VoicesCarry said:

Who are these people who are supposedly demanding Janet get political? Please name names. I've never heard anyone say that.

midnightmover said:

I'll have my assistant fax them to you.

JackieBlue said:

Same here; Up until (and including) TVR, Janet was making state-of-the-art pop music. Afterwards, she just seemed to be chasing trends. I wish she'd have taken some big chances (hell, taken ANY chances) in her musical career. Even if it was a commercial disaster, I think Janft might get more respect.

Axchi696 said:

Janet dug herself into a hole by associating herself so much with one production team. So now when the word got out that this album was not going to include any collaborations with Jam & Lewis, some people were disappointed. I'm glad she is taking the chance of working with new producers and starting from scratch, so to speak, by dissociating herself from the Jam & Lewis sound and trying something different (for her).

midnightmover said:

I wasn't referring to you actually. Just making a general observation about that point of discussion

VoicesCarry said:

See, I almost think of "Janet Jackson" as a band made up of Janet, JJ and TL. They were the directors of her image and sound, and as such, people have a hard time imagining her without them. And even though their time together has long since passed, it'll be their work that she's remembered for.

Axchi696 said:

Yes, but I think that applies to basically any pop star who was around in the 80's and is still around now. The quality of production and songcraft was much higher in the 80's and 90's than it is today, so I think artists like Janet and Madonna, who depend on a producer's output, will always face that problem.
[Edited 12/13/07 11:37am]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

The key word here being general. So general that no-one can even name one example of these so-called political fans demanding Janet write a new anthem for our troubled times.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I should have been more specific about the dancing. Toxic WHUPPED Damita Jo's ass. I can't wait for the new CD either.

midnightmover said:

I don't know. I just saw whiffs of the topic in the thread and commented on it

midnightmover said:

aww put a lid on it and dance, come on shake ya ass i know you can do it.i know you digging feedback but you just cant bring yourself to admit it, lmao@you giving darkchild props but still finding a way to trash janet, you are such a fan

Axchi696 said:

Just because she’s a youth-oriented 40-something year old doesn’t mean she has to keep up with the kids. She can make a nice transition into something other. She doesn’t have a strong voice but she has a pretty voice. She could do something in between the Brazilian and what Sade or Amel Larrieux does or do silky dance tracks. Create a whole new groove. Ugh. It’s really limitless.

JackieBlue said:

But I never really saw Janet doing that. Janet has her purpose just as Sade has her purpose. I mean Sade essentially did the same thing (very well) for 20 years, so...

purplecam said:

I still can't believe that Damita Jo is looked on with such disdain. If you take out the inane interludes (which were probably the worst ones she's ever done), the awful album cover, and the album filler (which admittedly was a good 1/3 of the disc), you're left with about 9 or 10 really solid tracks.

The stetch of tracks from 'All Nite' through 'Thinkin About My Ex' is one of my favorite on any Janet record, ever.

"Just a Little While" was dumb, and never should've been the first single, but it's no worse than "Whoops Now" or, hell "Someone to Call My Lover".

"Moist", save for the awful title, is probably her best sex song since "Rope Burn" or maybe even "Anytime, Anyplace".

And "Put Your Hands On" should've made the cut. It would've sat well next to "Slo Love".

So there are 9 winners:

All Nite
R&B Junkie
I Want You
Like You Don't Love Me
Thinkin About My Ex
Moist
Slo Love
Just a Little While
Put Your Hands On

and even "Strawberry Bounce" and "Sexhibition" weren't terrible.

I digress, the album should've been a bigger hit, IMO.

lowkey said:

I give him props 'cos the production's tight, but he must have also commisioned the lyrics and approved them, so he ain't gonna make my Christmas card list either. As for Janet I exonerated her by saying that she wasn't responsible for this kindergarden verse. And regardless of the subject matter, it is kindergarden verse.

VoicesCarry said:

And Sade can keep on until she retires. She's got that on lock.

I’m talking about some sort of smooth groovy blend. Something we can still dance too or chill out to instead of something that could have been easily recorded by Britney or Ciara. In the past, this is what I thought she would have experimented a little more. This is what I thought but I don’t expect that from her anymore.

Axchi696 said:

I've only listened to Damita Jo once and that was all I needed. It was during a drive from San Diego to L.A. and it was the most painful ride because of that damn CD. I don't even remember 90% of that CD. It was the flop that it was supposed to be.

JackieBlue said:

First and foremost, she's a commercial pop star so she has to make bank at the end of the day. I guess that's why I didn't really expect it of her at any point in her career.

JackieBlue said:

This right here makes me wonder and I know it's way to early to ponder but what can Janet do in 5-10 years if dance pop is her thing? Will she change her style and should she change it? She's done hip-hop and look where that got her. I'd like to see her change it up a bit but honestly, I don't know what more she can do. Just throwing it out there.

purplecam said:

See. I think that's cause the album's sequencing leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the filler is grouped at the beginning of the album, and the good stuff is buried between ear-raping interludes. If you start the album at track 10, it works a lot better.

purplecam said:

Janet could work with Goldfrapp or some Scandinavian producers (maybe Robyn, too?) and turn out a tight electropop album.

JackieBlue said:

It was always a little puzzling to me why Janet never explored the downbeat/chillout movement, especially since her voice is tailormade for it. Something along the lines of a Zero 7 or Frou Frou would be miles fresher than the "baby making tunes" which almost always begin with the Weather Channel cues. Strikes me as funny that TVR is now held as the standard bearer from the tastemakers...revisionist history is a bitch, man.
I firmly believe that had that album been received well right off the bat, Janet would've been more open to continuing that experimental vibe of that era instead of trying to recapture 1993 on 4 albums straight.

VoicesCarry said:

I'm not familar with Goldfrapp's work but I've heard a lot about them. I just want to see Janet flip the script for herself. That sounds like a good idea VC.

Tuls101 said:

Let's go back to the point :

In 2004 she released All Nite (Don't Stop) a terrible "I'm sexy, I'm hot" anthem : it did flop BIG TIME

In 2006 she released another "I'm sexy, i'm hot" anthem with So Excited : it did flop BIG TIME

And Now in 2008 what does she do ? she releases AGAIN another "I'm sexy I'm hot" anthem with FeedBack

Not only this is a bad song, but also she recycles the same ol concept

Janet needs to get rid of that sex image, and do something NEW AND DIFFERENT... WITH A MORE MORE MATURE SOUND... A NEWCCE

There's no concept behind Janet music anymore...

But again she prefers to capitalize on her sex image that clearly doesn't work ...

People are tired of that...

When she made that superbowl performance it backfired at her BIG TIME, but she didn't learn from it AT ALL...


SHE tries too HARD to sell a sex image that people don't like anymore... She is NOT A SEX SYMBOL ANYMORE...


After the Superbowl incident, after the Damito Jo flop , after the 20 YO failure ... It was clear that she needed something new...

She had to come back with something BIG... A BIG HIT... A GREAT SONG that could dominate the charts for several weeks and create excitment among fans...


But she prefers to release another generic sex anthem

From that point of view I think she is done...
[Edited 12/13/07 12:11pm]

Axchi696 said:

Man you're trying to make you find that God-awful CD. I might try it though.

carmenjonze said:

When Telepopmuzik was announced as a contributor to Damita Jo, I was really excited because I thought that she might just go in that direction. Sadly, all they did was that stupid interlude that starts the album.

purplecam said:

Check out Goldfrapp, I think you'd like them, purplecam

krayzie said:

Those songs flopped for various reasons, but not because they were sex-themed.

If All Nite (Don't Stop) had been released before the Superbowl, it would have been a big hit.

carmenjonze said:

Yes! This is what I'm saying. Just a give it a try. I would have more respect for her. You can be commercial and do something other.

Axchi696 said:

You and me both! I was heated that something so promising was limited to only a sound clip. Not to mention that Basement Jaxx has made it known they'd love to work with her and nothing ever came of it and instead we got Crap On Me with Band-Aid Boy and Jerky the magic leprechaun.
[Edited 12/13/07 12:22pm]