself from his original incarnation as a blonde-haired dancing marionette in 'N Sync by mimicking the R&B icons he so slavishly admires. In 2002, his solo debut performance at the MTV Video Music Awards singing "Like I Love You," was vintage-era Michael Jackson, but without a scintilla of originality. Were we watching Timberlake or actor Corey Feldman during his weird Jackson obsession phase?

When "Justified" was released a few months later, the hits "Like I Love You," and "Cry Me a River" worked mainly because of the prodigious knob-twiddling by the Neptunes and Timbaland, respectively. But, taken as a whole, Timberlake, who shares writing credits on all the tracks, brought little to the polished surface provided by a studio-full of high-powered producers working overtime.

Yes, Timberlake is young -- he's just 23 -- but Jackson was only 21 when he released "Off the Wall," and that album remains exciting and fresh 25 years after its release. And Jackson wrote and coproduced three of its tracks, including the classic, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Perhaps weary of the Jackson comparisons, Timberlake has skipped onto aping another legend -- the great Stevie Wonder. At last week's Grammy telecast, Timberlake plopped himself behind a keyboard on a rotating pedestal to perform "Senorita."

"The guy's a star, there's no point in trying to deny that anymore, if anyone was still thinking to do so," wrote Kurt Loder, who really should know better, in his MTV.com Grammy wrap-up. "But he really is funky, too, and swaying away behind an electric piano almost like Wonder himself, he's undeniably a real musician."

That's what Timberlake wants us to think. Yet except for a chord here and there, there was no indication the guy can really play keyboards. (The real music was supplied by jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and a group of backing musicians, including two keyboard players.) Timberlake was trying so hard to channel Wonder, I half-expected beaded cornrows to sprout from his head.

When Wonder was Timberlake's age, he was writing, producing, arranging, and playing virtually every instrument on such masterpieces as "Music of My Mind" and "Talking Book," and was beginning arguably the greatest creative decade ever for a solo artist. He sounded like no one else before him. For all his efforts, Timberlake has no musical identity, and even with a better team behind him, he's still too studied and manufactured.

Timberlake can sing, but his voice lacks any genuine depth or emotion. He's a hard-working performer, but he's also like the smartest kid in the class who mostly succeeds by memorizing his lessons without having any real concept as to what it all means. There's nothing wrong with admiring and drawing inspiration from great artists, but the key is bringing an added level of personal artistry, so that a performance is more than just a wan imitation. And unless Timberlake can discern the difference, the so-called "new King of Pop" will never be more than a pretender to the throne.

Renee Graham's Life in the Pop Lane column appears on Tuesdays. She can be reached at graham@globe.com.
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.



Source: http://www.boston.com/new...justified/

Hotlegs said:

Justin Timberlake ain't the new Michael Jackson until he gets rid of his nose. For crying out loud.

Britney Spearz maybe in some way borrowing a few pages from Janet'z diary so to speak but she lookz and soundz shithouse doin it. There is no comparrison Janet to me pulls it off (exuse da pun) well, cause u can so tell she putz actual almost physical feeling into what music and choreography she makez. Kinda like MJ in dat way too. U can feel whatever they're doin big timez. Britney is shithouse.

DiamondGirl said:

brilliant, BRILLIANT, B R I L L I A N T !!!


Thanks for that paste, Diamond!!!

Interesting piece!

I've been a fan of Janet since 86 (shit, nearly 20 years ago ) and Control and despite that, I've always felt that her music has failed to grow up at the same rate her audience has.

Back with the Janet album, I could indulge her highly-sexed ramblings for a bit, but it's gotten very old. I've always felt she should leave the teeny-bopper songs to the teeny-bopper generation. There are younger women doing that sort of pop music nowadays, and both Janet and her fan-base are too old for that shit.

Don't get me wrong - "Damita Jo" had a few great moments, but it is mostly bubblegum. Listening to it makes me feel old, which is ridiculous when you consider Janet's age!

I still think Rhythm Nation and The Velvet Rope were her two finest albums... but instead of building on those great pieces of work she's tried to revert to the bubble-gum pop better left to the Britney generation.

punk bitch timberlake

Anxiety said:

Anxiety said:

lilmissmissy said:

Girl, preach that truth!

I love that term "sh*thouse"! ::: taking notes :::

I'm so tired of hearing about Nipplegate. Look, if the album would have been better than mediocore she would have done better. The last Janet album that I really loved was Velvet Rope. The last one was okay, but this one was just disappointing and I expected more from her.

Madonna's last album bombed ( I couldn't stand it) and she was laughed at for her MtV stunt. But, she went out and had a sold out tour. She's still mocked, but when you sell tickets like she does....hey, who cares what the critics think.

So, Janet should try to do the same thing.

JANFAN4L said:

Ditto. Girlfriend's comment were right on.

lilmissmissy said:

JANFAN4L said:

Yeah damn it!! Hehe, if u love da term "shithouse" take a trip to Oz, everyone loves it here

CinisterCee said:

Hotlegs said:

I say it n i mean it

If her nipples learn how to play Black Cat, then sign me up for whatever it is she's sellin'.

sorry, it's the fans and the music itself that turned me against her.

GrayKing said:

Sorry.

GrayKing said:

I kinda agree.
Im not against Janet, she's a very talented girl. I wish her fans were able to admit that the breat baring crap was not an accident. Just like i wish MJ fans were able to admit that he is not a sane man. Janet may have seemed upset, but that was not due to a reaction of a wardrobe malfunction. It was because she did not realize that her actions would end up in negative controversey.

As a big Madonna fan i can admit that the kiss between Britney, her sex book, and many of her videos were stunts in order for her to move forward. Some worked well and others made her look like an ass.

In the same sense, Janet fans have got to be open minded and admit Janet is a "Nasty" girl.
That goes for any other closed minded individuals who defend an artist to no end when there are evident facts against them.

jayaredee said:

Works both ways. There are many Madonna fans who actually believe that her stunts constitute profound artistry, so there you are.

jayaredee said:

I don't know; when my husband and I saw the "incident," the first words out of my mouth were, "Janet didn't need to to that. She is so far above that." In fact, I was SO upset about the whole thing, that's when I started to read and eventually post on message boards because I was curious about the opinions of other fans. When Janet issued her statement, I chose to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe her story. I just chose to believe that it was an accident even though I'm not naive to the fact that artists will do all types of things in the name of artistic expression,probably more accurately describe as promotion. Yet watching that "replay" in one of the previous posts, it appears more and more like both Justin and Janet were completely shocked, but who in the public really knows for sure?

That said, I still think that people completely over-reacted to the incident whether or not Janet is telling the truth. And also, Justin DID NOT receive his share of criticism for even agreeing to rip-off her clothes in the first place and seemed to leave Janet alone to deal with the backlash. I mean, Janet may have said to him, "Let me handle this," or whatever, but Justin could have at least issued a statement countering this "I was a victim of circumstance" rumor that was circulating in the media.

Finally,without a doubt, this year has been challenging for Janet. In regard to her Damita Jo cd, I agree that there are some strong tracks; in fact, most of the cd packed with potential hit singles. Of course, it's not The Velvet Rope or some of her earlier works, but it's still a respectable release and deserved more airplay. Yet outside of the disappointing sales or lack of critical acclaim for her current release,the real sadness for me is that with all the "wardrobe malfunction" references, Janet and her music will forever be remembered for this single mistake, whether accidental or not, in an otherwise brilliant career. It just breaks my heart 'coz I've always admired her music, her dancing, and her public persona.
[Edited 10/17/04 9:29am]